The e-Residence document and the eID: the Maltese chain
Register within three months with Identità, online via the Expatriates Portal — and the rule that determines everything: a complete file gets a biometrics appointment within 48 working hours, a half file is not processed. After that everything hangs on the card, from eID to bank.
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If you stay in Malta for longer than three months, you register your residence with Identità, the Maltese agency for identity and residence. As an EU citizen you do not need to apply for a permit. You receive a Maltese residence card, the e-Residence document. The first issue is free, as is a renewal.
Two things to know up front:
- On a complete file Identità responds within 48 working hours with a date for the biometric appointment. An incomplete file is not processed.
- Your eID (your login for the Maltese government), your registration number and most counters after that hang on that one card. So whoever postpones the registration postpones everything.
When must I register?
For a stay of up to three months nothing is needed. Whoever stays longer to live, work or study registers through the online Expatriates Portal. That is only possible once you actually live in Malta. Proving your identity at a Maltese embassy is not possible. If you have no eID yet, you create a temporary account in the portal via the alternative login. Which ground of residence you choose and which papers go with it is in staying in Malta.
What happens after the file?
On a complete file Identità sends a date and time for the biometric appointment within 48 working hours. With it you get:
- the form you fill in;
- the list of documents you bring: the originals and copies, which the service keeps.
At the appointment you show your passport or identity card and your photograph and fingerprints are taken. You receive a biometric receipt, a temporary document with your name, address, photograph, signature and the registration number of your card.
An invitation does not yet mean approval: a check follows. If the status in the portal says "Collection letter posted to registered address", a collection letter comes and you collect the card yourself in Msida. You do that within six months, and no one else may do it for you.
| What | Deadline or amount |
|---|---|
| Register | if you stay longer than three months |
| Response to a complete file | within 48 working hours |
| First card, renewal, updating details | free |
| Validity of the card | generally five years |
| Renew | as soon as the card expires within three months |
| New card after loss or theft | 22 euros, with a report to the Maltese police |
| New card after damage | 16.50 euros |
Which numbers do I get?
The most important one is on the back of your card: your registration number, which ends in the letter A. You use that number for every later change in the portal, such as another address, another ground of residence or a renewal.
Check your name straight away on receipt. Identità follows the details in the machine-readable zone of your passport, and characters such as the German umlaut are not carried over.
Whoever works also gets a social security number. EURES advises applying for it as soon as you have an employment contract. Your employer registers your employment with Jobsplus, Malta's public employment service. A self-employed person applies for the number themselves at the Department of Social Security and also registers with the tax authority and for VAT.
What is the eID, and why do I need it?
The eID is the account you need for the online services of the Maltese government. Anyone with a valid Maltese identity card or residence card can apply for it. After your application Identità verifies your identity and sends an activation link to your email address. Whoever wants to use the certificates on the card itself, with a card reader, receives the PIN codes by post at their home address; those certificates are meant for sensitive services, such as financial matters. Resetting a PIN is done at the Identity Cards Unit, with your card.
A move within Malta is also a move at Identità. If you move within Malta, you report it through the portal, with your registration number, a copy of your card and a form your landlord co-signs, plus the new lease or a letter from the Housing Authority. If you leave Malta, you hand in the card, with a signed letter. That way the card keeps matching where you live.
The order once more
- a home with a registered contract;
- then the complete file;
- then the biometrics and the receipt;
- then the check and the card;
- then the eID.
With the receipt and your S1 you arrange healthcare in the meantime, see healthcare in Malta. How the contract must be is in living and renting in Malta.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Malta or go straight to step 1.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Identità — registration certificate and e-Residence document for EU nationals — identita.gov.mt
- Identità — the e-Residence application via the Expatriates Portal — identita.gov.mt
- Identità — frequently asked questions for EU nationals, with document lists and fees — identita.gov.mt
- Identità — the eID account for residents — identita.gov.mt
- EURES — living and working in Malta, the social security number and the checklist after arrival — eures.europa.eu
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