Retiring in Malta

We chose to retire to Gozo after coming here with our family for a holiday, four months later we came back on our own and had a look around and then in the December came and found a house to rent and moved in the following March. 
It was and at the moment still is easy to come here to live once retired no visa or anything required, the only thing  you need to do is apply for your residence card after living here three months,  if retired this card allows free crossing to Malta if you are a foot passenger, if not you pay for the car.   You can also apply for a card for cheaper bus fares.
We like the laid back ways of Gozo and also the weather and being able to spend far more time outdoors then in the UK.

My longest post yet,

We decided to move to Malta, or I should say Gozo, only 1 year ago.
My wife Hazel had Maltese connections before I knew her and had a desire
to return there ( unknown to me ).
For the last 15 years we lived on Dartmoor in Devon in a rented property and
this was the quietest place on earth for us. We had a dog whilst we lived there
and on his passing we took a 3 week holiday in Malta, our first holiday abroad.
This was quickly followed by another 10 days and then 2 months, at the end of which
we took a 12 month lease on a property in Qala,  Gozo for  12 months.
For the record, the noisiest place i have EVER lived in.............
For UK  citizens and other EU nationals moving to Malta is simple, book a holiday
for a week or two, find a property to rent in your preferred location and away you go.
It took us less than a week to find our property in Qala.
As the OP states, we are retirees and  moving to Malta requires that you re financially
sound, the UK basic state pension is sufficient for this and that you have medical cover, again ,if you have full UK NI contributions then you are covered for basic Maltese medical care, not quite as good as UK but adequate. Drugs are not free unless they come under schedule V and medicines can be expensive.  As an example, Cystitis treatment drugs can cost €24 for  7 day course, in the UK this would be free.
UK Pension is a formality and whilst a member of the EU, is paid, with annual  increases into  a bank either here or the UK, we chose UK so we get to transfer when the exchange rate is at it’s best, which, post referendum is abysmal to say the least.

Taxes I am yet to find out when I get my first tax return next year but I expect to pay something, compared to UK  where I would pay nothing.

Going back to healthcare, the Maltese system is, sometime refreshingly, very basic.
But  with  about 13 hours a day, 7 days a week, almost 365 days a year walk in service beats UK hands down. The system is crude compared to UK but I do like it.
If you are well off and can afford private medical care then  you may have a better experience. So far, we are happy with medical care and we have plenty of medical issues between us.

Road conditions here are beyond belief and driving standards are poor, enforcement is non existent. Basically, do as you please.

Public transport is good, for us anyway, with busses every 45 mins costing 25 cents a 2 hour trip, max 50c a day, UK was free but no useful busses where we lived.
Gozo  to Malta ferry free as foot passenger and is €6.95, I think,  for a car (Gozo 60+ resident).

Currently, moving here is easy, this may change, if, and when, Brexit happens but I am not worried by this, we moved here the day before Brexit was triggered and I cannot see  anyone being thrown out if and when it does happen.

I cannot say if we are better off here than the UK as we would get benefits there that we cannot get here but we have been here almost 5 months, don’t eat out very often,we have bought a car and are still managing on the UK state pension. No matter what other people say, it is possible.

Go for it, don’t delay.

Ray

If you get your Certificate of Healthcare through the S1 route the cover is equal to the UK cover and you can also use the NHS whenever you wish. Also you can have a UK issue EHIC.  (RHA is not such good cover) A private visit to our Doctor is only €10, or €15 if he comes to us, wouldn't get that in the UK.

Your Tax return is likely to be posted to you only two weeks before it is due, normally the beginning of June although it was delayed this year because of the election. Your tax threshold here is around €18,200 as a couple. We just make sure that we don't transfer more than this in a year.  Not difficult with the current exchange rate of around €1.135 and income not much more than a state pension. Oh for the days a little over a year ago when it was in excess of €1.40!

Do find it a little annoying when UK residents moan about price increases because of Brexit, they should try having their income reduced by over 20% overnight.

Ray

A couple of questions regarding the previous posts. If you are in receipt of a uk state pension which is paid into a uk bank account, why are you liable to pay Maltese taxation on it, is it not already taxed at source in the uk?. And secondly if you are classed as a resident in gozo/Malta I would have thought you no longer qualify for treatment under the ehic scheme or even the uk NHS?

Moocher wrote:

A couple of questions regarding the previous posts. If you are in receipt of a uk state pension which is paid into a uk bank account, why are you liable to pay Maltese taxation on it, is it not already taxed at source in the uk?. And secondly if you are classed as a resident in gozo/Malta I would have thought you no longer qualify for treatment under the ehic scheme or even the uk NHS?

