Employment licence (self-employed third-country national)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Employment licence (self-employed third-country national) as of 2026-08-07[1][3] The instrument has no distinct programme name; it is the general employment licence issued by Jobsplus, applied to self-employment. English is an official language of Malta and both sources are official English-language pages. |
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| Official name (English) | Employment licence (self-employed third-country national) as of 2026-08-07[1][3] |
| Legal basis | Employment licence under article 11(3) of the Immigration Act (Cap. 217); the single-permit procedure under Legal Notice 160 of 2014 expressly does not apply to self-employed third-country nationals as of 2026-08-07[1][2] The Jobsplus guidelines state that the single application procedure introduced by L.N. 160 of 2014 is not available to third-country nationals who are self-employed workers, who therefore need an employment licence. S.L. 217.05 reg. 2 defines 'employment licence' as the licence referred to in article 11(3) of the Immigration Act. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2021-01-19[1] |
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| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source Not stated in the Jobsplus guidelines section on self-employment eligibility or on the servizz.gov.mt service page. |
Permit terms
| Work rights | self-employment only as of 2026-08-07[1][3] The licence authorises the named self-employed activity. Jobsplus notes that a holder of primary employment may separately apply for a secondary employment licence, and that third-country nationals may work part-time only if they hold a valid single residence/work permit or an employment licence. |
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Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source Not addressed by either source. S.L. 217.05 reg. 3(2) does not exclude self-employed residence from the five-year long-term-residence count, but no source states positively that it counts. |
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Requirements
| Minimum capital | EUR 500,000 as of 2021-01-19[1][3] |
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| Business plan required | Yes as of 2021-01-19[1] A business plan is required on every limb: it defines the business purposes against which capital expenditure is assessed on limb (a), is the substance of limb (b), and must conform to the memorandum and articles of association in the company-shareholder scenario, where it is submitted with the Company Registration Certificate. |
| Endorsement required | Yes as of 2021-01-19[1] |
| Innovation criterion | Yes as of 2021-01-19[1] |
| Jobs to be created | 3 as of 2021-01-19[1] Only on the second limb: a commitment to recruit at least three EEA, Swiss or Maltese nationals within eighteen months of establishment. Jobsplus adds that on any limb a firm commitment to engage EEA, Swiss or Maltese nationals as part of the staff complement will assist in the favourable consideration of an application. |
Process
| Where to apply from | Not established from a qualifying source Neither source states whether the applicant must be abroad or in Malta. The application form and checklist are submitted by hand or by post to the Employment Licences Unit at Jobsplus. |
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| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source No statutory clock is stated. servizz.gov.mt publishes an indicative service timeline in three stages – 20 days for assessment of the application, 2 days for approval, and 2 days for delivery of the service – which is a published service standard rather than a statutory or observed processing time. The sources do not state a total and none is computed here. |
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2021-01-19[1] The guidelines state no physical-presence condition. Where the applicant qualifies on the capital-expenditure limb, the EUR 500,000 must be invested within six months of the date the licence is issued; where the applicant qualifies as a highly skilled innovator, at least three EEA, Swiss or Maltese nationals must be recruited within eighteen months of establishment. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not established from a qualifying source |
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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.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 3 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 3 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2021-01-19 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-07 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Employment Licences Unit – Guidelines for Clients (in force from 19 January 2021)
Jobsplus · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2021-01-19 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [2] Status of Long-term Residents (Third Country Nationals) Regulations (S.L. 217.05), consolidated text
Legislation Unit, Office of the State Advocate (Legislation Malta) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2021-03-11 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [3] Application for a New/Extension of an Employment Licence for a Third Country National (WEB-02407)
servizz.gov.mt, Government of Malta · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-07