Moving to Malta in the game: tourist, work permit or local

Moving to Malta is the first thing you do in Malta Living, a free life sim set on the real islands. Before anything else, the game asks how you're coming: as a tourist, on a work permit, or as a local. That choice decides your first home, your starting money, the papers in your pocket and what you'll be doing at Identità, the government office in Msida that handles residence cards and permits.

How your start is drawn

The way-in cards say only what each one is ("Here on holiday. 90 days.", "Here to work. Papers to sort.", "Born here. Family around."). What you get is drawn after you choose.

The game also draws your background, once for your account: self-made or well-off. Most players start self-made: you start with what you've saved and learn skills like Cooking and Charisma 25% faster. Well-off players start with more money, and some well-off starts come with a job or the rent paid. Your background stays the same in every life you start.

Living in Malta as a tourist

You land with a 90-day stay that starts the moment your life does ("Merħba! Your 90-day stay starts now.").

• Self-made: €1,000 and a budget apartment in Żurrieq, at €120 a week in rent.
• Well-off: €6,000 and a one-bedroom flat in Sliema, the busy seafront town, at €300 a week.

A tourist's first tasks include the hop-on hop-off tour from Sliema Ferries. You can take a job offer, but to work it you need a single permit. To stay past day 90, get a job offer (and take the €250 Pre-Departure Course) or a place at the University, then apply in person at Identità in Msida: €600 for a single permit, €55 for a student residence permit. If you don't, your stay ends on day 90 and you start a new life.

On a Malta single permit

You arrive on a single permit, which in the game lets you live and work in Malta for a year, and a message telling you to collect your Identità residence card. Everyone who starts on a permit already has the Pre-Departure Course a first single permit needs.

• Self-made: €1,000 and a studio in Gżira, at €180 a week.
• Well-off: €2,000, a job in iGaming, Malta's online gaming industry, and a one-bedroom flat in Sliema that your employer pays for your first 4 weeks. After that it's €300 a week.

Your permit is a clock to watch. From 90 days before it runs out you can renew it in the Identità app, for €150, as long as you have a job. Let it run out and you have 30 days to get a new single permit, at €600, before you have to leave Malta. Lose your job and you have 30 days to find another.

There's a longer road too. After five years in Malta (a real day counts as a month), with the I Belong culture course and Maltese at MQF level 2, both at the Lifelong Learning Hub, and steady pay, you can apply for long-term residence: no more renewals. These are the game's rules, not immigration advice.

Outside the game, Identità's Expatriates Unit issues residence permits to third-country nationals, and the Single Permit is one of the most common employment-related ones, with its details printed on the residence card (Identità: employment in Malta).

Growing up local

A local is born here, with family around ("Merħba lura! Mum has already asked if you've eaten."). You start with a Maltese ID card and a personalised tallinja card, the bus card that makes every bus free. You're already fluent in Maltese, and you have nothing to apply for at Identità.

• Self-made: €500 and your old room at Mum's in Rabat, rent-free.
• Well-off: €10,000, a job in iGaming, and a one-bedroom flat in Sliema where Dad pays the rent for as long as you live there.

Mum messages you, calls you down when food's ready, and you can always move back in with her.

Rent, homes and moving up

Whichever way you come in, rent is paid every Saturday at 18:00 for a home you rent, and none is due at a home you buy or at Mum's. Your landlord sends a reminder the day before, and if you can't pay you get a week to catch up. The Homes app has six homes to climb, from Żurrieq to a villa with a pool in Mellieħa: our guide to renting in Sliema and moving up explains moving.

Moving to Malta as a tourist suits explorers, on a permit suits goal-setters, and local skips the paperwork. Then find work in jobs and careers, learn a few Maltese phrases for beginners, read the Malta life simulator guide for the bigger picture, or start your life in Malta Living free in your browser.

Questions people ask

What's the difference between a tourist and a permit holder in Malta Living?

A tourist has a 90-day stay and needs a job offer or a university place, plus a permit from Identità, to stay longer. A permit holder arrives with a single permit for a year, a residence card to collect, and a permit to renew from 90 days before it runs out.

How do I stay in Malta longer than 90 days in the game?

Get a job offer (plus the €250 Pre-Departure Course) or a place at the University, then apply in person at Identità in Msida before day 90: €600 for a single permit or €55 for a student residence permit.

What does Identità do outside the game?

It's the government office for identity documents: it issues e-ID cards to Maltese citizens, and its Expatriates Unit issues residence permits and documents to foreign nationals (identita.gov.mt).

Can I change my way in later?

Yes: tap Start a new life and pick again. Your background, self-made or well-off, stays the same for your account in every life.