Hi,

If you are living in Malta you have to complete a Maltese Tax Return, you are liable to pay tax on earnings from employment here or on monies remitted to Malta from the UK. At the moment the tax allowance for a couple, taxed as individual allowances, is around €18200 pa. Over that amount you are liable for tax. Having said that, there is a double taxation agreement in place which means you can set tax already paid in the UK on that money against your liability here.

If you are in receipt of a UK State Pension then you can apply for health cover using the S1 form and that gives you full cover here and you can also use the NHS in the UK even if you choose to go back just for the treatment. Having obtained your 'Certificate of Health Entitlement' by the S1 route you can then apply to the UK for a UK issue EHIC which is valid (at the moment, pre Brexit ) throughout Europe.
The RHA does not give you these benefits, just basic cover.

This link takes you to the Web page you need for info on SI.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare … ction.aspx

Look under the 'UK Pensioners' heading just above the video about Spain

Ray

Ray thanks for that. So it seems only pensioners get these options. I'm not of pensionable age yet . By applying for the RHA scheme I was led to understand that i then gave up any rights to treatment on the NHS in the uk and my ehic card was now null and void. So I take it that once I reach pension age I can reapply for my ehic card. And this will be issued by Malta? Of course a lot this depends on the brexit fallout. We live in uncertain times

I think that unless you go down the S1 route then I understand you do give up your NHS entitlement. That said, my GP told me  to get a chalet in a local holiday park and he would be happy to treat etc..  EHIC for S1 applicants is UK issued, otherwise I believe it would be issued in Malta. We have no plans to go to any other countries other than UK so we haven't bothered to get one.
As for Brexit, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  I also long for £1 = €1.40 again.

the other Ray

Moocher wrote:

Ray thanks for that. So it seems only pensioners get these options. I'm not of pensionable age yet . By applying for the RHA scheme I was led to understand that i then gave up any rights to treatment on the NHS in the uk and my ehic card was now null and void. So I take it that once I reach pension age I can reapply for my ehic card. And this will be issued by Malta? Of course a lot this depends on the brexit fallout. We live in uncertain times

You have to be in receipt of a UK state pension, not just pensionable age, so if you defer your pension you can't use the S1. When you do, you get aUK issue EHIC not Maltese.
What you sat about RHA is correct, your UK issue EHIC ceases to be valid once you are resident here and you are not entitled to NHS services.

Ray

RayAucote wrote:

I think that unless you go down the S1 route then I understand you do give up your NHS entitlement. That said, my GP told me  to get a chalet in a local holiday park and he would be happy to treat etc..  EHIC for S1 applicants is UK issued, otherwise I believe it would be issued in Malta. We have no plans to go to any other countries other than UK so we haven't bothered to get one.
As for Brexit, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  I also long for £1 = €1.40 again.

the other Ray

You can not get a Maltese issued EHIC unless you pay in to the Maltese Social Security system.

Ray

Yes we would all love to see a stronger £ and a better rate. But just as important from a purely selfish point of view I yearn for interest rates to rise , my savings in the uk have been decimated these last few years. They have been deliberately kept low by the Bank of England . A return to at least 4% would easily cover my rent

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Moocher wrote:

Ray thanks for that. So it seems only pensioners get these options. I'm not of pensionable age yet . By applying for the RHA scheme I was led to understand that i then gave up any rights to treatment on the NHS in the uk and my ehic card was now null and void. So I take it that once I reach pension age I can reapply for my ehic card. And this will be issued by Malta? Of course a lot this depends on the brexit fallout. We live in uncertain times

You have to be in receipt of a UK state pension, not just pensionable age, so if you defer your pension you can't use the S1. When you do, you get aUK issue EHIC not Maltese.
What you sat about RHA is correct, your UK issue EHIC ceases to be valid once you are resident here and you are not entitled to NHS services.

Ray

If you are a UK passport holder you are entitled to use the UK NHS  regardless of where in the world you live.

Terry

tearnet wrote:

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Moocher wrote:

Ray thanks for that. So it seems only pensioners get these options. I'm not of pensionable age yet . By applying for the RHA scheme I was led to understand that i then gave up any rights to treatment on the NHS in the uk and my ehic card was now null and void. So I take it that once I reach pension age I can reapply for my ehic card. And this will be issued by Malta? Of course a lot this depends on the brexit fallout. We live in uncertain times

You have to be in receipt of a UK state pension, not just pensionable age, so if you defer your pension you can't use the S1. When you do, you get aUK issue EHIC not Maltese.
What you sat about RHA is correct, your UK issue EHIC ceases to be valid once you are resident here and you are not entitled to NHS services.

Ray

If you are a UK passport holder you are entitled to use the UK NHS  regardless of where in the world you live.

