Malta is the cheapest country in Europe to become a driver, an international study has found. According to car insurance website Confused.com, driving lessons and Transport Malta fees cost the average new driver €910.
The UK website worked out affordability against each country’s average salary, concluding that Malta is the cheapest because the cost to acquire a driving licence absorbs the least amount of money out of the average annual salary.
The study, conducted in 19 countries, found the costs of getting a licence in Malta equate to 5.4 per cent of the average annual salary.
In fact, it costs less to get a driving licence in Poland (€525.45) and in Portugal (€765), but both countries’ average salary is below that in Malta, meaning that a new driver in Poland has to sacrifice 6.4 per cent and the one in Portugal 6.9 per cent of their annual salary before they can hit the road.
In Italy, where the average salary hovers around the same amount as in Malta, obtaining a licence costs twice as much as it does here. Sweden ranks as the most expensive, setting back a new driver more than €3,500 to acquire a licence – almost 14 per cent of the country’s average annual salary.
How much does it cost to learn to drive in Malta?
A few Maltese driving instructors confirmed with Times of Malta that the costs laid out by the UK website tally with the average cost that each of their student learners pay.
The average learner spends around eight months in weekly, one-hour lessons with the instructor. For every hour of driving lessons, the learner pays an average of €20, which adds up to €640 over eight months.
Add that to €23.25 that each learner must pay Transport Malta to acquire a learner’s permit, another €30.25 to sit for the theory test and around €70 in fees to Transport Malta and the instructor for the practical test.
When the learner passes both tests, they only need to foot one last bill to Transport Malta, to issue their driving licence.
Foreign nationals head to Malta for their licence
The instructors also said a significant number of EU citizens come to Malta to get their driving licence because it is cheaper and easier.
“After they factor in the cost of flights and accommodation, they say it’s still cheaper and easier to get their licence here,” one instructor said.