Malta Single Permit — Employer Compliance Guide 2026

2. Company Size Rules Checker

Almost every new rule has a different threshold for Micro (1–9), Small (10–49), Medium (50–249) and Large (250+) employers. Use the tool below to see your numbers in one place.

3. Termination Rate Thresholds (1 Aug 2025)

Jobsplus now calculates an employer's termination rate whenever a new Single Permit application is filed. Above the threshold, the application is rejected. The thresholds drop over time:

How the rate is calculated

Jobsplus computes the termination rate as the proportion of employees whose engagement was terminated in the most recent 12-month window (not headcount changes from new hires). Voluntary resignations, end of fixed-term contracts and completion of a project all count, regardless of who initiated the separation. KEI applications, sports professionals, students and healthcare or care-of-elderly roles are exempt.

4. Workforce Application Limits

Independent of termination rate, every employer is also capped on how many new Single Permit applications they can submit per 12-month rolling window. The cap is a percentage of the headcount 12 months before the application date — not today's headcount.

The same exemption applies as for the termination rate threshold: KEI, sports, students and healthcare / elderly-care roles are not counted toward the limit.

5. The First Employment Rule (Jan 2026)

Effective January 2026, before submitting any new Single Permit application an employer must already have a minimum number of Maltese, EU/EEA, Swiss or long-term-resident employees on the payroll. The minimum is set by company size:

Long-term residents — third-country nationals holding the EU long-term residence permit issued by Malta or another Member State — count toward this minimum. So do beneficiaries of international protection where Maltese law gives them equal treatment in employment.

6. Disability Employment Quota (2%)

The Persons with Disability (Employment) Act requires every employer with 20 or more employees to ensure that at least 2% of their workforce consists of persons with disabilities, or to pay an annual contribution to the Lino Spiteri Foundation training fund. The contribution is tied to the number of disabled workers the employer is short.

Since August 2025 the Single Permit application process is directly linked to this quota: if you are non-compliant — either because you have not hired the required number of persons with disabilities, or because your annual contribution is unpaid — Identità suspends all your pending applications except renewals. The suspension is lifted only when the non-compliance is resolved.

7. Job Advertising and the Redundancy Block

For new Single Permit applications and applications for workers still abroad, the employer must run a vacancy advert in the right places, for the right duration, within the right window. The exact rules depend on the application type.

The redundancy block

If you made an employee redundant in the previous 12 months for the same role you are now trying to fill with a foreign national, the application is automatically rejected. There are no exceptions, no appeals, and no “different title” workarounds — Jobsplus checks the substance of the role, not the label.

8. Jobsplus Form Deadlines (4-Day Rule)

Effective 1 August 2025, every engagement and termination of an employee — Maltese or foreign — must be reported to Jobsplus within 4 working days of the start or end date. Miss the deadline and Identità immediately suspends all your pending Single Permit applications, with renewals as the only exception.

Repeat lateness can escalate to a full disqualification: Identità may refuse to accept any new application from your company until the matter is resolved through Jobsplus.

9. Wages, Cash Bans and Worker Protection

Two important wage rules took effect on 1 August 2025:

• No cash salaries. Foreign workers whose employment is registered on or after 1 August 2025 must be paid via a licensed financial institution. Cash payments are prohibited. The aim is to make wage theft and off-the-books employment harder to hide.
• No financial compensation from employees. Employers cannot ask foreign workers for any payment in return for being hired, recruited, retained or terminated. Recoupment of recruitment costs from the employee is also prohibited. This addresses reported exploitation in some sectors where workers were effectively paying for their own jobs.

Both rules are policed at application stage: if the employment contract or evidence presented to Identità breaches either rule, the application is rejected.

10. Tourist-Visa Loophole and Fixed Renewals

Effective 1 October 2025, foreign nationals already in Malta on a visa that does not permit employment — most commonly a tourist visa — cannot apply for a Single Permit from inside Malta. The application must be filed from abroad. Any application submitted in breach of this rule is rejected.

The rule closes a widely-used grey area where workers arrived as tourists and converted their stay locally. If your candidate is already in Malta on a tourist visa, the cleanest path is to have them leave Schengen and start the application from their country of residence, building in the new Pre-Departure Course on the Skills Pass portal (€250, online, around 6 weeks).

Fixed renewal periods (1 Oct 2025)

Identità's discretion to grant non-standard renewal periods has been removed. The fixed durations are now:

• Standard renewals — up to 2 years.
• KEI, SEI and EU Blue Card renewals — up to 3 years.
• Low-skilled workers enrolled in Identità training programmes — extended to 2 years.

The 60-day interim permit

Nationals of visa-waiver countries who apply for a Single Permit within 60 days of entering the Schengen Area receive an interim permit covering them while the application is processed. From day 61 onwards no interim permit is issued and the worker must wait outside Schengen.

