Moving to Malta in 2-3 years

Hey Jackie
as you have to apply for residency after 3 months if your intending to not work for 6-12 months you would need to show you can support yourself to be granted residency and for this you would need :

This criterion requires that such individuals show that they are able to provide for themselves and for their accompanying dependants by being financially stable and not being in need of any financial support from the Maltese government. The current thresholds for EU/EEA nationals are set at a minimum capital of €14,000 or a weekly income of €92.32 for single persons, and at a capital of at least €23,300 or a weekly income of €108.63 for married couples. Moreover, an extra €8.15 is required per any added dependent.

If your intending to come here and get work , even part-time you can apply for residency using the employed route which means your finances are not taken into consideration although  your going to need enough money to support your self whilst looking for work .

I would say you could easily live off 800-1000 euros a month as  my husband and had been doing that all summer, but it depends on a number of factors, where you choose to live rents can be quite low i know someone who pays about 170 pcm  we pay 250  then you have to factor in bills such as gas electric and water , though gas is using gas cannisters  we currently pay 23 euros every two months for gas cannister and about 35 euro a month electric / water  - if you want internet services at home this will be about 20 euros unless you rent a house with it included some landlords have this option . food wise you should easily be able to live on 200 euros a month .  shop around use lidl and the markets and you really shoulnt struggle on a budget .

I would avoid tourist areas, bugibba , sliema st julians etc , opting to live inland can get you more property for your rental money . there is a regular bus service and its relatively cheap with a ticket costing 6,50  a week .. if your wanting to be a nurse you may want to consider living in an area with a regular bus service to the hospital marsaxlokk , marsacasla, birzebuggia are near the coast and because they are south of malta you can get reasonably cheap property here and all have buses to hospital , If you want work in online banking try the hsbc call centre  .

if you have any specific questions i would gladly try and help

all the best

Jackiflash.
Do consider NOT selling your house in the UK.
You may wish or have to return at a later date.
You  may find that Malta is not for you.
Have you considered renting out your house in the UK? That will provide income.
That is what we do and have the income paid into our UK bank account, thus avoiding Malta tax.
I also suggest you read this:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=370643
and this:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=425461

Sorry,  can i add to this as we are in the same situation, i.e. moving within 2 years
UK housing market has changed dramatically and is no longer (in my area) an investment.
If you wish to sit on your property and wait for the increase yes renting is a possibility HOWEVER i have a friend renting and its costing them more to upkeep with tenants than she wanted.

Our option has been to sell, it will take about 1-2 years to sell due to the flat market.

Look at our case as an example - fortunately we only owe £58k in mortgage - we bought 9 years ago for £112k and it was advertised at £120k - we had it valued at £125k and are advertising it at £120k but will take slightly less - so in affect we have been renting from the building society for 9 years.

Had we rented and invested the capital we would have been better off, especially at Malta rental rates.

So just take careful thought, sell or rent. Our option is Sell in the UK rent in Malta or our hope is Gozo.

It's pretty spooky your situation, I'm almost 63 and a Staff nurse/ Orthopaedic Practitioner, however its me retiring and my wife almost 53 and she is a health care assistant. I won't be working but will have 2 pensions, NHS and the government retirement pension. My wife wants to work part time, she has a similar background to yours.

We are going to Gozo for 1 week and Malta for 1 week next month and meeting up with a group who will am sure answer our questions, readmik has been very helpful and it's going to be good to meet up with him.

Main thing is to do the same as us, visit (with a residential view NOT a tourist view) and talk/meet as many people as you can.

Horses for courses. We wanted to maintain our security in the UK. If we sold we would have nowhere to live in UK and buying property is so difficult there these days. Unless one is 'minted' of course.
It costs me 10% of our monthly rent to have our place let by an agent.
It is inspected and maintained and that only costs what we would spend in maintenance anyway, e.g. boiler servicing.
The income pays for our travel, trips back to UK etc.
Thing is, we all come out here with great plans and intentions but sometimes our expectations are not met and emergencies arise.
Have you seen the cost of disposing of a body here?
What would one do if one's partner died here?
What if one had to return for family reasons?
I am glad we rent out and have the security. But, choose one's agent carefully.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. As I'm selling my property which I own out right then I will fit the criteria for moving over. I've used the bus system and it was fine as I'm not thinking of buying a car.
I've not tried the locations you mentioned but will do.

I'm not sure when my UK pensions will be paid, I have an nhs one and a couple of others plus my oap one.
It is my intention to learn Maltese as soon as I come over so I hope classes are available.
The 800-1000 euros for you and your hubby, was that as a couple and include rent? 
Thanks for your help jackie😃

Hi, I don't understand why you say ''as you are selling the house, you fit the criteria''.
You do not necessarily need a lump sum and if you are working, nothing.
If you receive any pension income at the moment maybe that will be enough?
All you need to prove (current rates) is weekly income of €92.32 for single persons or a weekly income of €108.63 for married couples.

