Moving to Malta from Australia

The Nomad Residence Permit is the route made for remote work. More than 43,000 euros a year: Residency Malta Agency requires a minimum gross yearly income. To be safe, have more than 43,000 euros a year, which is about A$69,700 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026. People who applied before 1 April 2024 keep an older, lower figure that does not apply to a new applicant. You must also show a guaranteed source of income at that level for at least 5 months (cumulative) from the day you apply, and your last three months of bank statements must show the income credited directly to your own account. The agency states its figure in euros only. None of the three Australian mission pages we read (Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney) mentions the permit or prints a different figure, so the agency's figure is the one that applies. The agency does not publish a separate savings test, and it reviews each file on its merits, so ask Residency Malta whether a family needs more. The figure can change, so confirm it on the agency page when you apply.

It is not open to people who serve Maltese companies or individuals, directly or indirectly, or to people contracted by a foreign company who serve its Maltese subsidiary. The agency sets a minimum gross income; to be safe, have more than 43,000 euros a year. The fees are a non-refundable 300 euros per person, paid by bank transfer from the main applicant's own account, and 100 euros per person for the residence card, paid by card at the agency's office. The agency says processing takes about 30 working days after it confirms your payment. The permit lasts one year from the issue of the card and can be renewed three times, up to four years in all, at the agency's discretion. Renewal needs a bank statement showing payments made in Malta to prove at least 5 months of residence in the previous 12. A refused applicant can apply again 12 months after the rejection letter. The permit does not lead to long-term residence or citizenship, holders are not entitled to free health care, pensions or social benefits, and a holder cannot offer services to people or companies based in Malta. Spouses, minor children and some adult dependent children can be included in the first application. The agency's pages state a minimum age of 18 and no upper age limit, so the age limits in the working holiday route below do not apply here.

The visa itself is free, but the external provider VFS charges service fees, and we did not find that amount. You need a completed application, reasonable funds for the first stay (the page gives no amount), medical and comprehensive insurance covering hospitalisation, liability and repatriation for the whole stay, a biometric Australian passport valid more than 90 days beyond the planned stay, a return ticket or the funds to buy one, no criminal record and an intention to leave at the end. You cannot be accompanied by dependants unless they can enter on their own grounds. The page describes the visa as a way to live in another country while supporting yourself through short-term or casual work and gives no work limits, so it is not built for a remote career, and we cannot tell from it whether remote work for an Australian employer is allowed. We do not collect your age, and anyone over 30 cannot use this route. Malta's other routes are tax statuses and an investment programme, not work permits. The Malta Retirement Programme is for people whose pension, received in Malta, is at least 75% of their chargeable income; the 2020 guidelines state no age minimum. Under them you need an owned property worth about 220,000 to 275,000 euros, the lower figure applying in Gozo or the south (to be safe, own one worth more than 280,000 euros) or a rented one at about 8,800 to 9,600 euros a year (to be safe, pay more than 9,700 euros a year), you pay 15% on foreign income received in Malta with a minimum tax of 7,500 euros plus 500 euros per dependant, and the application fee is 2,500 euros. The Global Residence Programme under the same guidelines has a 15% rate, a minimum tax of 15,000 euros and a 6,000 euro fee. From 1 January 2027 both are replaced by the Individual Tax Programme (L.N. 195 of 2026): five-year terms that renew, an application fee of 8,500 euros, a qualifying property bought for more than 710,000 euros to be safe or rented for more than 15,000 euros a year to be safe, and a minimum tax of 35,000 euros for a global resident or 15,000 euros a year for a retired pensioner. Statuses granted, or applications received, up to 31 December 2026 keep the earlier terms until 31 December 2031. Holders of these statuses can apply to Identita for a temporary residence permit on the basis of economic self-sufficiency (100 euros); we found no official page saying how long that permit lasts or whether it leads to permanent residence. The Malta Permanent Residence Programme does grant permanent residence: capital assets of more than 510,000 euros to be safe (more than 160,000 euros of it financial) or more than 660,000 euros to be safe (more than 76,000 euros of it financial), a non-refundable administrative fee of 60,000 euros, a Government contribution of 37,000 euros, a property bought for more than 380,000 euros to be safe or rented for more than 15,000 euros a year to be safe for at least five years, a 2,000 euro donation to a local NGO, a fee of 7,500 euros for each adult dependant other than a spouse, and a 500 euro residence card fee per person for five years. It runs only through a licensed agent. These programmes need an adviser.

