Malta Nomad Permit — Time in Malta: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

To renew Malta's Nomad Residence Permit you must show that you lived in Malta for at least five months in total over the previous 12 months. The months do not need to be in a row. Residency Malta Agency checks this with a bank statement that shows payments made in Malta, not only with travel dates. The first permit lasts one year and can be renewed three times, for a stay of four years at most. If you do not reach five months, the agency can refuse the renewal.

Goal: At least five months in Malta in total
Period: The 12 months before the renewal
Proof: Bank statement showing payment transactions made in Malta
Permit length: 1 year, renewable 3 times, 4 years at most
Source: Residency Malta Agency, Nomad Residence Permit renewal rules
Run by: Residency Malta Agency

Who it applies to

Remote workers from outside the EU who hold a Nomad Residence Permit and want another year.
Freelancers and consultants with foreign clients who use Malta as a base but travel often.
Permit holders who spend long periods back in their home country.
Family members included on a nomad permit who plan the year with the main holder.
People who are about to apply for the first permit and want to know what renewal will ask.

The rule

The Nomad Residence Permit lets people from outside the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland live in Malta while they work remotely for an employer, a company or clients based abroad. Residency Malta Agency runs the programme. The permit is issued for one year and can be renewed at the agency's discretion while you still meet the conditions.

The renewal rules of the agency set a time condition. Holders who want to renew must prove that they have lived in Malta for a cumulative period of at least five months over the previous twelve months. Cumulative means that separate stays are added together. The agency names the proof: a bank statement that shows payment transactions made in Malta.

The rule is written in months, not in days, and the agency does not publish a number of days. Five calendar months are between 150 and 153 days, depending on the months. Because the proof is your payments in Malta, the agency looks at whether your daily life was really on the island: a period with no card payments in Malta is hard to present as a period of residence.

Other renewal conditions sit beside the time rule. You must still meet the eligibility conditions, which include a minimum gross income of 42,000 euros a year, or 32,400 euros for people whose first application was filed before 1 April 2024. You should apply two to three months before the permit ends, and your immigration status in Malta must be regular when you apply. The receipt for the application does not extend your stay. The permit can be renewed three times, for a total stay of four years at most. If a renewal is missed or refused, a new application is possible 12 months after the last permit ended, and earlier years still count toward the four-year maximum.

Why it exists

The permit exists to bring remote workers who live and spend money in Malta. A residence card with no real presence would give free travel in the Schengen area without any benefit to the island. Asking for five months out of twelve, shown through local payments, checks that the holder has in fact used Malta as a home while still leaving seven months for travel.

Counting the days

You count the days you were in Malta during the 12 months before your renewal, add all stays together and compare the total with five months. This is a minimum to reach.

Find the date you will apply to renew, two to three months before your permit ends.
Go back 12 months from that date.
List every stay in Malta inside that period with arrival and departure dates, and add up the days.
Compare the total with five months. Aim for 153 days, the longest possible five months, so that you are covered whichever months are used.
Download bank statements for the same period and check that they show regular payments in Malta during the stays you listed.
If you are short, stay in Malta for the missing days before you file, as long as you still file before the permit ends.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were in Malta for any part of the day, over the 12 months that end today, and shows how far you are from 153 days. Five months is counted as 153 days, the longest five months, so the app asks for a little more than the rule, never less. This is a goal, so the app does not warn you about going over. Residency Malta checks the time with your payments in Malta, not only with your days. Countr cannot see your bank statements, so use your card in Malta during your stays and keep the statements.

Track Malta Nomad Permit — Time in Malta on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

Download on the App Store

Examples

Two long stays that add up

Priya's permit runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. She is in Malta from 1 March to 31 May 2026, which is 92 days, and from 1 September to 30 November 2026, which is 91 days. In between she works from India. When she applies to renew in December 2026 she has 183 days in Malta in the previous 12 months, more than five months. Her bank statement shows payments in both periods, so she has the proof the agency asks for.

Four months is not enough

Lucas holds a permit from 1 June 2026. He stays in Malta for June and July, travels for the rest of the year and comes back for all of March and April 2027. That is 61 days plus 61 days: 122 days. Five months is at least 150 days, so he is short when he applies in April 2027. The agency can refuse the renewal. He could then make a new application only 12 months after his permit ended.

Days without payments

Hana was in Malta for 160 days in the 12 months before her renewal, by her own travel records. For 50 of those days she stayed with a friend and paid for everything in cash or with a card from an account she does not show. Her statement shows payments in Malta on days that cover only 110 days of stay. The rule names the bank statement as the proof, so her file looks short of five months although her day count is above it.

Exceptions

The months do not need to be in a row: the rule asks for a cumulative period of five months.
People whose first application was filed before 1 April 2024 keep the income requirement of 32,400 euros a year at renewal.
Renewal is at the discretion of Residency Malta Agency, so meeting the five months does not guarantee a new permit.
An applicant who has overstayed, so that their status in Malta is no longer regular, will be refused.
After three renewals the permit cannot be renewed again: the total stay under it is four years at most.

Common misconceptions

“The permit is a residence card, so I can live anywhere and renew it each year.”: Renewal asks for proof that you lived in Malta for at least five months in the previous 12 months.
“The five months must be one unbroken stay.”: The rule says cumulative. Several shorter stays are added together.
“Passport stamps are the proof.”: The agency names a bank statement that shows payment transactions made in Malta. Travel records help, but the payments are what the rule asks for.
“I can sort out the renewal after the permit ends.”: The agency asks you to apply two to three months before the permit ends, and the application receipt does not extend your stay. People who overstay are refused.

Questions and answers

How many days is five months for the Malta nomad permit renewal?

The agency does not give a number of days. Five calendar months are between 150 and 153 days, so 153 days is the safe goal.

Which 12 months are checked?

The renewal rules say the previous twelve months. In practice this is the 12 months before your renewal, so plan your stays to reach five months before you file.

What happens if I spent less than five months in Malta?

You do not meet the renewal condition and the agency can refuse the renewal. A new application is then possible 12 months after the previous permit ended, and the earlier years still count toward the four-year maximum.

Does a short trip out of Malta break my five months?

No. The time is cumulative, so a trip only removes the days you were away. The days before and after it are still added together.

Do I need a Maltese bank account for the proof?

The rule asks for a bank statement showing payment transactions made in Malta. It does not say the account must be Maltese, so a foreign card used in shops and for bills in Malta can show the same thing. Ask the agency if you are unsure about your statement.

How long can I stay in Malta on the nomad permit in total?

Four years at most: the first permit of one year and three renewals. Each renewal depends on the agency and on the conditions being met again.

Do days in other Schengen countries count as days in Malta?

No. The condition is about living in Malta, and the proof is payments made in Malta. Time spent in other countries is time away.

Sources

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.