What does emigrating to Malta cost?
Answer four questions and you have an honest range for your situation. Every item shows whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. The paperwork is free here. The money is in the home, the boat and the energy bill of a house without insulation.
Looking for the whole route to Malta, not just the costs? See the steps, the order and the paperwork →
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 2.300 – € 7.400
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 2.200 – € 6.500
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 0 – € 150
- De verhuizing
- € 100 – € 700
- De eerste maanden
- € 2.200 – € 6.500
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- e-Residence registration and the card€ 0 – € 25
- Certificates and any translations(estimate)€ 0 – € 80
De verhuizing
- Travel(estimate)€ 100 – € 700
The amount depends on whether the car comes along. For the people alone it is three hours' direct flight from Schiphol or Eindhoven. If the car comes along, you drive in two days to Pozzallo in Sicily and take the fast catamaran to Valletta from there (± 1h45). Or you choose the long ro-ro line from Salerno, a ferry you drive the car onto yourself. That is a day and a night at sea, but cheaper for the vehicle. Count on overnight stays along the way, tolls and the crossing.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 2.200 – € 6.500
The law sets no cap on the deposit. The landlord may not demand more than one month's rent in advance, unless you agree otherwise. Nationally a one-bedroom flat costs around € 900 per month. In Sliema and St Julian's it is € 1,100 to € 1,500, in the south and on Gozo considerably less. Also add the double costs of the search weeks and the connections in your own name. Watch the residential ARMS tariff there: the rate for permanent residents at ARMS, the company that bills electricity and water. Further count on a dehumidifier for the winter and the air-conditioning bill of the summer.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 6 to 9% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 15.000 to € 22.500.
The stamp duty, Malta's transfer tax, is 5% of the value. On top of that come the notary (usually 1 to 2%, plus search and registration costs) and possibly your own lawyer. EU citizens need no AIP permit for their main residence, the permit for foreign buyers. For a second home they do, unless you lived in Malta for five uninterrupted years or buy in a Special Designated Area: a designated project where that permit is not needed. For first-time buyers on the Maltese market varying exemption schemes apply. Let the notary apply the current position.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 29 August 2026.
Ready to get started with Malta?
The whole journey in the right order, with your documents, your costs and all your cancellation letters. € 199 one-off, no subscription.
Also want to know whether your departure date is feasible, and where you start? Take the departure scan for Malta →
One thing you can sort out today
Closing down the Netherlands is the same work for everyone, wherever you're going. With the letter pack you enter your details once, and every cancellation and notification letter is ready: health insurance, rent, employer, bank, pension fund. Each comes with the date by which it has to go out. € 49 one-off, and it's also included in every plan.
In Vertrekklaar you get the complete picture of your own costs, with your route, your documents and your deadlines.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with four questions, but the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates with your real situation: who's coming, whether the car comes along, and Sliema or Gozo. It also watches the clocks: three months for the registration, thirty days for the rental registration, and the thirty days and twelve months around the car. A one-off € 199, no subscription.
Leaving with AOW or a pension? Compare how countries tax your pension
Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Malta: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Malta change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, send one offer, and now and then one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
64 journeys are fully ready: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, and the plan keeps an eye on your deadlines. You pay once, and then it's yours.