Spouses add a marriage certificate and children their birth certificates. In Australia the Australian Federal Police issues a National Police Check for use overseas at A$57 (A$114 with fingerprints, which take at least 15 working days), and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issues an apostille on Australian public documents for A$105. We did not find a Residency Malta page saying whether it accepts that check or wants an apostille, and the Australian mission pages do not mention the permit's documents, so that is unknown until you ask Residency Malta. After the Letter of Approval in Principle you have 30 working days to submit proof of accommodation and a health insurance policy: a full year pre-paid, covering the European Union (including Malta) and the UK, with a minimum cover of 100,000 euros per person, and travel insurance is not accepted. The accommodation must be a lease of at least 12 months or a purchase in a residential property, not a hostel, boat or caravan, and you submit the Housing Authority registration approval. Australian citizens can visit Malta without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area, and time in other Schengen states counts. The permit FAQ lists the nationalities that need an entry visa, and Australia is not among them, so you apply, wait for approval, and then travel to Malta to give biometrics. Applying does not extend a visa-free stay, so the agency recommends applying 2 to 3 months before your allowed stay ends. After the Letter of Final Approval you tell the agency you have arrived and book biometrics; the card takes 3 to 4 weeks. The Malta High Commission in Canberra and the consulates general in Sydney and Melbourne process Schengen short-stay visas, which an Australian does not need for a visit, and Identita processes national long-stay visas, so the missions are not where the permit is applied for; Sydney's page says it can assist in residency schemes without giving detail, and appointments are required. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and registers fingerprints and a facial image at the border at no cost to Australians. ETIAS is scheduled for the last quarter of 2026 but is not yet in operation and the exact start date is not announced; it will cost 20 euros, and people under 18 or over 70 do not pay it. The Atlas Visa Map and the Identita Central Visa Unit page also treat Australian passports as visa free for short stays. Malta's national visa for stays over 90 days is a separate route we did not research for this passport.

If you give official proof that you paid at least 10% tax on the same income abroad, the Maltese tax is treated as settled. Other income stays under the ordinary Income Tax Act. Residency Malta says holding the permit does not by itself entitle you to this treatment and you must meet the rules' conditions; second and third renewals need a tax compliance declaration. How this fits with the Australia-Malta agreement and your Australian tax is for an adviser.

The agreement says pay for employment is taxable only in the country where you are resident unless the work is done in the other country, in which case that country may tax it, with a 183-day exemption that also needs the employer to be a non-resident of that country and the pay not to be deducted there. Independent work is taxable only in your country of residence, but the other country may tax the part attributable to work done there if you have a fixed base there, stay more than 183 days, or earn more than A$12,500 from its residents. Each country gives a credit for the other's tax within the limits of its own law, and tax on dividends and interest at source is capped at 15% and on royalties at 10%. How these rules apply to a person who lives in Malta and works for an Australian employer or Australian clients is not set out in the pages we read, so get a dated opinion before you rely on either country's view. If you do stop being an Australian resident, assets other than taxable Australian property, such as listed shares, are treated as sold at market value on the day you stop, unless you choose to disregard those gains until a later sale.

We found no official page saying how long registration takes or what it costs, so that is unknown. Track income and any tax paid in euros and Australian dollars so you can show a foreign tax payment and fill in Australian returns if you stay resident.

A foreign policy is accepted if it meets those terms. Australia has a reciprocal health care agreement with Malta, but Smartraveller describes it as covering stays up to 6 months, through Medicare arrangements in public facilities, and says it does not replace insurance. A permit holder lives in Malta for a year or more, so do not count on it; we found no official statement of how it applies to a permit holder, so that is unknown. We found no dated price for a policy that qualifies, so that cost is unknown.

Sydney's consulate page says it helps the Maltese community with bank enquiries, but it gives no detail for the permit. Track income in euros and Australian dollars, because you may have to report in both countries while you are resident in each.