Welcome to the latest in my series of posts about longer-term, tax-advantaged stays I am considering for next year. Previously, I took a look at the Greece and Cyprus digital nomad visas. This week, I have been considering the Malta digital nomad visa.
If Malta isn’t exactly on your radar, I’m not surprised. It is a tiny European Union country made of up of a string of islands sitting just below Sicily in the Mediterranean sea. More on that below, but here is a run-down of the important details, first:
Malta Nomad Visa Eligibility and Requirements
Validity
1 year; renewable for 2 years as long as you were in Malta 5 of the previous 12 months in the previous year
Where to Apply & How Long It Takes
Online for initial application; takes up to 60 days; once preliminarily approved must complete application process within 30 days, enter Malta, obtain an in-person appointment, and then the visa is issued in person 3-4 weeks after the appointment
Basic Eligibility
- Work remotely for or own a foreign company or freelance to clients in a foreign country
- Gross income of €42,000 annually
- A foreign national (some countries excluded)
Application Fee
€300 for application plus €27.20 for visa
Other Costs and Requirements
- Health insurance for coverage in Malta and Europe that is prepaid for the visa period
- Property purchase or lease contract covering the entire visa period
- Police certificate submitted from home country
Taxation
None on the foreign income for 1 year; 10% subsequent years
Schengen Travel
90 days out of 180 in other Schengen countries
My Initial Thoughts
Although Malta is super small, they have been encouraging digital nomads to move there for years, so the cities on the biggest island, especially, have a disproportionately strong international presence and strong amenities like gyms, shopping, and coworking locations. Fun fact, Maltese is its own language, though it seems that English is widely spoken. Malta is not especially convenient to get to, which is one reason that I have never been. Realistically, I’d be taking at least one connecting flight through Italy to get anywhere else, so I need to make sure that I’m comfortable with a lot of local exploring. It is a real benefit that I would be able to take advantage of the lower prices of a year-long lease and keep my home base the same for a whole year without any tax impact. That would help to offset the higher costs an inconvenience of coming and going for shorter vacation trips.
Where to Find More Information
Keep in mind that these are my own high-level notes on the information I found about obtaining a digital nomad in Malta. If you are interested in applying for a digital nomad visa in Malta, I encourage you to do your own research. A good place to start is the official Malta government website for their digital nomad visa program: https://nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt/malta-for-nomads/
Next, I’ll consider the digital nomad visa available in Estonia. If you’d like to keep learning more about the tax-advantaged, longer-term digital nomad stays I’m considering, make sure to sign up for my newsletter below!
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