Jackiflash wrote:

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. As I'm selling my property which I own out right then I will fit the criteria for moving over. I've used the bus system and it was fine as I'm not thinking of buying a car.
I've not tried the locations you mentioned but will do.

I'm not sure when my UK pensions will be paid, I have an nhs one and a couple of others plus my oap one.
It is my intention to learn Maltese as soon as I come over so I hope classes are available.
The 800-1000 euros for you and your hubby, was that as a couple and include rent? 
Thanks for your help jackie😃

yes rent is 250 ,bills came to about 110 (electric,gas internet etc, food is about 200  .. i have difficulty working so we rely on one wage

Sounds very similar to the Canadian market, in particular Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Boomers retiring in massive numbers over the next 20 years and many will want/ need to downsize and/or cash out for retirement. Calgary is already imploding due to the drop in oil prices and a recession/housing bubble burst is predicted in the near future. You'd think we'd have learned from the US meltdown a few years back, but no, Cdns have been gobbling debt and drinking the kool aid.
Renting and investing makes a lot of good sense in such markets.

Hi many thanks for your reply,
I downsized last year and bought this house outright and have some savings.
Where I stay is a sought after area and sold my last house in 9 days, this one I bought first day on the market.
I have very little family and none that I would miss desperately, I only plan to return to the UK once a year to visit friends but that might not even happen.
I haven't nursed for a long time and would be a health care worker if that option works for me. I wondered about the pensions? When will i get my nhs one? I also have a couple of others but to small to consider, I assume my oap one will be paid at 66?
I plan to learn malteese as soon as I come over, nothing is set in stone as you say but I'm not coming back to Scotland whatever happens, I have no partner so I'm doing this on my own eek! No I'm independent and confident and I know this is the right descsion,
Keep in touch jackie😃

Hi thanks for your reply,
I am not keeping my UK property, I don't have a partner and very little family, I would have to sell my house here anyway as I can't take it to heaven lol
I will have pensions but not sure when they will be paid.
I plan to learn maltesese and integrate asap.
I'm very independent and sociable, I make friends easily. I only want to work so I'm not bored and can meet people, I would consider volunteering in some capacity as well.
Although I say I'm not buying a car, I haven't ruled it out.
2 years should give me a good grasp of the areas I want to live in.
Any other info would be helpful,
Cheers jackie😃

Hi redmik,
I'd rather fit the financial criteria without the pressure of a monthly income to apply for residency.
My australian family looked into me moving there and a single person requires £250,000 if they have no sponsor or fit the job criteria.
Anyway i don't want to live there lol.
The sale of my house would happen in the UK at some point anyway and I would rent. Why not rent in a warmer climate with the opportunity to expand ones knowledge, I firmly expect to explore the uni and or colleges.
Cheers jac😃

"Have you seen the cost of disposing of a body here?
What would one do if one's partner died here?"

Yes thats one thing on my agenda to talk about when we meet and a worry to me, and indeed did worry me when we lived on the isle of lewis as there there is no cremation - I specifically say in my instructions in my will that Iam to be cremated and to be sprinkled in the gulf stream (sorry to be morbid but its a bit of a family comment "i will find my own resting place, where its warm")

Don't want to sideline the thread though but it is something I'm concerned about.

Jacki you mentioned pension age, you can find out on the government website (UK) I was born in 1952 and my retirement age as a man is 65, you can get a forecast online. I already have my NHS pension as i took it a few years ago when i was involved in an RTC in the ambulance and they offered me the pension. But looking at the figures my wife wouldn't have to work as my income would be (if i retired today, obviously goes up with rpi) 1350 euros per month, but she wants to work.

The NHS pension depends on which scheme your on but you don't have to go to 66 (if thats your date of retirement) plus a bonus is it increases yearly by the rpi, and of course cause your retiring to a country that has EU agreements your OAP pension continues to go up.

Hi,
I've heard the stories of burial costs, I don't have a partner and my will States I will go into the family plot in Scotland, to be honest I'm quite pragmatic about death and a good few years to sort it out haha.
I gave up nursing after 20 years 10 years ago and have very little pension funds since then. I plan on using my house sale funds for the first 10 years and pensions after. I want to work as integration is important to me but working is not. I'd rather do courses at college or university but all need looked into. I enjoy theatre, arts, movies and history and fully expect my days to be doing that, it's really important I learn maltease to perhaps be a guide of some sort.
Anyway I digress, it is 2 years away and I may have driven everyone nuts by then, things will definatley have changed by then! Although I hope not.
I should perhaps say, I was an acute admission psychiatric nurse and have rarely worked in general.
Kind regards for replying jackie😃