Fast-track permits and visa services in Malta

The KEI costs the same €600 as a regular first Single Permit, with €150 per year on renewal. For the SEI, Identità’s eligibility page lists €600 and its application procedure page €300, so confirm the amount on the portal before paying. The D visa fee and any visa centre service fee come on top; the premium long-stay process costs €300 covering all fees.

The Central Visa Unit’s long-stay visa policy (version 2.0, 27 November 2023) sets out three ways to apply. The premium process is for people who live in, or are nationals of, a country without a Maltese diplomatic mission: they e-mail the Central Visa Unit with their Approval in Principle or enrolment letter, receive a token, upload documents, pay €300 covering all fees and send the passport by courier; a decision usually comes within six to eight weeks. The extended process runs through a visa application centre in selected countries and takes about four weeks of assessment. Elsewhere you apply through the Maltese mission responsible for your place of residence.

A regular Single Permit may legally take up to four months and averages close to two months. KEI and SEI clocks start only once every document on the checklist has been uploaded online, so a well-prepared file matters more than the route itself. The time for the D visa comes on top: through a visa application centre the Central Visa Unit typically needs about four weeks to assess a long-stay file.

Identità describes the Key Employee Initiative as a fast track to the Single Permit for highly skilled third-country nationals. The administrative steps and due diligence are the same as for an ordinary Single Permit, but the expected processing time is five working days from submission of a complete file. Eligibility requires a managerial or highly technical job paying at least €45,000 gross a year, certified qualifications or proof of experience, and a two-week advert on a local media platform. The route also covers innovators in start-ups endorsed by Malta Enterprise.

The Specialist Employee Initiative is the second fast route, with a processing time of fifteen working days. It needs a salary of at least €30,000 and an MQF level 6 qualification related to the job, or a lower related qualification plus three years of relevant experience.