Cost of Applying for PR

Hi John ,

as I am not a registered lawyer in Malta I can not give you any legal advice  but the questions you adress are as to where you want to live and pay taxes on your income.If you are a EU citizen you can take your temporary or permanent residency anywhere in the European Union .There are no special fees for applying but you will be paying certain amounts of taxes on your income that has to be remitted to Malta depending on resident status.The amount is capped at 15 or 35 % of your income depending on your resident status .
What is better depends on your income .

Regards

Ricky

Hi Ricky,

Thanks for your quick response. My concern is not so much to do with the tax issue but more to do with the actual cost of applying for a processing the application for PR. The quotation I received for 12,000 Euros was purely to carryout this process which appears to be no more than gathering various documentation and completing a number of forms. I am sure that this may be time consuming but it seems a great deal of money for what appears to be a very simple task.

Regards

John

Hi John,

it is certainly not to difficult to do it yourself ! I presume you have a UK passport!

Check out the details on the gov.mt website ( here are some infos) :

Economically self-sufficient persons

An EU national does not necessarily have to
work while s/he is living in Malta. However in
order to reside here, s/he must be able to
support himself/herself and his/her family
members accompanying or wishing to join
him/her in Malta, without recourse to public
funds. The EU national concerned must be
covered by sickness insurance* against all
risks whilst in Malta and have sufficient
resources not to become a burden on the
State. In this respect the above-mentioned
Order [Article 11(5)] lays down that such
level of resources should be the minimum
means which determine the grant of social
assistance to Maltese nationals. Currently
this should be a capital of at least €14,000
or a weekly income of €84.95 or, in the case
of a married couple, a capital of €23,300 or
a weekly income of €93.10.

(N.B. Pensioners and retired persons fall
under this category).

The application forms are online too!
You will need bank info's on the necessary income and proof of your health insurance( either through entitlement from the UK or private). I don't think it costs anything .
The Department is in Valletta near the Barrakka Gardens.

The amount you quoted is a lot !

Regards

Ricky

Hi Ricky,

Many thanks for your reply and your constructive comments. I will do a bit more reading and hopefully I can resolve the problem without the need to employ an expensive third party.

Will let you know how we get on.

Regards

John

Hi John,
it should be ok ! My girlfriend did it on her own ( she is an American 'third-country national'). The visit to Castille House didn't take long and was free of charge !
She set up a HSBC bank account in advance from the US and also got health insurance before she even arrived.You need a Maltese bank account ,as they want to direct debit the monthly premiums !
Her main problem is and was the work permit!

Best wishes

Ricky

Hi Ricky,

That's great news. The work permit should not be a problem for me as I will be taking early retirement. Which means I should have plenty of time on my hands to fill in forms!

Regards

John

Ok John ,

enjoy the reading and post any new questions that might come up .We have a great Expat community here in Sliema and can get answers for most questions that might come up .

Look forward to meeting you in Malta

Ricky

Hi Ricky,

We were in Malta a couple of weeks ago and were considering areas to live. We stayed in St Julians and quite liked Sliema but concerned that it would be overrun with tourists in the high season. Although we are retiring we are young at heart and like to party - where would you consider is a good expat place to look. We don't want to be near Qwra or Bugibba. We would like to integrate with the locals too.

Thanks

John

Hi John ,

we had the same concerns and questions before and when we moved to Malta.

Looking back our decision to live in Sliema ( or anywhere around this area within walking distance of the sea-front) was right!It can be full of tourists/language students but it gets a lot quieter in the side streets. That is where it is also easier to meet locals/neighbours and the rent is not so high.But that also depends on what you are looking for ( rent or buy?).There are very nice town houses available for reasonable rents.Buying is a different matter and get advice before you do that!

To really avoid the tourist scene you would have to go out into one of the villages.Saying that , there are some very nice villages in Malta. Mosta or The Three Cities or Paola and others.

But a lot of the Expat and going-out things do centre on Sliema/St.Julians.Even if you don't need Paceville - the center of young amusement. And it is fairly easy to get to Valletta where most of the cultural activities are centered and the direct route buses leave from the Ferries area, making it quite convenient to get around the island when you want to.

Most of the Expats we socialize with ( see expatsmalta.com)live in this area and we are a very active group but , of course, there are Expats all over the island.

So,after one year , we are still happy with our decision and we are near retirement age too.

Regards

Ricky

Hi Ricky,

Thanks for your advise. We will eventually be looking for a long term rent but initially we will probably go for  short term rental. We want to ensure that we get a good feel for the area before committing to a property that we want to make our home for a few years. We are keeping our options open with regard to type of property and will use the initial few weeks in Malta to check out whats available. 

I am just finalising my early retirement with the Company. We expect to move to Malta in early April.

I am sure we will have plenty of questions that we are seeking answers for between now and then and would much appreciate your continued advise and guidence.

Many Thanks

John

John

I am coming in from Swizerland this year also on the PR Scheme. I chose a law firm which was recommended by one of the property companies I dealt with. The company is [moderated: link removed as requested]
The guy I've been dealing with is Pierre Mifsud, nice friendly fellow. I dont want to misprice you but I am paying a fraction of the fees it seems you are being quoted.

I also contacted PWC Malta when I did the comparison and got a quote of about double what EMD was quoting, contact for PWC is Victoria Muscat

I suggest you shop around a bit as it seems you are being ripped off.
Best regards

Hi Eagle,

Thanks for the information. You just confirmed by belief that I was being ripped off. I will certainly make contact with the two contacts you have given. At the moment I am pulling together the various documentation and making sure that I do as much as possible at this end before we leave Indonesia. I have time on  my hands so anticipate that I can do most of the ground work myself but no doubt I will need some local guidance and expertise to finalise the application.

Good luck with your own application. I will be interested to know how that progresses and if you come up against any snags. 

Regards

John

Hi Eagle,

look forward to seeing you here in Malta.

I just wanted to point out that,technically, although Switzerland is in the heart of Europe,it is not a member of the EU.That makes things a lot more difficult as we experienced with my partner coming from the US.

But if you don't care for a work permit and are self-supporting and/or even buy property in certain designated areas it is really no problem settling in Malta even if you are not from the EU.

Regards

Ricky

JSA wrote:

...if you come up against any snags.

Hi John,

This is one of the reasons I was advised to go with a local, and save myself from banging my head against the wall. I was also reminded of the premium placed on local contacts and networks. My guy at EMD has first level access to one of the directors to move things along should questions arise.

I started my application in beginning of October and should have my visa before year end.

Wish you all the best with whichever approach you take

Hi Ricky

Switzerland might as well be another continent sometimes . Its got 26 Cantons squeezed into it, each with their own administration, taxes etc. So I look forward to having a simpler lifestyle.  When I am down would be great to hookup for beers, wine etc

Best regards

Hi Eagle,

but you do have the highest mountain in Europe and William Tell!

Ilene ( US American) is still doing some headbanging now and again but when it comes to a simple work permit for non-Eu's even knowing Obama didn't help that much -)))But you are coming for fun,sun and .............Malta !Like me .

I hold a British passport and came from a working life in Germany.EU's all have the right to stay anywhere in the Union , whether short or long term.Staying for more than 3 months means you should register yourself but actually no one in Malta really cares about that.You can apply for an ID , rent an appartment or even have a bank account without.

When you are here come along and join our Expats group in Sliema.I think you will be the first Swiss member.If you are around on coming Friday ( 16 th October) our next weekly meeting is in the Le Meridien hotel in St. Julians.Come along and meet a great group.

Regards

Ricky