MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Paul Gonzi, Rebecca Diacono and Mattea Pullicino, Fenech & Fenech Advocates
with a residence permit, that residence permit solely allows the third-country national to work in Malta: • in the specific occupation applied for; and • with that specific employer. Should the third-country national change occupation with their current employer and/or change employer, then a new SPA must be submitted. Furthermore, should a third-country national remain in the same position, a renewal application would need to be sub - mitted prior to the expiration of the residence permit. Nomad Residence Permit Residency Malta Agency has recently launched the Nomad Residence Permit, which allows third-country nationals to relocate to Malta and work remotely from here. The third-country national must be able to work remotely, independent of location, using telecommu - nication technologies, and may be either employed by a foreign employer or self-employed. In both cases, the Nomad Residence Permit holder cannot provide services to Maltese-based clients/businesses. Successful applicants will be issued with a residence card that is valid for a period of one year and may be renewed. In terms of current policy, a Nomad Resi - dence Permit may only be renewed three times, for a total stay by the holder of a maximum of four years. The income generated in Malta by the Nomad Resi - dence Permit holder may be subject to tax in Malta at a reduced flat rate of tax of 10%, subject to certain conditions. 4.2 Registration Requirements for Foreign Workers EU/EEA/Swiss Nationals EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who have been residing in Malta for a period of three months must submit a Resi - dence Permit Application to the Expatriates Unit. An EU/EEA/Swiss national is issued with a residence per - mit for a five-year period. Unlike third-country nation - als, EU/EEA/Swiss nationals are not subject to labour market considerations and are not required to change their residence card when changing employer and/or occupation.
In addition to the requirement to apply for a residence card, EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who are employed and working in Malta are generally also required to register for tax and social security purposes. The employer should register the employee with the revenue office for payroll purposes. Furthermore, the employer is required to register the employment with Jobsplus, through the submission of the requisite form. Third-Country Nationals As indicated in 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers , third-country nationals are typically required to apply for an employment licence in order to legally work and reside in Malta, and the most common type of appli - cation is the SPA. The documentation required for an SPA depends on the occupation and whether or not the position is exempt from the Labour Market Test. An SPA may be submitted whilst the third-country national is still abroad or already in Malta (the latter is dependent on the type of visa the applicant holds). In fact, the forms and documentation required depend also on whether the SPA is new – ie, a first-time appli - cation – or whether the person is already in Malta and changing jobs, among other matters. A typical SPA includes: • the application form, which would need to be endorsed by the employer; • a lease agreement, registered with the Housing Authority, or a final deed of purchase (should the third-country national own property in Malta); • a copy of the third-country national’s passport (including a copy of a valid visa when submitting a new application); and • a position description, this being a standard form issued by Jobsplus which addresses a number of questions related to the position being offered to the third-country national. On completion of a successful SPA, the employer should register the employee with the revenue office for payroll purposes. Furthermore, the employer is required to register the employment with Jobsplus, through the submission of the requisite form.
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