NextSpring

Marry a Maltese Citizen and the Act Stops Applying to You; Marry a Foreign Resident and You Need the Average Wage Plus Twenty Per Cent

Answer

The general rule applies to you

No exception is recorded for citizens of Romania on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.

172 exceptions recorded across 63 countries · none match Romania to Malta · Residency through marriage

Malta answers this question in two completely different places depending on who you married. Marry a citizen of Malta and you become an exempt person under article 4(1)(g) of the Immigration Act, so long as you are still married to and living with that person: Part IV of the Act, the part that controls entry, residence and removal, simply does not apply to you. The fee schedule confirms what that means in practice - a residence permit for an exempt person under national legislation is free of charge, while a permit for an unmarried partner of a Maltese citizen costs €50. Marry a third-country national living in Malta and you are in the Family Reunification Regulations, S.L. 217.06, where the sponsor is defined as a third-country national residing lawfully in Malta. There the conditions are substantial. The sponsor must hold a residence permit valid for at least one year and have reasonable prospects of permanent residence; the spouse must be twenty-one or over; and the sponsor must show accommodation normal for a comparable family, sickness insurance for all risks, and resources "equivalent to, at least, the average wage in Malta with an addition of another twenty percent income or resources for each member of the family". A reunited spouse does not get the sponsor's access to the labour market straight away: for the first twelve months after arrival, employment is subject to a labour market assessment and an employment licence. After five years the spouse becomes entitled to an autonomous residence permit of their own, valid for a year and renewable - and the Director may confine that permit to the spouse alone if the marriage has broken down.

Verified with official sourceStable2026-10-11

At a glance

Spouse of a Maltese citizen
An exempt person - Part IV of the Immigration Act does not apply

Article 4(1)(a) and (g) of the Immigration Act, while still married to and living with that person. Article 4(1)(h) continues the exemption for a widow or widower who was living with the citizen at the time of death.

Fee for a spouse of a Maltese citizen
Free of charge

Item 2(h) of regulation 2 of L.N. 164 of 2025, for a residence permit for exempt persons in accordance with national legislation.

Fee for an unmarried partner of a Maltese citizen
€50

Item 2(i) of regulation 2 of L.N. 164 of 2025. The schedule distinguishes a partner from a spouse: a spouse is exempt and pays nothing.

Who can sponsor family reunification
A third-country national residing lawfully in Malta

Regulation 2 of S.L. 217.06. The regulations do not reach the family of a Maltese citizen or of a Union citizen, who are dealt with elsewhere.

Sponsor's permit
Valid for at least 1 year, with reasonable prospects of permanent residence

Regulation 3(1)(b) and (c) of S.L. 217.06.

Minimum age of a reunited spouse
21

Regulation 4(1)(a) of S.L. 217.06, which also bars reunification of a second spouse where the sponsor already has one living with him in Malta.

Income required of the sponsor
The average wage in Malta, plus 20% for each family member joining

Regulation 12(d) of S.L. 217.06. The regulation gives a formula rather than an amount, and the average wage it is applied to is not defined in the regulations. The Director may accept a lower declared amount where there are justified reasons.

Income required where the sponsor is a refugee applying within three months
Equivalent to the statutory minimum wage

Regulation 21 of S.L. 217.06, which also disapplies the prior-stay rule in regulation 13 for refugees.

Working in the first year after arrival
Subject to a labour market assessment and an employment licence

Regulation 15(1)(b) of S.L. 217.06, for the first twelve months following arrival, even where the sponsor needs no such assessment.

Autonomous residence permit
After 5 years' residence; valid 1 year and renewable

Regulation 16(1) and (2) of S.L. 217.06. Absences shorter than six consecutive months and totalling no more than ten months do not break the five years.

Fee for a family reunification permit
€50

Item 2(e) of regulation 2 of L.N. 164 of 2025; item 2(f) charges the same for a family member admitted under policy rather than under the regulations.

Requirements

  • Marrying a Maltese citizen: be married to and living with that person - the Act's controls then do not apply to you
  • Marrying a third-country national resident: your sponsor holds a residence permit valid for at least one year and has reasonable prospects of permanent residence
  • Be twenty-one or over
  • Accommodation regarded as normal for a comparable family in Malta, meeting health and safety standards
  • Sickness insurance for all risks, for the sponsor and the family
  • Resources at least equal to the average wage in Malta plus twenty per cent for each family member joining

What applies to you

Nothing changes for a citizen of Romania

We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.

What the law says

Text layer - verbatim verifiedImmigration Act · Article 4(1)
«4. (1) The provisions of Part IV of this Act shall not apply to Part IV of Act does any person - not apply.»

"Persons to whom Part IV of Act does not apply." is the margin note, which the extraction splits across the sentence. Part IV is the part containing the controls on entry, residence and removal.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedImmigration Act · Article 4(1)(g) and (h)
«(g) who is the spouse of any person referred to in any of the foregoing paragraphs and is still married to and living with that person; and (h) who is the widow or widower of any person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) and at the time of his or her death was still living with that person:»

Paragraph (a) is a citizen of Malta. The exemption is conditional on still being married and still living together, so it ends when either does.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 2, definition of "sponsor"
«"sponsor" means a third country national residing lawfully in Malta who applies for the members of his family to join him for family reunification purposes;»

The whole scope of the regulations is in this definition.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 3(1)(b) and (c)
«(b) he is holding a residence permit valid for a minimum period of one year; and (c) he has reasonable prospects of obtaining the right of 2 [ S.L.217.06 FAMILY REUNIFICATION permanent residence.»