11. Newly Registered Businesses (Jan 2026)

Until December 2025 a brand-new company could apply for Single Permits without going through the standard Labour Market Needs Test, on the assumption that it had no existing workforce to test against. From January 2026 that exemption ends.

In addition, a new business without any Maltese, EU national or long-term resident among its owners can no longer apply for foreign workers at all. The only exception is foreign direct investment cases backed by Malta Enterprise.

If you are setting up a Malta company in 2026 with the intention of hiring abroad, build at least one Maltese or EU shareholder into the structure before incorporation — otherwise you will not be eligible to file a Single Permit application against the company.

12. Register of Exemplary Employers

From October 2026 onwards, Identità is building a fast-track register of employers who have demonstrated full compliance with employment law and have invested in official training schemes. Listed employers receive:

• Streamlined labour market testing.
• Renewal periods of 2 to 4 years for their staff, instead of the standard 1–2 year cycles.
• Priority handling of applications by the Expatriates Unit.

The exact eligibility criteria, application process and published register are still being finalised by Identità as part of the ongoing reform. For most employers the practical action today is the same: keep your termination rate, disability quota and Jobsplus filings clean, and document any official training programmes you participate in.

13. Future Changes (Oct 2026 onwards)

Three structural changes are still in the pipeline. They are announced in the Labour Migration Policy but not yet bound to a specific legal notice:

• Occupation-specific salary study. A comprehensive market study to set sector-specific salary thresholds. Once published, employers will be expected to pay foreign workers in line with the study, role by role.
• List of high-risk countries. A list of third countries flagged on security, public-policy or health grounds. Low-skilled job applications from nationals of these countries will be automatically rejected. Other categories will be reviewed individually.
• Quotas and hiring moratoria by occupation. Jobsplus will continuously analyse labour market shortages and surpluses and may impose temporary or permanent quotas — or hiring bans — on specific occupations. Announcements will be made at the time of imposition.

14. Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Malta Single Permit termination rate thresholds in 2025–2026?

Effective 1 August 2025, Jobsplus rejects Single Permit applications above 50% (Small, 10–49 employees), 45% (Medium, 50–249) and 40% (Large, 250+). Initial thresholds are 15 percentage points higher and tighten to the targets by 1 July 2026. Companies with under 10 employees are exempt, as are KEI applications, sports professionals, students and healthcare or care-of-elderly roles.

What is the First Employment Rule for Malta employers?

From January 2026 employers must already employ a minimum number of Maltese, EU/EEA, Swiss or long-term-resident workers before applying for any new foreign hire: 2 (Micro, 1–9), 4 (Small, 10–49), 20 (Medium, 50–249) and 40 (Large, 250+). Employers with over 80% foreign workforce face enhanced labour market needs testing.

How are workforce application limits calculated in Malta?

The maximum number of new Single Permit applications per 12-month rolling window is calculated against the employer's headcount 12 months before the application date. Micro (1–9) can apply for up to 200% of that historical headcount, Small for 100%, Medium for 50% and Large for 25%. KEI, sports, students and healthcare are exempt.

What is the Malta 4-day Jobsplus form rule?

Engagement and termination forms must be filed with Jobsplus within 4 working days of an employee starting or ending. Missing the deadline suspends all your pending Single Permit applications (except renewals). Repeat offenders may be disqualified from filing new applications altogether.

Does the Malta disability employment quota affect Single Permit applications?

Yes. The Persons with Disability (Employment) Act requires employers with 20 or more staff to have at least 2% of their workforce composed of persons with disabilities, or pay an annual contribution. Non-compliance suspends all pending Single Permit applications, with the exception of renewals.

What is the Malta Register of Exemplary Employers?

From October 2026 onwards, Identità is building a fast-track register for employers that fully comply with employment law and invest in official training schemes. Listed employers receive streamlined labour market testing and longer renewal periods of 2 to 4 years for their staff. The criteria and application process are still being finalised as part of the wider Malta Labour Migration Policy reform.

Can a Malta employer hire a foreign worker for a role they recently made redundant?

No. From 1 August 2025 the redundancy block rule applies: if you made an employee redundant in the previous 12 months for the same role you are now trying to fill with a foreign national, the Single Permit application is automatically rejected. There are no exceptions.

Do Malta employers still need to advertise jobs before applying for a Single Permit?

Yes. Standard Single Permit applications need a vacancy advertised on both the Jobsplus portal and EURES for a minimum of 3 weeks within the 2 months before submission. KEI, SEI, EU Blue Card and Skilled Occupation List applications need only one local-media advert running for at least 2 weeks. Change-of-employer applications are exempt from advertising.