Hiring foreign workers in Malta — employer guide

01

Overview

In Malta, sponsor-side work falls mainly on the employer or host entity because the standard Single Permit, KEI, SEI, EU Blue Card, ICT, and seasonal routes all depend on a sponsor-backed contract, transfer basis, or seasonal engagement. The sponsor has to choose the correct route, meet vacancy-advertisement and salary rules where they apply, submit the file online or support the permit workflow, and keep the role details consistent until the worker has lawful authority to start. 1 2 11 8

Blue Card salary compliance should be checked against the current NSO-linked threshold at the filing date rather than against an older internal spreadsheet, because Malta publishes the rule as a formula tied to the average gross annual salary. 7 14

02

Sponsor-backed routes

Single Permit

Maltese employer

The employer owns the standard work-permit filing by submitting the online application, backing the declared role and designation, and keeping the case aligned with Malta's vacancy, fee, and work-start rules.

Submit the application online on behalf of the worker because the worker cannot file this route directly.
Make sure the vacancy-advertisement requirement is satisfied before complete submission when the 2025 labour rules apply.
Keep the declared employer, role, and designation consistent because Malta ties the permit to those details.

1 2 11 12

Key Employee Initiative (KEI)

Maltese employer

KEI remains an employer-backed filing, but the sponsor also has to show that the role is managerial or highly technical and that the salary meets the current KEI floor.

Issue a contract for a managerial or highly technical role that meets the KEI salary threshold.
Upload the qualification or experience evidence used to justify the high-skill position.
Meet the KEI-specific vacancy-advertisement rule before complete submission.

4 5 11

Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI)

Maltese employer

SEI is another sponsor-backed fast-track route, and the employer has to keep the role, salary, and qualification or experience evidence aligned to the published SEI criteria.

Issue a signed contract with gross annual salary of at least EUR 30,000.
Provide the qualification or experience evidence that matches the specialist role.
Follow the same fast-track vacancy-advertisement rule that applies to other high-skill filings covered by the 2025 measures.

6 11 12

EU Blue Card

Maltese employer

The employer backs the Blue Card by issuing the qualifying high-skill contract or job offer and keeping the salary and role aligned with Malta's Blue Card formula and route conditions.

Issue a contract or binding job offer for at least 6 months in highly qualified employment.
Make sure the salary meets the Blue Card formula linked to Malta's average gross annual salary.
Provide the required job-advertisement evidence for Blue Card filings under the August 2025 measures.

7 11 14

Intra-Corporate Transferee permit

Foreign sending company and Maltese host entity

ICT cases depend on the same-group relationship and the transfer arrangement, so the sending and Maltese host entities have to document the assignment and the transferee's role category cleanly.

Document the same-group relationship and the temporary transfer basis.
Show that the transferee is a manager, specialist, or trainee employee with the required prior employment period.
Support the worker's permit validity and renewal timing within the ICT-specific duration rules.

8 9 13

03

Employer requirements

01

On Malta's employer-backed routes, the sponsor has to file or support the case with a real Maltese role or host arrangement; the standard Single Permit cannot be submitted directly by the worker.

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02

From 1 August 2025, employers generally have to show the required local vacancy advertisement before fully submitting first-employment TCN files, with a shorter 2-week rule for KEI, SEI, Blue Card, and other listed exemptions.

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03

Sponsors should not treat submission as permission to onboard, because lawful work starts only after biometrics, a complete file, and the interim receipt with temporary authorisation to work, plus Jobsplus registration where required.

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04

Documents

Signed contract, job description, and salary details

Sponsor-backed routes need the employment terms to be precise enough to match the selected Maltese route and any salary threshold that route publishes.

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Vacancy-advertisement evidence

Employers need proof that the vacancy was advertised for the right duration within the permitted pre-filing window when the August 2025 labour-migration measures apply.

11

Qualification, experience, or transfer-basis evidence

KEI, SEI, Blue Card, and ICT filings need route-specific proof of qualifications, experience, or same-group transfer history instead of a generic CV-only file.

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05

Process

1

Choose the right sponsor-backed route first

Classify the case as Single Permit, KEI, SEI, Blue Card, or ICT before gathering documents so the sponsor applies the correct salary, vacancy, and evidence rules from the start.

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2

Assemble and submit the sponsor file

Upload the contract, route-specific proof, and any vacancy-advertisement evidence through Malta's online workflow, then keep the role and sponsor details stable while the application is under review.

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3

Support the worker through visa, biometrics, and lawful start

If the worker is abroad, support the approval-in-principle and D-visa steps, then wait until biometrics and the interim receipt with temporary authorisation are in place before the employee starts work.

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06

Warnings

Warning

Older sponsor checklists can be stale after August 2025

Malta revised vacancy-advertisement rules, fees, and KEI or SEI thresholds from 1 August 2025, so sponsors should not reuse pre-change internal playbooks without re-checking them.

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Warning

Permit-linked employment cannot start on submission alone

If the sponsor onboards before the biometrics and interim-receipt stage is complete, the filing itself does not fix that compliance problem.

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