Country research
Malta
Prices overall are about 0.66 of United States prices at market exchange rates (2025), and fixed broadband is 44.5 subscriptions per 100 people (2024). Residency Malta's Nomad Residence Permit is open to remote workers earning at least EUR 42,000 gross a year (one year, renewable up to four in total). For people living on a pension, the Malta Retirement Programme (and from 2027 the Individual Tax Programme) is a renewable tax status with no permanent residence step, while the Malta Permanent Residence Programme grants permanent residence for EUR 97,000 in non-refundable payments plus a property purchase or rent. English is an official language under the Constitution of Malta. Malta is not covered by the Global Peace Index or Expat Insider 2026, so those factors are unknown. [L1] [C1] [K2] [K1] [R1] [R2] [R3] [S1] [F1] [Q1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
45 of 100Mixed
Price level 0.663 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Malta. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
42 of 100Mixed
Luqa (Malta's only climatological station, 1991-2020): 6 comfortable months a year (April, May, June, September, October and November). March (17.4 C) and December (17.1 C) are under the 18 C line, and July and August (31.7 and 32.0 C) are over 30 C. Rain is under 150 mm in every month.
Source: The State of the Climate 2022, Table 1.1: monthly average climate variables for Malta, 1991-2020. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
Unknown
Not covered by the Global Peace Index 2026
Healthcare
73 of 100Strong
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
Unknown
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
85 of 100Strong
Strong: a residence route for remote workers exists (the Nomad Residence Permit, EUR 42,000 gross a year, 1 year, renewable to 4 in total) and fixed broadband is 44.5 per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Nomad Residence Permit: eligibility and FAQs; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Malta. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
50 of 100Mixed
Mixed. The Malta Retirement Programme (a special tax status for people on a pension, no age minimum, no deposit) is renewable only: its residence permit is temporary and no permanent residence step is stated. From 1 January 2027 it becomes the Individual Tax Programme (5-year terms, renewable, minimum tax EUR 15,000 a year). The Malta Permanent Residence Programme does grant permanent residence, but costs EUR 97,000 in non-refundable payments plus a property of at least EUR 375,000 or rent of at least EUR 14,000 a year, over the US$100,000 line.
Source: Malta Retirement Programme Guidelines, version 4.0 (2020); Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026 (L.N. 195 of 2026); Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP); Non-Employment Permits: Economic Self-Sufficient. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
100 of 100Strong
44.51 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Malta. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
100 of 100Strong
English is an official language of Malta under Article 5 of the Constitution of Malta. EF EPI doesn't cover Malta, so the official-language rule applies.
Source: Constitution of Malta, Article 5 (language). Checked 16 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the Nomad Residence Permit is open to US passport holders who work remotely for an employer or clients outside Malta, with no Maltese job offer. It lasts 1 year and can be renewed three times, up to 4 years in all (renewal needs at least 5 months living in Malta in the previous 12). The only age rule is that applicants are adults (18 or over), and there is no deposit or investment. The income test is a gross income of more than €42,000 a year (about US$47,100 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026), guaranteed for at least 5 months. The fee is €300 per person plus €100 for the residence card. The permit does not cover work for Maltese companies or clients, and it needs a rental or purchase agreement and health insurance.
Source: Nomad Residence Permit: eligibility and FAQs; Nomad Residence Permit: FAQs. Checked 16 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
Cities
Cities in Malta.
Each city page shows which figures are its own and which are the country's.
Topics
The detail on Malta.
Guides
Malta, by passport.
Each guide is written for citizens of one country.
Questions about Malta.
How do prices in Malta compare with the United States?
Prices overall in Malta are about 0.66 of United States prices at market exchange rates (World Bank price level index, 2025). That is an economy-wide average, not a budget for one household, and it does not show what rent, food or any single item costs.
Can I visit Malta without a visa, and for how long?
Identità lists Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States as exempt from a short-stay visa. Visa-exempt visitors may stay the first 90 days in every 180, counted across all Schengen countries. Staying longer than 90 days needs a Malta D-visa or a permit, even for visa-exempt nationals.
How much income do I need for Malta’s Nomad Residence Permit?
The Residency Malta Agency asks for a minimum gross yearly income, guaranteed for at least 5 months from the day you apply, from an employer or clients abroad. To be safe, show more than €43,000. The permit lasts a year and can be renewed three times, for at most four years in all.