Terry

Unfortunately Terry that is incorrect, read this NHS webpage:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare … ction.aspx

NHS treatment is residence based and you lose the right to treatment within the NHS in the UK.
Treatment elsewhere may be through reciprocal agreements with that country but then you are not using the NHS in the UK, which is what I said and what the NHS say you can not do. (Unless as I said, you get health cover abroad through the S1 form)

Ray

Moocher wrote:

Yes we would all love to see a stronger £ and a better rate. But just as important from a purely selfish point of view I yearn for interest rates to rise , my savings in the uk have been decimated these last few years. They have been deliberately kept low by the Bank of England . A return to at least 4% would easily cover my rent

What are savings?.  4% would cover your rent.. Well my savings wouldn't pay 3 months rent. 
I just hope ERNIE is kind to me soon... my tiny stash is invested with him. 

Moocher wrote:

Yes we would all love to see a stronger £ and a better rate. But just as important from a purely selfish point of view I yearn for interest rates to rise , my savings in the uk have been decimated these last few years. They have been deliberately kept low by the Bank of England . A return to at least 4% would easily cover my rent

☹️

F0xgl0ve wrote:

tearnet wrote:

F0xgl0ve wrote:

You have to be in receipt of a UK state pension, not just pensionable age, so if you defer your pension you can't use the S1. When you do, you get aUK issue EHIC not Maltese.
What you sat about RHA is correct, your UK issue EHIC ceases to be valid once you are resident here and you are not entitled to NHS services.

Ray

If you are a UK passport holder you are entitled to use the UK NHS  regardless of where in the world you live.

Terry

Unfortunately Terry that is incorrect, read this NHS webpage:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare … ction.aspx

NHS treatment is residence based and you lose the right to treatment within the NHS in the UK.
Treatment elsewhere may be through reciprocal agreements with that country but then you are not using the NHS in the UK, which is what I said and what the NHS say you can not do. (Unless as I said, you get health cover abroad through the S1 form)

Ray

It seems that we were both nearly correct....

"Expats from outside Europe who return to the UK to use NHS hospitals will be billed for 150 per cent of the cost of treatment if they don’t have sufficient insurance.
Treatment remains free for those with a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) and UK state pensioners living in the European Economic Area (EEA)."

Terry

"Expats from outside Europe who return to the UK to use NHS hospitals will be billed for 150 per cent of the cost of treatment if they don’t have sufficient insurance.
Treatment remains free for those with a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) and UK state pensioners living in the European Economic Area (EEA)."

Except that when you take up residence outside the UK your EHIC ceases to be valid, so no cover there and the: 'UK state pensioners living in the European Economic Area (EEA)' is via the S1 coverage!

Ray

Deleted as it was a duplicate!

Moocher wrote:

Yes we would all love to see a stronger £ and a better rate. But just as important from a purely selfish point of view I yearn for interest rates to rise , my savings in the uk have been decimated these last few years. They have been deliberately kept low by the Bank of England . A return to at least 4% would easily cover my rent

I would have to be sitting on a pot of £200,000 at 4% to cover my rent and if I was I would be quite happy.
A much better situation than having no savings and your income cut by €450 a month

Ray

Not if you apply for and take up residency in another eu country

Actually the UK issues our EHIC card and has done both in Malta and in Cyprus.
We have advised them of our new address on both occasions and they sent them out without any problems.

Also for income tax purposes you have to declare your world wide income so only transferring a certain amount will make no difference to the amount you should declare.

Terry

Declaring income is one thing.  That does not mean it's all taxed.

Moocher wrote:

Not if you apply for and take up residency in another eu country

Sorry, don't quite understand that. I am resident in another EU country!

Ray

tearnet wrote:

Actually the UK issues our EHIC card and has done both in Malta and in Cyprus.
We have advised them of our new address on both occasions and they sent them out without any problems.

Also for income tax purposes you have to declare your world wide income so only transferring a certain amount will make no difference to the amount you should declare.

Terry

And are you in receipt of a UK state pension and got your EHIC after obtaining health cover through the S1 route?  If not your UK EHIC card is not valid and has been issued in error. It is on the NHS website.

As for tax I would not argue whether that is correct or not but my tax return is always filled in on the basis of my income in Malta and I have not had any problems in 5 years.
Having said that I have always been given to understand that only money remitted to Malta or earned in Malta is liable to tax ( Transfers from capital being exempt). I have seen space for tax paid in the UK on the form but not for 'Total worldwide income' but as I said I would not argue the point.

Ray

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Moocher wrote:

Not if you apply for and take up residency in another eu country

Sorry, don't quite understand that. I am resident in another EU country!

Ray

Sorry I was replying to an earlier post from tearnet

It's affordable for food. Rents are going up everywhere, but some expats buy a flat. Other than that you are coming to Malta because of many different things you like or miss, about the island. So enjoy it but don't complain if it's changed since your last visit.

