Can I travel to Malta for study and/or work?

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• Part-time work permits are NOT being issued to non-European student visa applicants at this time. (e.g. English language students)
• YES part-time work permits are being issued to non-European applicants with student residency.
• We will be on standby to announce when these provisions change.

If you want to know all the details, we invite you to read on: The major change brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic reshuffled everyone's plans. Many people who are in Malta today were about to start their travels, in the middle of their studies, or about to return home, and due to the closure of airports decided to stay. Many others took advantage of repatriation flights coordinated by the Maltese government and returned home. However, the big question mark remained for all those who were about to travel and had to postpone or change their plans due to the pandemic. Clearly this is a global situation and has affected many, many people around the world. In addition, governments have been changing or updating their migration policies, travel possibilities and other restrictions that are important to consider when planning a trip.

At Boom Malta we have seen with concern how a lot of false or incorrect information has been disseminated, often with good intentions, but which simply does not correspond to reality and could ruin many people's plans. That is why it is important to stay informed about the situation and the Boom Malta team is at your service. Two of our founding partners living in Malta, Joaquín and Martín, are political scientists, both have a Master's degree in international relations and have lived in several countries (Joaquín in 5 and Martín in 8), so they have an important knowledge of migration policies, laws and regulations in force. They are focused on managing relations with the Maltese authorities to bring up-to-date and clear information on the country's migration policy. In addition, Boom Malta has been concerned about offering a quality service to its clients, which is why it is licensed to operate by the Maltese Tourism Authority (MTA), thus certifying that it is a reliable and serious agency, which has the responsibility to work in accordance with the current regulations. That is why we have prepared this post, in which we will review all the current immigration policy, as it is, so that you have all the information at hand and remember that, when planning your trip with Boom Malta, you will receive permanent advice from a team of professionals at your service, so that you do not have any inconvenience and you can be at ease with your plans to come to Malta. So here are the answers to your questions: can I travel to Malta for study and/or work?

Can I travel to Malta?

Travel within the European Union is currently permitted, as well as from a list of countries, considered "safe" by Malta, according to their health profile and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the American continent only Uruguay and Canada belong to this list of safe countries. Within this list of safe countries, some have been placed on an amber list, which means that you must have a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before your trip. Currently the following countries/cities are on this amber list: Tunisia, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain (only Barcelona, Girona and Madrid) and France (only Paris and Marseille). If you do not have a test, you can be tested on arrival in Malta and you will have to wait at the airport for the result. If you test positive, you must remain in quarantine until you have overcome the disease.

We do not recommend that you take the test in Malta, mainly because of a responsibility criterion towards the other passengers on your flight. If you test positive, other passengers may also be quarantined, and you could infect a vulnerable person. It is therefore recommended that you take precautions and get tested before you travel. On the other hand, all residents of countries that do not belong to the safe countries, i.e. almost all Latin American countries except Uruguay, have to spend 14 days in a safe country in order to enter Malta. There are flights between Latin American countries and Europe, and for the time being those with a European nationality can travel, as well as residents of a European Union country, or students with a student visa or study permit issued by the corresponding institutions. For more details on the updated list of safe corridor countries and the amber list, please see here our Facebook post about it. And can I travel to Malta for study and/or work?

Study visas and study residences

Currently Identity Malta, the Maltese migration agency, is accepting applications for visas and study residency in Malta. As Malta does not have embassies in any Latin American country, the normal procedure is to travel to the island as a tourist and then apply directly here, once the course has started. To see all the visa application requirements you can read our post about it here or write us by WhatsApp to +35699745724 Once you have all the documentation ready, which we will review together if you come to study with us, your school will apply for you and give you the visa within approximately 3 weeks.

It is important to know that for Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic it is not possible to travel without a visa to the Schengen area, so you must first apply for your visa at the relevant embassy in your country - Malta works with correspondent embassies in countries where it has no diplomatic representation and whose nationals need a visa to travel to the island. By obtaining a study visa in your country of residence, you will be able to enter the Schengen territory without any problem, as students have no travel restrictions due to COVID.

Work Permits / Visas

Many people also ask us about the employment situation, as it is very common for students to make a part-time while following their study programme on the island, and here there are important temporal changes to highlight. Previously, students with study periods longer than three months could apply for a part-time work permit from JobsPlus, the employment agency in Malta. However, in the last few days we have seen that a couple of students with 6-month study visas who applied through their employers, with all documentation in order, were refused such permits. Upon learning of this situation, the Boom Malta legal team contacted the JobsPlus migration manager directly to clarify the issue. The response was clear: At the moment only students with a residence permit (and not a study visa) can apply for a part-time work permit. We also asked whether this is a temporary measure, due to COVID-19, or a permanent one, and the answer we received is that they have not received any guidance on this issue for the moment. This means that for now we do not know when there will be changes and applications from non-European students with a visa of less than one year for part-time work permits will be accepted again. Study residence is granted to persons coming to study a programme of more than one year in Malta, i.e. higher education courses (bachelors or masters), as you can only apply for a visa to study English for a maximum of 12 months.

To apply for part-time employment leave, which allows the student to work part-time, i.e. 20 hours per week, it is necessary that the residence card has already been issued by Identity Malta (Immigration) and then to find an employer in order to apply for JobsPlus. You can apply for this leave from the third month after arriving on the island, which tends to coincide with the time you have to wait to receive your residence card. Once the employer applies for Jobs Plus, the part-time licence takes about 4 weeks to be issued. The duration of the licence is conditional on the duration of the student's permit to stay on the island and can be renewed free of charge for up to one year, provided that the student's permit to stay is renewed for that period. The cost of the procedure is 150 euros for the application and 80 euros for the issue. You can find the directives here (see page 15). During the onset of the pandemic, Identity Malta restricted the issuance of new Single Work Permits, with the exception of highly skilled workers, applying through the Key Employment Initiative (KEI) (see info here).

These are some of the requirements to apply as a highly qualified worker:

• Gross annual salary over €30,000

• Certified copies of relevant qualifications guaranteeing the required work experience

• Statement from the employer that the applicant has the credentials to perform the tasks assigned to him/her.

Identity Malta has been accepting employer changes and work permit renewals. For changes of employer or renewal of residence permits on the grounds of employment, workers should make the necessary arrangements with their employers to submit their applications through Identity Malta's online platform. Any queries or guidance on how to use the new online application platform can be sent to [email protected] From 3 August, Identity Malta once again allowed non-European nationals (Third Country Nationals or TCNs) to apply for Single Work Permits, However, we have noticed that many of the applications are being reviewed more closely and some of them are being rejected, particularly for those applying for low-skilled jobs. Nevertheless, all applications are being accepted and the ones that have the best chance of being processed positively are for those workers applying for skilled jobs. Remember that through our advisory service you will be able to obtain all the personalised support you need to carry out your procedures so that you do not have any inconvenience.

Travel carefree with Boom Malta

So you know, when faced with the question Can I travel to Malta for study and/or work, the answer is YES! and you should plan it with attention to detail so that you don't have any bad surprises along the way. If you want to start planning your trip to Malta and check all the options we have for you, do not hesitate to contact us and we will review together all the aspects of your trip: permits, visas, study, work and much more!