It can be tempting to lose track of time when working in a beautiful country like Malta, having secured a digital nomad visa for a year, but that time will go past quickly, as it always does when we are enjoying ourselves.
Be sure to remember to look into visa renewals and when you should be thinking about applying. Ideally, you will want the new visa to be in place by the time your previous visa has expired, ensuring a seamless stay in Malta.
Malta tries to maximise the number of remote workers and digital nomads who come to the country, as it is aware of the positive impact this can have on the economy.
Renewing the Malta Digital Nomad Visa, or Nomad Residence Permit, to give it the official name, is generally desirable. The visa allows remote workers to benefit from a favourable 10% tax rate in their second year after spending the first year at a zero-tax rate. Subsequent years will feature a 10% tax rate, up to a maximum of four years.
There is currently no route to permanent residency through the digital nomad visa, so this is something that can lead to some people not renewing their Nomad Residence Permit. This is designed to be a temporary permit rather than one that leads to a more permanent settlement, and this is why there is no available route to making it permanent. It is meant to allow people to take advantage of the ability to work remotely in Malta for a few years and potentially qualify for other visa categories.
You can apply for renewal of your digital nomad visa no later than one month before the nomad residence permit expires. Please bear in mind that it can take up to 60 days for the renewal to go through, so it may be worth applying for the renewal closer to 60 days from the expiry date of the previous one.
There are many factors that can influence how long the renewal time for the nomad residence permit can be. It is important to ensure that your application is as complete as it can possibly be so that they have all of the information necessary to process and approve the application successfully.
One of the other factors that can affect the length of time that an application for renewal can take is the volume of applications that need to be processed at the same time.
Most people apply during the “shoulder” seasons, so avoid March to May and September to October when applying if you are looking to have your application processed more quickly.
Background checks can also take some extra time, depending on which country you are applying from and your personal history, so be aware of this if your country of origin is one that generally gets flagged.
You are able to apply online to the Residence Malta Agency website. You will need to ensure that you have all of the supporting documents and can prove that you have spent five months of the year residing in Malta before your current permit’s expiration date.
You will need to prove that you still meet the income requirements for the digital nomad visa, even if they have been uprated from the year before. You will also need to provide proof of your accommodation in Malta. Guests at Evolve Coliving will receive help with this aspect of the application from the team there.
You will also need to prove that you have adequate health insurance that will cover you in the event of a serious accident or medical emergency. This is so that you are never a burden on the Maltese state and taxpayers.
In addition to this, you will have to prove that you are still able to work remotely for a foreign company or that you have freelance contracts in place that enable remote working.
The easiest way to ensure that you are able to stay in Malta for the maximum duration of a digital nomad visa is to keep up with current events and any changes in the visa requirements and ensure that all of your documentation is up to date.
It is easy to keep updated, thanks to the wonders of modern technology. The Residence Malta Agency is the best place to find updated information on the Nomad Residence Permit.
It is important that you don’t overstay your welcome in Malta. If you stay longer than your visa permits you to, seek legal advice immediately, as you may be subject to fines, deportation and being banned from not just Malta but potentially Europe or the Schengen Zone as well.
There are a few options for those who want to stay longer than the Nomad Residence Permit allows and one of these is the “Golden Ticket” visa. This is available if you can invest 500,000 euros or more in Maltese property or businesses. You can also choose to become a student at Malta’s university.
Malta is a wonderful country to live in, and the prospect of moving there for a few years can be very tempting for a number of reasons, not least the tax incentives of not paying any tax for the first year and only paying 10% in subsequent years. This is as good as anything you will find in mainland Europe, and you have the added advantage of 300 days of sun per year.
It is hard to see past Malta as a digital nomad destination already. As long as you are careful to stay within the rules and keep up to date with any changes to the visa, you should be able to stay for up to 4 years without any problems.
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