Can I retire to Malta on a pension?
There is no single retirement visa. The Malta Retirement Programme is a tax status (pension at least 75% of income, plus a qualifying home); Identità can grant its holders a temporary permit. The Permanent Residence Programme grants permanent residence for €97,000 plus property. Tax rules change on 1 January 2027.
Will I pay tax in Malta on income from abroad?
The Income Tax Act taxes foreign income of someone not ordinarily resident or not domiciled in Malta only on the amount received in Malta, and charges no tax on their foreign capital gains. A private firm says Malta has few set rules on residence and domicile. US citizens still file US returns. Ask an adviser.
What is the weather like in Malta?
At Luqa, Malta’s only climatological station, average highs run from 15.7 °C in January and February to 32.0 °C in August (1991–2020). Fernshore counts 6 comfortable months a year (highs of 18 to 30 °C): April to June and September to November. Rain is under 150 mm in every month.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [L1] Constitution of Malta, Article 5 (language), Government of Malta, Laws of Malta (legislation.mt). Checked 16 October 2026. Article 5(2): the Maltese and the English languages, and any other language Parliament prescribes by a two-thirds law, 'shall be the official languages of Malta'. Read from the consolidated text on legislation.mt on 16 October 2026.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Malta, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 66.34 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026; 62.83 in 2024.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Malta, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 44.51 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (no 2025 figure yet).
- [K1] Nomad Residence Permit: eligibility and FAQs, Residency Malta Agency (nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt). Checked 15 October 2026. Eligibility page (updated 23 September 2026) and FAQs (version 14.1, updated 17 April 2026), read on 15 October 2026. Open to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals aged 18 or over who work remotely for an employer registered abroad, for a foreign company they own a share of, or as freelancers for clients abroad; not for people serving Maltese companies or clients. Minimum gross income EUR 42,000 a year (EUR 32,400 for applications before 1 April 2024), guaranteed for at least 5 months from the day of application. Fee EUR 300 per person plus EUR 100 for the residence card; about 30 working days. The permit lasts 1 year and may be renewed three times, for a stay of at most 4 years, at the Agency's discretion; renewal needs at least 5 months' residence in Malta in the previous 12. Nationals of some countries (including Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela) are not eligible. The permit does not lead to permanent residence in the Agency's text.
- [R1] Malta Retirement Programme Guidelines, version 4.0 (2020), Commissioner for Revenue (now Commissioner for Tax and Customs), Malta. Checked 15 October 2026. cfr.gov.mt refused automated access (HTTP 403), so the guidelines (16 pages) were read from an Internet Archive copy (the nearest capture to 2025; the Archive's catalogue lists one of 6 August 2024). Under LN 317 of 2012: a special tax status for people whose pension, received in Malta, is at least 75% of chargeable income; no age minimum; property owned (EUR 275,000, or EUR 220,000 in Gozo or the south) or rented (EUR 9,600 a year, EUR 8,750 in Gozo or the south) as principal residence; 15% tax on foreign income received in Malta, minimum tax EUR 7,500 plus EUR 500 per dependant; administrative fee EUR 2,500; no right to employment in Malta beyond a non-executive board post. It is a tax status, not a permanent residence right.
- [R2] Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026 (L.N. 195 of 2026), Government of Malta, Legislation Malta (legislation.mt). Checked 15 October 2026. The official text (PDF) read on 15 October 2026. In force 1 January 2027; special tax status in four categories including 'retired pensioner status'; status lasts 5 years and may be renewed for further 5-year periods (renewal fee EUR 2,500); application fee EUR 8,500; 15% on foreign income received in Malta; minimum tax EUR 15,000 a year for retired pensioners (EUR 35,000 for global and EU, EEA, Swiss residents); a qualifying property is one bought for at least EUR 700,000 or rented for at least EUR 14,000 a year; a retired pensioner's pension must be at least 75% of chargeable income, received in Malta. Status granted, or applications received, up to 31 December 2026 continue until 31 December 2031.