Today I was refused the RHA agreement because I am in receipt of a UK state pension. The S1 route transfers your health entitlement from the UK to Malta and also your pension and your inland revenue so I did not want to do that as I am not here permanently.

The rules change at the hospital in December if you have an ID card ending with the letter A.

So now I have no health cover here and I am British

you are correct its just happened to me

johnny1126 wrote:

Today I was refused the RHA agreement because I am in receipt of a UK state pension. The S1 route transfers your health entitlement from the UK to Malta and also your pension and your inland revenue so I did not want to do that as I am not here permanently.

The rules change at the hospital in December if you have an ID card ending with the letter A.

So now I have no health cover here and I am British

The S1 does transfer your Entitlement to Malta but you also still have full cover in the UK and can have a UK issue EHIC, it concerns only health cover and does not affect your UK pension.
If you live here for 6 months a year or more then you will be taxed here but that does not transfer your liabilities from Inland Revenue in the UK although you may be able to offset some tax already paid.
If you don't live here for more than 6 months a year then you are not resident and the above does not apply, you are effectively a tourist.

johnny1126 wrote:

you are correct its just happened to me

It might help if you said which topic you are agreeing with as posts prior to your own were from 18 months ago or more!

I have been here 3 years but not emigrated. The hospital refused my EHIC card because I’m not a tourist in their eyes because I have the EID card
The S1 does in face transfer all your healthcare to Malta and you would no longer be able to use the NHS. This has all just happened to me so it’s up to date info

johnny1126 wrote:

I have been here 3 years but not emigrated. The hospital refused my EHIC card because I’m not a tourist in their eyes because I have the EID card
The S1 does in face transfer all your healthcare to Malta and you would no longer be able to use the NHS. This has all just happened to me so it’s up to date info

Sorry but you have been miss informed.

First, if you have stated you are resident here to the authorities then you obviously are not a tourist and you are not entitled to use an EHIC in fact the card is invalid as you are no longer a UK resident!

If you use the S1 route to obtain a 'Certificate of Health Entitlement' you retain full NHS cover in the UK and even as a resident here you can arrange elective surgery to take place there. You also have full cover here.
Check the UK NHS website and you will get chapter and verse on the regulations.

You posted that you were not allowed to have and use RHA to obtain your eResidence card but in a later post said you have an eID, (which is the eResidence card) what health cover did you use for that?

One point about tax. You are taxed on the income you bring into Malta - not your assets. Hence if you bring into Malta your pension, this is income and you are taxed on it. I have sold my house in the UK. If I import money into Malta from the proceeds of my sale, this is classed as assets and is not liable to tax.

One point about tax. You are taxed on the income you bring into Malta - not your assets. Hence if you bring into Malta your pension, this is income and you are taxed on it. I have sold my house in the UK. If I import money into Malta from the proceeds of my sale, this is classed as assets and is not liable to tax.

If you can prove that you have savings (as opposed to income) and import your savings into Malta, this is also classed as assets and not liable to tax

For British people Malta is popular because they get more value for their money. However, recently the value of the GBP decreased whilst prices in Malta increased. As I come from Germany I have no problem with the exchange rate and buying a house near the German coast is as expensive as in Malta. However, the weather makes the difference. Food is cheaper in Germany than in Malta, but services are cheaper in Malta than in Germany. I really think people from countries like Switzerland, Austria and Germany just come for a change and some of them want to improve their limited English vocabulary. It is always amusing when Maltese people ask foreigners from non english speaking countries if they know english. My answer is simple just a few words less than the every maltese person, because the Maltese are so proud to know english as their second language and furthermore they know how to make a business out of it by having english language schools all over Malta.
The reasons for retiring in Malta are various. However, for me it is the nice journey on the E45 from Malta via Sicily, Italy and Austria to Germany. Just 2400 km driving distance which is easy for any pensioner with a roadworthy car. If one is driving 800 km a day Germany can be reached within 3 days, the Uk within 4 days and Ireland within 5 days. Why did you retire in Malta? I retired in Malta in order to get acqainted with the way and all the places on the way from Malta to Germany. Furthermore it is a reason to learn Italian because the petrol over there is known as Benzina which sounds almost like the German name Benzin for my auto.  By knowing the word petrol I almost know Maltese too because they say il-petrol and it means the same. Only the Americans call it gas, but these people seldom retire in Malta.

Retiring in Malta - in April. Looking for recommendations and advice on getting private health insurance.

Something else to consider is there is a new minimum tax of 5000 euro if you make more than 35,000 income worldwide even if you leave it in the UK and never bring it to Malta.  This makes Malta no longer a low tax retirement destination for many.