How the I Belong certificate connects to Malta Long-Term Residence

• You must have lived in Malta legally and continuously for at least five years before you apply.
• “Continuous” means no single absence longer than six months, and no more than ten months abroad in total within the five years.
• Some permits do not count towards the five years: student or vocational training permits, temporary humanitarian protection (including while waiting for a decision), seasonal work, short-term visas, diplomatic or consular status, SRA asylum seekers, and the Family Member policy.
• On one of those permits? First move to a regular residence permit, such as an employment or single permit. Your five years start again from then.
• Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection: time before protection was granted counts at 50%. Any of that time beyond 18 months counts in full.
• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not need this permit.

• Your income must be at least the national minimum wage for at least the two years before you apply. It must be declared to the Maltese tax authorities.
• For each family member, add an extra 20% of it to the amount you need.
• Proof: recent payslips and FS3 forms, tax returns or tax certificates, and an employment contract or employer letter. Self-employed: audited accounts, business tax returns or an accountant’s letter.
• Special social-security benefits or allowances do not count against you.

• Complete the I Belong Integration Course (100 hours) and score at least 75% in the final exam. Your result must be no more than 12 months old: Form L asks for the 100 hours and the 75% pass obtained at most 12 months before the date of application. Identità’s FAQ also says the I Belong certificate must have been issued within one year of the date you submit.
• Pass a separate Maltese test at MQF Level 2 with at least 65%. Identità states no validity period for the Maltese-language certificate.
• Where to study Maltese: the Directorate’s own MQF Level 2 Maltese course is discontinued. It points you to Maltese as a Foreign Language courses at MQF Level 2 from the Directorate for Lifelong Learning and Employability, or other licensed institutions.
• Identità gives the Institute of Maltese Language as one example of a body that issues the certificate. It gives no full list, so ask Identità before you book that your certificate will be accepted.
• If your Stage 2 application was received before 15 June 2026, the Directorate says you will be given the opportunity to take both its Maltese language (MQF Level 2) course and the 100-hour Cultural Orientation course.
• Did an integration course in another EU country? You still need the Maltese certificate. Ask Identità whether your foreign course replaces the I Belong certificate.

The Directorate’s own page gives no pass mark for the course. Use Identità’s 75%, because Identità decides your application.

Book the course and the Maltese exam early. Identità warns that booking them can take time.

• Housing. A certificate from a warranted architect saying your home meets the Housing Authority’s standards. An inspection is often done.
• If you rent. The lease, signed by you and the landlord, with the landlord’s full name, ID card number and the rental address. Your name must match your passport. You also need the Lease Agreement Professional Attestation Form, signed by the landlord and a lawyer, notary or legal procurator, and the Housing Authority approval letter (issued under Chapter 604 of the Laws of Malta).
• If you own. The purchase contract or deed.
• Health insurance. Cover for you and your family for the risks normally covered for Maltese nationals. Most people need private insurance; a one-year renewable policy is typical. If your social-security contributions make you exempt, bring proof of the exemption from the Entitlement Unit.

• A signed cover letter to Identità’s Expatriates Unit about your time in Malta: when you arrived, why you are here, and your family members.
• A list of your arrivals in and departures from the territory of the European Union (Form L’s wording). Identità’s FAQ asks for it signed and dated, covering Malta and other Schengen countries in the last five years.
• Copies of every page of every passport you held in those five years. Your current passport must be valid for at least six more months.
• Proof of five years in Malta, such as rental contracts, utility bills, bank statements, payslips or school records.
• Your I Belong certificate (front and back).
• Your Maltese certificate (front and back), with receipts for the course and exam fees.
• The completed and signed Form L.
• Official translations, by a translator registered in Malta, of any document not in English or Maltese.

Bring the originals of all documents to your biometrics appointment. This list is a summary and must not be used to decide whether a submission is complete: follow the checklist in Identità’s Form L.

1. Apply online. Fill in Form L on the Identità Online Portal, upload your documents as PDFs and pay the €500 application fee online. Identità does not process an application until it is paid. This guide does not host the portal, take documents or submit anything for you.
2. Wait for the decision. It takes up to six months from a complete application, extendable by another six months in exceptional cases. Identità contacts you by email and through the portal if it needs more. If documents are missing, it should ask you for them, not refuse straight away.
3. If approved. You get an approval letter and a link to book biometrics. After checks (Identità names the Police), you get a collection letter. Collect the card within six months. It says Long-Term Resident – EU and valid for five years.

• You get the reasons in writing, through the portal.
• You can appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board. Act straight away: use the deadline in your decision letter. Identità’s FAQ says 3 working days from notification.
• Common reasons: less than five years of continuous legal residence, too much time abroad, income too low, missing or invalid documents, not passing the integration or Maltese requirement, or a serious criminal record or security concern.
• Once you meet the requirements, you can apply again.

• Renew online before the card expires. The €500 renewal fee gives you a further five-year card. You do not need to prove the five years again or retake the course and Maltese test.
• Start about three months before expiry. Identità says at least one month in one answer and one to three months in another.
• For renewal you need passport copies, your travel list and, if you have moved, new accommodation documents. Identità’s FAQ and Form L list different financial papers, so ask Identità what your renewal needs.
• You can lose the status if you spend 12 consecutive months or more outside the EU, six consecutive years outside Malta, get long-term resident status in another EU country, got the status by fraud, receive an expulsion order, or commit a serious crime. A card that has expired does not by itself end the status.

Not covered here: work rights for status holders, moving to another EU country, and the separate route for people who already hold EU long-term resident status elsewhere.