"2 [ S.L.217.06 FAMILY REUNIFICATION" is the running head of page 2, which the extraction places inside the sentence.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 4(1)(a)
«(a) the sponsor’s spouse who shall be twenty-one years of L.N. 166 of 2018. age or over: Provided that in the event of a polygamous marriage, where the sponsor already has a spouse living with him in Malta, the Director shall not authorise the family reunification of a further spouse;»

"Amended by: L.N. 148 of 2017; L.N. 166 of 2018." is the margin note, interleaved by the extraction.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 12(d)
«(d) stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself and the members of his family without recourse to the social assistance system in Malta and which would be equivalent to, at least, the average wage in Malta with an addition of another twenty percent income or resources for each member of the family who will be the subject of the family reunification application:»

The provisos that follow count special assistance and tax refunds towards stable resources, and let the Director accept a lower declared amount where there are justified reasons.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 13
«13. The Director shall not allow the members of the family of Amended by: the sponsor to join him in Malta unless he has stayed lawfully in L.N. 166 of 2018. Malta for a period not exceeding two years.»

Quoted exactly as the consolidated regulation prints it. As drafted the condition reads as a ceiling - the sponsor must have stayed lawfully for a period not exceeding two years - where a waiting period of up to two years is what the Union directive it transposes permits a Member State to require. The margin note is "Prior lawful stay. Amended by: L.N. 166 of 2018.". Nothing read for this record resolves which reading the Director applies.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 15(1)(b)
«said family members shall not be entitled to access in the same way as the sponsor for the first twelve months following their arrival in Malta and for such period of twelve months after their arrival, their access to employment or self-employment shall be subject to an assessment of the situation of the labour market in Malta and the requirement of an employment licence;»

The twelve months run from arrival, not from the permit.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFamily Reunification Regulations · Regulation 16(1) and (2)
«16. (1) Upon the expiry of a period of five years’ residence in Entitlement to Malta and provided that the family member has not been granted a autonomous residence permit. residence permit for reasons other than family reunification, the spouse or the child who has reached majority shall be entitled, upon application, to an autonomous residence permit: Provided that, in the case of the breakdown of the marriage, the Director may limit the granting of such permit to the spouse only. (2) The autonomous residence permit is valid for a period of one year and shall be renewable.»

"Entitlement to autonomous residence permit." is the margin note, which the extraction splits across the sentence.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFees payable for Residence Permits and Employment Licences Regulations, 2025 · Regulation 2, items 2(h) and 2(i)
«(h) Application for a residence permit or renewal for exempt persons in accordance with Free of charge national legislation (i) Application for a residence permit or renewal for a partner of a Maltese citizen €50»

The amounts sit in a second column of the printed table, which the extraction folds into the text.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Text layer - verbatim verifiedFees payable for Residence Permits and Employment Licences Regulations, 2025 · Regulation 2, items 2(e) and 2(f)
«(e) Application for a residence permit or renewal in terms of the Family Reunification €50 Regulations (S.L. 217.06)»

Item 2(f) charges €50 for a permit "in terms of the policy on family members of third-country nationals who do not qualify for family reunification by means of the Family Reunification Regulations" - an administrative policy the fee schedule names and no instrument read for this record sets out.

Read it at the source
About this source

The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

Standing: Maintains the text in force

Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

Practical notes

Which instrument applies turns entirely on the nationality of the person you married. A Maltese citizen's spouse is outside Part IV of the Immigration Act altogether; a Union citizen's spouse is under the Free Movement Order, S.L. 460.17; a third-country national's spouse is under the Family Reunification Regulations. Only the third carries an income test.

The income test is a formula, not a figure: the average wage in Malta plus twenty per cent per joining family member. The regulations do not define the average wage or cite a publisher of it, so the amount in force cannot be stated from the instrument alone.

Regulation 13 is worth reading in the original before relying on anyone's summary of it. As consolidated it says the Director shall not allow family members to join the sponsor unless he has stayed lawfully in Malta for a period "not exceeding two years", which as a condition reads the opposite way round from the waiting period a Member State may impose under the directive.

The fee schedule refers to a policy on family members who do not qualify under the Family Reunification Regulations and charges €50 for permits under it. That policy is an administrative document; no instrument read for this record contains it, and this record does not state what it says.

This record rests on the Immigration Act, the Family Reunification Regulations and the 2025 fees legal notice. The policy named in the fee schedule was not read.

Sources3 · all accessed 2026-10-10
  • consolidates
    Immigration Act, Chapter 217 of the Laws of Malta

    Laws of Malta

    About this source

    The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

    Standing: Maintains the text in force

    Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

    We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

  • consolidates
    Family Reunification Regulations, S.L. 217.06

    Laws of Malta

    About this source

    The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

    Standing: Maintains the text in force

    Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

    We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source

  • consolidates
    Fees payable for Residence Permits and Employment Licences Regulations, 2025, L.N. 164 of 2025

    Laws of Malta

    About this source

    The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.

    Standing: Maintains the text in force

    Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.

    We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source