Workers from outside the EU will now have to pay €300 to apply for a permit to work in Malta, after Identità increased its work permit fees. 

The government agency said the rise was due to administrative and processing costs.

“The cards that non-EU nationals carry are sophisticated and have a high cost as well,” a spokesperson added.

Previously, an application for a single work permit cost applicants €280.50. 

Activist Patricia Graham said an increase of €19.50 might not seem like a lot for some but for “a Third Country National (TCN) on minimum wage, it means four hours wages or more if their agent takes a cut”. 

She said applicants who are rejected often pay for a new application with a different employer if they are rejected the first time.

Administrative costs for TCNs add up, she said, especially when considering that an “ill-advised” skills card for workers in the tourism industry will cost €575. 

“That means TCNs must pay almost €1,000 for the chance to work in Malta for a year with no guarantee they will be approved”. 

Skills cards for hospitality workers were set to be introduced for non-EU workers in January but were postponed to March to enable the scheme to be fine-tuned, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said in December.

The skills card is set to also be a requirement for Maltese and EU workers in the industry by 2025.

Active Ageing Minster Jo Etienne Abela also recently announced that carers hired to look after the elderly will also need a skills card to work in the sector in the future. 

Most TCNs need a single work permit that they must renew every year.

As of July 2023, there were 68,755 workers in Malta from outside the EU, according to figures tabled in parliament on Monday.

Most come from India (13,158), followed by the Philippines (9,560), Nepal (8,157) and the United Kingdom (5,144). 

 Other countries that have a significant number of workers in Malta include Serbia (4,106), Albania (3,418) and Colombia (3,149).