Malta Digital Nomad Visa

The minimum gross yearly income is EUR 42,000. But a transitional provision means two holders of the same permit can face two different thresholds: an applicant who submitted their application before 1 April 2024 retains the earlier requirement of EUR 32,400, and that earlier figure also governs their renewals.

The applicant must prove a guaranteed source of income for a minimum of five cumulative months from the day of application.

The proof differs by status: an employee files a contract of employment clearly showing obligations to the employer, describing the work duties and stating that the work may be performed remotely independent of location, together with a bank statement showing income from employment over the previous three months.

A self-employed person files a bank statement in their own name showing income received from self-employment over the previous three months, together with a Certificate of Incorporation and Share Register

What is granted is the Nomad Residence Permit, and the permit leads nowhere beyond itself. The Residency Malta question-and-answer set, version 14.1 updated on 17 April 2026, answers plainly that the permit does not lead to any sort of permanent or long-term residency or citizenship.

Nor does it lead to the Malta Permanent Residence Programme, which the authority treats as a separate residence programme. A person holds one status at a time, so on the issue of the nomad permit every other permit the applicant holds is automatically revoked.

The scope of work is narrower than the name suggests. A person contracted by a foreign company to serve that company's Maltese subsidiary is ineligible, and so is anyone who directly or indirectly provides services to companies or individuals based in Malta.

The grant of a permit is always discretionary, and nothing in the programme creates an obligation to grant one. The authority's decision is final and cannot be appealed, and a rejected applicant may file afresh only 12 months after the date of the rejection letter.

Even after approval the permit can be revoked, where the authority becomes aware of adverse information on the main applicant or any dependant, or of a breach of one or more of the programme's eligibility criteria.

The authority states an expected processing time of thirty working days, counted from the issuance by its Finance Department of the receipt of funds, during which Residency Malta carries out background checks. Those thirty working days do not include any processing time required for visa issuance, so the total time before departure is longer than the published number.

The initial permit is issued for one year and may be renewed three times, for a maximum total stay of four years, renewal being at the discretion of Residency Malta Agency and subject to the applicant still satisfying the programme criteria.

A renewal application must be submitted between two and three months before the expiry date, and that is the permit holder own responsibility. Two things are easily misread: the receipt issued on submission of a renewal application is not an extension of stay, and applications from individuals who are overstaying will be refused.

Where no renewal is filed, or the renewal is rejected, a fresh application may be submitted twelve months after the expiry of the preceding permit — but the clock does not reset: previous stays on this permit are counted towards the four-year maximum

The applicant must be a third country national, that is non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss, and must prove they can work remotely using telecommunications. The applicant must be 18 years of age or over.

FAQ version 14.1 excludes nationals of, or persons with close ties to, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela; applications from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are also currently not eligible. The agency may revise this list from time to time at its discretion, and Viet Nam is not on it.

They must fall within one of three categories: working for an employer registered in a foreign country under a contract of work.

Conducting business activities for a company registered in a foreign country of which they are a partner or shareholder; or offering freelance or consulting services to clients whose permanent establishments are in a foreign country, with whom they hold contracts.

One exclusion is rarely mentioned: a person contracted by a foreign company but providing services to that company Maltese subsidiary is not eligible.

The second constraint sits at renewal: the holder must produce a bank statement showing payment transactions carried out in Malta, as proof of having resided in Malta for a cumulative period of at least five months over the previous twelve.

They must also hold a valid travel document, health insurance covering risks in the European Union including Malta and the United Kingdom, a valid property rental or purchase agreement, a police conduct certificate, and must pass a background verification check

Family members may be included: the spouse, minor children, adult unmarried children principally dependent on the main applicant, and adult children unable to cope independently due to a medical condition or disability. Checklist version 11 also admits a de facto partner, meaning an unmarried couple in a stable and ongoing relationship for more than two consecutive years, on a declaration signed by both applicants and dated photographs as proof. The children may be those of the main applicant, of the spouse, or of both.

Dependants apply for a permit under the same conditions and together with the main applicant.

Where the applicant does not hold sole custody of a minor child, and both parents are not in the same application, prior approval from Residency Malta is needed before the child is included. The agency examines these case by case.

