A third country national who is an intra-corporate worker may apply for a residence permit in Malta in line with Subsidiary Legislation 217.21 Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third-Country Nationals in the Framework of an Intra-Corporate Transfer Regulations.

An intra-corporate transfer is a temporary secondment for occupational and training purposes of a third-country national (TCN) from an undertaking established outside Malta to a local entity which is part of the same undertaking. The transfer may also take place from an entity established in another Member State of the EU to a host entity in Malta. Subsidiary Legislation 217.21 regards the Legal Provisions regulating the said processes.

The application for an intra-corporate transferee permit shall be submitted to Identity Malta Agency where the first stay shall take place or if the stay in Malta is the longest overall stay during the transfer.

An application for Intra-Corporate Transferee can be submitted online against a fee of €280.50.

Conditions:

You can enter, reside and work in Malta for a period of more than three months as an intra-corporate transferee if you are a manager, specialist or trainee employee. The definitions and conditions of admission are governed by Subsidiary Legislation 217.21. If you provide all the documents required, mentioned below, you will be issued an Intra-Corporate Transferee permit.

Please note that before being transferred from a company branch located outside of the EU to a branch in Malta you must have been employed by that company for a certain time period: if you are a manager from at least 3 up to 12 uninterrupted months; a specialist from at least 3 up to 12 uninterrupted months; a trainee from at least 3 up to 6 uninterrupted months.

The application for an intra-corporate transferee permit shall be submitted to Identity Malta Agency when you are residing outside Malta.

The period of validity of the ICT permit is of at least one year or the duration of the transfer (whichever is shorter) and may be extended to a maximum of 3 years for managers and specialists and 1 year for trainee employees.

Identity Malta Agency may require a period of up to six months to elapse between the end of the maximum duration of a transfer and another application concerning the same third-country national for the purposes of these regulations.

Applicants may proceed with their application for a renewal of the permit 90 days prior to the date of its expiry. It is to be emphasised that renewal of applications may only be submitted whilst their current permit is still valid.

Documents:

You shall submit to Identity Malta Agency an application for an intra-corporate transferee permit, endorsed by the host entity and shall:

(a) provide evidence that the host entity and the undertaking established in a third country belong to the same undertaking or group of undertakings;

(b) provide evidence of employment within the same undertaking or group of undertakings;

(c) present a contract of employment, and, if necessary, an assignment letter from the employer containing the following:

(i) details of the duration of the transfer and the location of the host entity or entities;

(ii) evidence that you are taking a position as a manager, specialist or trainee employee in the host entity or entities in Malta;

(iii) the remuneration as well as other terms and conditions of employment granted during the intra-corporate transfer;

(iv) evidence that you are able to transfer back to an entity belonging to that undertaking  or  group  of  undertakings established in a third country at the end of the intra-corporate transfer;

(d) provide evidence that you have the professional qualifications and experience needed in the host entity to which he is to be transferred as manager or specialist or, in the case of a trainee employee, the university degree required;

(e) where applicable, present documentation certifying that you fulfil the conditions laid down under the Recognition of Professional Qualification Regulations to exercise the regulated profession to which the application relate ;

(f) present a valid travel document and an application for a visa or a visa, if required, whereby Identity Malta Agency may require the period of validity of the travel document to cover at least the period of validity of the intra-corporate transferee permit;

(g) provide evidence of having, or of having applied for, a sickness insurance;

(h) present an address in Malta at the time when the intra-corporate transfer permit is issued;

(i) if you have applied to be admitted as a trainee employee you shall be required to present a training agreement relating to the preparation for his or her future position within the undertaking or group of undertakings, including a description of the training programme, which demonstrates that the purpose of the stay is to train the trainee employee for career development purposes or in order to obtain training in business techniques or methods, its duration and the conditions under which the trainee employee is supervised during the programme;

(j) All foreigners who were born or have lived for 6 months or more in a country reported as VERY HIGH-RISK for tuberculosis need to complete the Health Screening for Renewal of Work Permits Application Form every year for 3 consecutive years (a total of 4 years applying for health screening and working in Malta). Applications need to be sent by the employer to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit (IDCU) on [email protected]. After 3 years renewal of health screening for work permit, the applicant/employee no longer requires any health screening approval by the IDCU and can go directly to Identity Malta;

Rights

During  the  period  of  validity  of  an  intra-corporate transferee permit, the holder of an intra-corporate transferee permit shall enjoy the following rights:

(a) the right to enter and stay in Malta;

(b) free  access  to  the  entire  territory  of  Malta  in accordance with national law;

(c) the right to exercise the specific employment activity authorised  under  the  permit  in  accordance  with national  law,  in  any  host  entity  belonging  to  the undertaking or the group of undertakings established in Malta.

intra-corporate transferees admitted under these regulations shall enjoy equal treatment with regard to the terms and conditions of employment in accordance with the Posting of Workers in Malta Regulations.

Intra-corporate transferees shall be entitled to receive equality of treatment as the comparable nationals of Malta where the work is carried out as regards:

• freedom of association and affiliation and membership of an organisation representing workers or employers or of any organisation whose members are engaged in a specific occupation, including the rights and benefits conferred by such organisations, without prejudice to the national  provisions  on  public  policy  and  public security;
• recognition of  diplomas,  certificates  and  other professional  qualifications  in  accordance  with  the Recognition   of   Professional   Qualifications Regulations applied  only  after  the  persons  concerned  have  been granted family reunification;
• the provision  of  regulation  9  regarding  residence permits for family members shall be granted by the Executive  Chairperson,  if  the  conditions  for  family reunification are fulfilled, within ninety days from the date on which the complete application was submitted. The Executive Chairperson shall process the residence permit application for the intra-corporate transferee’s family members at the same time as the application for the intra-corporate transferee permit or the permit for long-term  mobility,  in  cases  where  the  residence permit application for the intra-corporate transferee’s family members is submitted at the same time. The procedural safeguards laid down in regulation 13 shall apply accordingly;
• Regarding the duration  of  the  validity  of  the  residence  permits  of family members in Malta, shall, as a general rule, end on the date of expiry of the intra-corporate transferee permit or the permit for long-term mobility issued by the Executive Chairperson
• without prejudice to  the  principle  of  preference  for  Union citizens as expressed in the relevant provisions of the relevant Acts of Accession, the family members of the intra-corporate  transferee  who  have  been  granted family reunification shall be entitled to have access to employment and self-employed activity in Malta.

Procedural Safeguards

Any  decision  declaring  inadmissible  or  rejecting  an application, refusing renewal, or withdrawing an authorisation shall be subject to an appeal before the Immigration Appeals Board, which must be submitted within three working days from the date of the decision of the Agency.