Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit as of 2025-08-01[3][5] Malta enacts and publishes in parallel official English and Maltese texts and English is an official language of Malta; the official English name is therefore recorded identically as the local name rather than as a translation. |
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| Official name (English) | Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit as of 2025-08-01[3][5] The permit type printed on the card is 'ICT'; a permit issued on long-term mobility from another Member State is marked 'mobile ICT' (regs. 11(4) and 19(9)). |
| Legal basis | Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third-Country Nationals in the Framework of an Intra-Corporate Transfer Regulations (S.L. 217.21), made under the Immigration Act (Cap. 217); L.N. 33 of 2017, in force 24 January 2017. Reg. 1(2) transposes Council Directive 2014/66/EU. as of 2025-08-01[3][5] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 11(1): the intra-corporate transferee permit is deemed to constitute an employment licence issued under article 11(3) of the Immigration Act, and the transferee is not issued with any other work permit. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2025-08-01[3][5] |
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| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source Not stated in S.L. 217.21 or on the Identita pages. |
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source No criminal-record document is required. Reg. 4(7) provides that the authority shall not admit a third-country national considered to pose a threat to public policy, public security or public health. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 1 to 3 years as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 11(2): the period of validity shall be at least one year or the duration of the transfer to Malta, whichever is shorter, and may be extended to a maximum of three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainee employees. Recorded in the bounds form; the one-year ceiling for trainee employees is the reason the range is not uniform across the route's three categories. |
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| How the initial term is set | matches the assignment |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-07-24[4][5] Reg. 13(5): a renewal may be submitted before expiry, subject to a maximum deadline of ninety days prior to expiry; reg. 13(6) issues a temporary residence authorisation where the permit expires during the renewal procedure. Identita states renewals may only be submitted while the current permit is still valid and may be started ninety days before expiry. |
| Maximum total duration | 3 years as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 10(1): the maximum duration of the intra-corporate transfer is three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainee employees, after which the transferee must leave Malta unless he obtains a residence permit on another basis. Reg. 10(2) allows the Executive Chairperson to require up to six months to elapse before a further application concerning the same person. The recorded figure is the manager and specialist maximum; for trainee employees the maximum is one year. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-05-27[2][5] Reg. 14: the right to enter and stay, free access to the entire territory, and the right to exercise the specific employment activity authorised under the permit in any host entity of the undertaking or group established in Malta. The Identita FAQ states the holder must remain employed by the same foreign company that transferred him and cannot work for another Maltese company or change employer during the permit's validity. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | No as of 2026-05-27[2] |
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Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2025-07-24[4][5] Reg. 4(1)(b): evidence of employment within the same undertaking or group from at least three up to twelve uninterrupted months immediately preceding the transfer for managers and specialists, and from at least three up to six uninterrupted months for trainee employees. Reg. 4(1)(c) requires a contract of employment and, where necessary, an assignment letter stating the duration and location of the transfer, the position, the remuneration and the other terms, and evidence that the transferee will be able to transfer back to an entity outside the Union at the end of the transfer. |
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| Salary threshold |
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| Labour-market test | No as of 2017-01-30[5] S.L. 217.21 states no labour-market-availability test. Reg. 6 lists the grounds for refusal and contains none; reg. 5 preserves only the volumes-of-admission power. Reg. 6(3)(c) allows refusal where the intent or effect of the transferee's temporary presence is to interfere with a labour management dispute or negotiation. |
| Qualification requirement | degree, equivalent experience, regulated profession as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 4(1)(d): evidence that the transferee has the professional qualifications and experience needed in the host entity as manager or specialist or, for a trainee employee, the university degree required. Reg. 4(1)(e): for regulated professions, documentation certifying fulfilment of the conditions under S.L. 451.03. Reg. 4(5) additionally requires trainee employees to present a training agreement describing the programme, its duration and the supervision conditions. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2017-01-30[5] The host entity is the applicant-side party: reg. 21 makes a host entity that fails to comply guilty of an offence liable to a fine not exceeding EUR 5,000. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2017-01-30[5] |
Process
| Where to apply from | from abroad only as of 2025-07-24[4][5] Reg. 9(1): the application shall be submitted when the third-country national is residing outside Malta. Reg. 9(2) directs the application to Malta where the first stay takes place in Malta or where the Maltese stay is the longest of the transfer. Identita restates the abroad rule. Long-term mobility into Malta from another Member State is a separate case: reg. 19(5) provides that the transferee shall not be required to leave Malta to apply. |
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| Statutory processing time | 90 days as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 13(1): the decision is adopted and notified in writing as soon as possible and in any event not later than ninety days from submission of the complete application; reg. 13(2) suspends the clock pending additional information. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Physical presence
| registration only | to keep the permit as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 4(1)(h): the applicant must present an address in Malta at the time the permit is issued, and reg. 12 requires notification of any modification during the stay affecting the conditions for admission. No day count or maximum-absence rule is stated. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 16 applies the Family Reunification Regulations (S.L. 217.06) with derogations: reg. 16(a) removes the requirements of reasonable prospects of permanent residence and of a minimum period of residence; reg. 16(b) allows integration conditions to be applied only after reunification is granted. |
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| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 16(c): family members' residence permits are granted within ninety days of the complete application, and the family application is processed at the same time as the intra-corporate transferee application where the two are submitted together. Both together and later are permitted. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2017-01-30[5] Reg. 16(e): family members granted reunification are entitled to access to employment and self-employed activity in Malta, without prejudice to the principle of preference for Union citizens. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2017-01-30 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-07 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Non-EU Nationals – Employment Related Permits
Identita · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [2] Frequently Asked Questions – Expatriates – Non-EU Employment
Identita · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-05-27 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [3] Intra-Corporate Transferee Workers
Identita · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2025-08-01 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [4] Intra-Corporate Transferee Workers – Conditions
Identita · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-07-24 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [5] Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third-Country Nationals in the Framework of an Intra-Corporate Transfer Regulations (S.L. 217.21), consolidated text
Legislation Unit, Office of the State Advocate (Legislation Malta) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2017-01-30 · Accessed 2026-08-07