The timing of inclusion needs planning. No dependant can be added after payment or after approval; dependants can be added only when the main applicant applies for renewal.

The sole exception is a newborn, added by sending Form N2, Form N4, a passport copy and a birth certificate copy to the agency. Application and residence card fees are charged per person and are recorded in the cost cell of this page.

Dependants are bound by the same work limit as the main applicant: they cannot offer their services to, or engage in any economic activity with, employers or companies based or registered in Malta.

The status this programme grants, whether a visa or a residence permit, does not replace the holder's passport. The holder still travels on the passport of their own country, so the figure below belongs to the Malta passport and becomes the holder's only once they are issued a Malta passport.

According to the Passport Index of Prosperous Intelligence, on data dated 30 September 2026, the Malta passport reaches 201 destinations without applying for a consular visa in advance. The figure combines three forms of entry and does not count an e-Visa that must be obtained beforehand:

It is therefore a measure of how easily the holder travels, not a count of visa-free countries in the narrow sense.

For comparison, on the same source and the same method of counting, the Vietnamese passport reaches 44 destinations. The two lists of destinations do not nest inside one another, so the difference is an indication rather than a list of places newly opened.

Prosperous Intelligence dates its data and advises checking with the destination’s official authorities before travelling.

A permit holder tax obligations may arise under both foreign and Maltese law. On income tax under Maltese law, the governing instrument is Subsidiary Legislation 123.210, the Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules, together with the applicable provisions of the Income Tax Acts, Chapters 123 and 372 of the Laws of Malta.

The pivotal point, written by the issuing agency itself: the fact that an applicant is issued with the permit does not necessarily mean they are entitled to be taxed under Subsidiary Legislation 123.210 — to be taxed under those Rules the individual must also satisfy all the conditions set out in them.

The conditions and the rate sit in Subsidiary Legislation 123.210 itself. An eligible main applicant is chargeable to income tax at 10% on income from authorised work, meaning services provided remotely by telecommunications under a contract of employment with an employer, or in a self-employed capacity for clients, not resident in Malta and not carrying on business in Malta through a fixed place of business, subject to double taxation relief under the Income Tax Act.

Under rule 3(3), that income is not taxed before the end of twelve months from the date the permit is issued or from 1 January 2024, whichever is later, unless the holder files with Residency Malta Agency a written declaration that their residence in Malta, even during those twelve months, is not merely of a casual nature. Under rule 4(3), where official documentation proves that tax of at least 10% has been paid abroad on that income, the income need not be reported for Maltese income tax purposes.

The Malta Tax and Customs Administration adds in its guidelines on the Rules that acceptance as a nomad does not grant tax residency.

From the second and third renewal, the main applicant must additionally submit a declaration confirming compliance with all applicable tax laws and regulations for their individual circumstances, covering reporting, taxation and other obligations on income earned throughout the duration of the permit.

The declaration is downloaded from the portal and filed with the renewal.

Residency Malta Agency states expressly that it does not provide tax advice and assumes no responsibility for an applicant tax compliance or interpretation of tax law

The administrative fee is EUR 300 per applicant and non-refundable, but the three conditions around it are what most often spoils an application that is sound on its merits.

The first is timing: the fee is not payable when the application is filed. One of the programme’s Nomad Client Relations and Compliance officers first checks that the requested documents have been submitted, and only then does the authority issue a receipt of application with instructions for payment.

The second is method: payment is by bank transfer only, and the money must come directly from the bank account of the main applicant — a payment made on their behalf by someone else does not satisfy that requirement.

The third is consequence: processing only begins once the payment is received, so every deadline runs from that point rather than from the date of filing; the processing time is recorded in the time cell of this page.

The administrative fee is not the only charge. FAQ version 14.1 also lists a fee of EUR 100 per person for the issuance of a residency card by Identità, paid in person at Residency Malta's offices by card only, with cash not accepted, together with any visa-related fees where the applicant needs a visa, as Vietnamese nationals do. A change of address while holding the permit costs a further EUR 50, paid by bank transfer or at the agency's office.