Registration Categories

Non-European Union/European Economic Area Countries/EFTA (non-EU/EEA/EFTA) - Working in Malta

Any non-EU/EEA/EFTA (Switzerland) who already have a Maltese Work Permit and is working in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector will be required to present a Skills Pass when renewing their work permit as from January 2025. This process includes:

Phase

• Online English Proficiency Test
• Online Basic Customer Care Course and Assessment
• Online Basic Maltese Tourism Product Course and Assessment
• Online Basic Essential English Course and Assessment
• Online Skills Assessment for one of the following:
• Food Service Staff
• Bar Service Staff
• Kitchen Staff
• Front Office Staff
• Housekeeping Staff
• Other: Any person applying for a job which is not included in the above job families will be subject to undergo the Skills Pass procedure but will be exempt from the online skills assessment.

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Phase

Phase 2 consists of an Online Skills Verification Interview as follows:

• Visa Exempt Non-EU/EEA/EFTA (Switzerland) – The interview will be conducted at ITS Campus in Malta.
• Other Non-EU/EEA/EFTA (Switzerland) – Interview will be conducted at one of the various VFS Centres around the world.
• Other Occupations: Those who have selected 'Other' as they do not fall within any job family will still have to undergo the skills verification interview; however, it will include more general questions.

Non-EU/EEA/EFTA (Switzerland) candidates working in Malta for more than a year (applying for their second work permit renewal onwards) that successfully complete Phase 1 shall obtain a Permanent Pass without proceeding to Phase 2.

Non-EU/EEA/EFTA (Switzerland) candidates living in Malta for less than a year (applying for the first renewal of residency permit) need to successfully complete both Phase 1 Assessments and Phase 2 Skills Interview to obtain a Permanent Pass.

For Phase 1, the applicant has the right to do a 1st resit free of charge and a 2nd resit against payment for each of the online assessments. In the event that an applicant fails once again, they can redo the assessment following three months.

For Phase 2, each applicant has the opportunity to purchase a resit of the Skill Verification Interview at €100.

Category	Start Date	Fee
Non-EU/EEA/EFTA working in Malta for more than a year (applying for second work permit renewal onwards)	Enforced as of January 2025	€375
Non-EU/EEA/EFTA living in Malta for less than a year (applying for the first work permit renewal)	Enforced as of January 2025	€455

MTA Licensed Establishment

An MTA licensed establishment should register on the Skills Pass portal for one of the following reasons:

• To pay for your employees’ Skills Pass
• To register sector-skilled applicants (This is not a fast-track option)

1. To Pay for Your Employees

As soon as an entity is registered and approved, given that all the details match the MTA license, entities can provide the GUID code available on the entities’ dashboard. Upon registration and payment, candidates can opt to choose the option ‘Pay by Business’ and enter the provided GUID code. This will automatically add them to your list of candidates to pay for, which you can approve, add to a proforma, and pay via card payment or bank transfer.

2. Registering Sector-Skilled Applicants (This is not a fast-track option)

An MTA licensed establishment will be able to register sector-skilled applicants. Such applicants may include knowledgeable sommeliers, mixologists, specialised chefs, gueridon service trained personnel, experienced concierges, maître d’hôtel and seasoned butlers.

The applicants must meet or exceed the following requirements:

• At least €20,000 in salary per annum.
• Minimum 3 years working in the same role they will be working in Malta.

The MTA licensed establishment will need to register on the online portal. During registration, the establishment is to upload the receipt showing their paid MTA license for that current year. Skills Pass will then conduct the necessary due diligence process. Once the establishment is approved by Skills Pass, the entity can then register the sector-skilled applicant as a ‘candidate’ on the online portal given that the prospective ‘candidate’ satisfies the above criteria.

Upon registration, the establishment is to upload the following documents:

• A letter of commitment declaring that the establishment will be paying the ‘candidate’ at least €20,000 in salary per annum signed by both parties (the candidate and the employer) specifically mentioning the occupation the applicant will be doing. If the letter of commitment is discovered to be unsupported, access to the online portal as an MTA licensed establishment will be revoked.
• CV of the candidate showing that he has been working in the role that they will be taking in Malta for at least 3 years.

The selected sector-skilled applicant shall undergo Phase 1 including:

• Online English Proficiency Test
• Online Basic Maltese Tourism Product Course and Assessment

Following the mandatory online assessments, the candidate shall sit for a Skills Verification Interview by an assessor selected by Skills Pass according to their specific skills.

The applicant has the right to do a 1st resit free and 2nd resit against payment for the online assessments. If the candidate fails the Skills Verification Interview, they will have the right to appeal the decision via the same portal against a charge of €100. An independent verifier will then go through the recorded interview and their opinion is considered as final. If the applicant fails, the Skills Verification Interview they will not be allowed to proceed through this process but will be diverted towards the basic Skills Pass process against a balance payment.

If 75% of the nominated sector candidates by a particular establishment fail, access to the online portal as an MTA licensed establishment may be revoked.

Category	Start Date	Fee
Non-EU/EEA/EFTA Sector Skilled Workers not living in Malta	Available as of April 2024	€280
Non-EU/EEA/EFTA Sector Skilled Workers living in Malta	Available as of April 2024 and enforced as of January 2025	€280

EU Internships

Any licensed education institutions that offer Tourism and Hospitality programmes within the EU can register their interest and intent to send their students to perform internships in Malta on the online portal. Once the entity is approved by Skills Pass following the necessary due diligence procedures, the entity can then register their students coming to Malta for an internship as ‘candidates’ on the online portal. To be approved, the intern is to be enrolled in a full-time programme of study which includes an internship as part of the curriculum.

If an EU-licensed educational institution utilises agencies for internship logistics, they must appoint a member of these agencies as one of their administrators on the portal.

A student registering for such Skills Pass for an internship would need to email a copy of their programme of study which proves that the internship is part of the curriculum of the course that they are following. This is to be emailed to [email protected] upon registration. Such interns will be issued with a Tourism & Hospitality Student Pass for the duration of the internship up to a maximum of one year duration

Category	Start Date	Fee
Non-EU/EEA/EFTA Internship Students	Available as of April 2024	€0
EU Internship Students	Enforces as of January 2026	€0