- [R3] Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP), Residency Malta Agency (residencymalta.gov.mt). Checked 15 October 2026. Page modified 12 August 2026, read on 15 October 2026. For non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals; grants permanent residence. Capital assets of at least EUR 500,000 (of which EUR 150,000 financial) or EUR 650,000 (of which EUR 75,000 financial); non-refundable administrative fee EUR 60,000 and Government contribution EUR 37,000 (EUR 97,000 together); a property bought for at least EUR 375,000 or rented for at least EUR 14,000 a year, kept at least five years; a EUR 2,000 donation to a local NGO; health insurance; applications only through a licensed agent.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Malta does not appear in the report's ranking of 163 countries (the full ranking table, ranks 1 to 163, searched in the report PDF on 15 October 2026), so it has no rank.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Malta is not among the 123 countries and regions in the 2025 edition: it is absent from the index's country list, and ef.com/wwen/epi/regions/europe/malta/ returns 404 (read on 15 October 2026). English is not scored; no figure is estimated.
- [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Malta is not among the 31 destinations ranked in the 2026 edition (the full Ease of Settling In ranking, 1 Mexico to 31 Norway, read on 15 October 2026; the Quality of Life index covers the same 31 destinations).
- [G1] Geography of Malta, Wikipedia (secondary). Checked 15 October 2026. 'Malta is an archipelago of coralline limestone' in the Mediterranean Sea, 81 km south of Sicily; Malta, Gozo and Comino are inhabited.
- [N0] Census of Population and Housing 2021 and population estimates, localities of Malta, National Statistics Office, Malta, as reproduced by citypopulation.de (secondary). Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. Census of 21 November 2021: 519,562 usual residents in 68 localities (local councils); the largest locality is St. Paul's Bay (32,042), then Birkirkara (25,807), Mosta (23,482) and Sliema (19,655); 65 of the 68 have under 20,000. The NSO's own census report refused automated access (HTTP 403), so the figures come from this secondary site, which names the NSO as its source.
- [W1] The State of the Climate 2022, Table 1.1: monthly average climate variables for Malta, 1991-2020, National Statistics Office, Malta (Galdies C, 2022), data from the Malta International Airport Meteorological Office (Luqa). Checked 15 October 2026. The NSO publication (nso.gov.mt, which refuses automated access, HTTP 403) was read from the University of Malta repository copy (PDF page 17, read on 15 October 2026). Table 1.1, 'Source: Malta International Airport Meteorological Office', 30-year period 1991-2020, Malta's only climatological station (Luqa). Average maximum temperature (C): Jan 15.7, Feb 15.7, Mar 17.4, Apr 20.1, May 24.3, Jun 28.8, Jul 31.7, Aug 32.0, Sep 28.6, Oct 25.0, Nov 20.8, Dec 17.1. Average temperature runs 12.6 (February) to 27.5 (August). Rainfall (mm): 79.4, 68.9, 39.7, 18.7, 11.0, 7.3, 0.2, 11.2, 59.2, 77.6, 89.1, 84.8. The report says the 1991-2020 normal was not yet officiated by the WMO when it was written, and keeps 1961-1990 as its reference.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Malta: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory data service (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED, spatial code MLT) on 15 October 2026; 82 also in 2021 and 2022, 81 in 2020.
- [R4] Non-Employment Permits: Economic Self-Sufficient, Identità (Expatriates Unit, Government of Malta). Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. Beneficiaries of the Global Residence Programme, the Malta Permanent Residence Programme and the Malta Retirement Programme can apply for a temporary residence permit on the basis of economic self-sufficiency (fee EUR 100 for new and renewal applications). The page describes a temporary permit and states no permanent residence step.
- [K3] Nomad Residence Permit: FAQs, Residency Malta Agency (nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt). Checked 16 October 2026. FAQs version 14.1 (last updated 17 April 2026), read on 16 October 2026. Eligible: 18 or over, able to work remotely, and a non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss national; applicants from Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela, and from Russia and Belarus, are currently not eligible (the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are not on the list). Employed by an employer registered abroad, a partner or shareholder of a company registered abroad, or a freelancer with contracts with clients established abroad; anyone providing services to Malta-based companies or individuals is ineligible. Minimum gross yearly income EUR 42,000, guaranteed for at least 5 months from the day of application. Application fee EUR 300 per person and EUR 100 for the residence card. The permit is valid for 1 year and may be renewed three times, for a maximum of 4 years, at the Agency's discretion. The FAQs list no deposit or investment, only the fees above.