Malta checks pay twice: once when the permit is issued, once when it is renewed, against tax-authority data. The floor is the national minimum wage, the fast-track lines are €30,000 and €45,000, and since October 2025 every euro must move electronically. This page gives the figures and the package elements that matter for retention — which in Malta is now a condition of being allowed to recruit.
The national minimum wage for 2026 is €229.44 a week for employees aged 18 and over, set by Legal Notice 289 of 2025 and in force since 1 January 2026 (€222.66 at 17, €219.82 under 17). Most Filipino hires in hospitality, manufacturing and construction are paid above it under the sector's wage regulation order or the employer's own scale; what Identità checks is that the contract pays at least the minimum and that renewals match the approved terms.
The fast-track lines are different in kind: €30,000 gross a year for the Specialist Employee Initiative and €45,000 for the Key Employee Initiative, both since August 2025, both excluding allowances and benefits. A housing allowance or a service charge does not lift a €27,000 contract over the SEI line.
For third-country nationals registered from 1 August 2025, salaries must be paid electronically through a licensed financial institution since 1 October 2025; cash payments no longer count towards the contract. Workers open a Maltese bank account on arrival — we build the appointment into the first week. The rule also makes the renewal check mechanical: Identità confirms the approved pay against declared income.
Malta's termination thresholds turn retention into a licence condition, and the package is where retention is won. From a decade of Filipino deployments the elements that matter are: housing that is decent and close to the site, paid for or priced at cost under a registered lease; a contract that reads exactly like the job the worker was briefed on in Manila; overtime paid at the legal rates; a return flight at the end of the contract; and an onboarding week that covers the bank account, the residence card, the bus pass and the Filipino community. Hospitality and care employers who provide meals on shift see the same effect.
The employment contract signed in Manila and verified at the Migrant Workers Office is your Maltese contract: the same gross pay in euro, the same weekly hours, the same housing terms, the same contract length and the return flight. The MWO verifies that the employer exists, can pay and offers acceptable conditions; a contract that differs from the one later presented in Malta is the fastest way to lose a worker and a renewal.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in Rome, which serves Malta from the Philippine Embassy in Italy, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to Subsidiary Legislation 217.17, the Malta Labour Migration Policy as implemented by Identità and Jobsplus, Maltese employment law and Philippine DMW rules.
No. The minimum wage is a cash floor; housing provided by the employer sits on top of it and is stated in the contract and the lease. Nor does housing count towards the €30,000 SEI line, which excludes allowances and benefits.
No. The national minimum wage applies to everyone; the only nationality-specific lines are the KEI and SEI thresholds for the fast-track routes.
Nothing additional. Maltese statutory bonuses and weekly allowances apply as to every employee; the Philippine-side contract reflects the Maltese package, it does not add to it.
No. Recruitment, trade testing, the Pre-Departure Course, the Skills Pass, the permit and the visa are employer costs under the employer-pays principle. Any deduction for them would breach DMW rules and expose the employer in Malta.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.