How we choose sources
When a page on this site makes a claim about a process, requirement, or cost, it is grounded in one of the official sources below, in this order of authority:
- Identità — for Single Permit and employment-related permit requirements.
- Skills Pass official pages — for the Pre-Departure Course and sector-specific Skills Pass operational details.
- Human Rights Directorate — for I Belong Programme updates.
- Other Malta government pages.
Secondary, non-official sources are used only to discover where to look — never as the final authority for a claim shown on this site.
Official sources referenced on this site
Identità
https://identita.gov.mt/expatriates-unit-main-page/noneu-nationals/employment-related-permits/single-permit/expatriates-unit-single-permit-pre-departure-course/ (opens in a new tab)Primary description of the Single Permit Pre-Departure Course requirement for non-EU nationals.
Re-checked 2026-06-14. Describes the interview as a 20-minute live online interview conducted at ITS Malta or an authorised Global Assessment Centre, followed by an in-person verification interview at a designated assessment centre worldwide — see the interview page for how this differs from the Skills Pass FAQ wording.
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Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment
https://homeaffairs.gov.mt/predeparture-course/ (opens in a new tab)Ministry-level description of the Pre-Departure Course: the two-part structure, the two Part 1 modules, the learning hours, the interview, the 42-day completion window, the fee, and the rollout dates.
Newly catalogued 2026-07-23, read via browser (this host returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches). It is the clearest official statement of the Part 1 / Part 2 split: Part 1 (the Pre-Departure Course) is mandatory for all first-time Single Permit applicants; Part 2 is sector-specific certification that applies only to certain occupations, such as tourism and hospitality, and forms part of the Phase 2 interview. Publishes: two Part 1 courses (Living and Working in Malta; Rights and Obligations at the Workplace), approximately 10–12 hours of learning each, a 20-minute live online interview at ITS Malta or an authorised Global Assessment Centre, a 42-day window to complete Part 1, a €250 course cost, portal opening 5 January 2026, and Identità verification of certificates from 1 March 2026. All of these agree with the figures already published across the network — this source corroborates, it does not correct.
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Skills Pass
https://skillspass.org.mt/ (opens in a new tab)Official Skills Pass programme homepage.
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Skills Pass
https://skillspass.org.mt/obtaining-the-skills-pass (opens in a new tab)Official guidance on how to obtain the Skills Pass.
Re-checked 2026-06-16. Still states the Tourism & Hospitality Skills Pass fee as €230, including a €5 booking fee, and still describes candidates receiving certificates through Hyland — see the homepage cost section and certificate page for how this compares with other official wording.
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Skills Pass
https://skillspass.org.mt/how-to-register.html (opens in a new tab)Official walkthrough of the Skills Pass account-registration workflow, including the personal, passport, and contact details the portal collects.
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Skills Pass
https://skillspass.org.mt/faqs (opens in a new tab)Official Skills Pass frequently asked questions.
Re-checked 2026-06-16. Still states the Skills Pass price as €225 with a combined total of €475 for both courses, describes certificates as issued digitally weekly through Blockcerts, and describes the onsite interview as physically attended at a VFS centre — see the homepage cost section, certificate page, and interview page for the related source discrepancies.
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Skills Pass (Tourism & Hospitality)
https://tourism.skillspass.org.mt/ (opens in a new tab)Sector-specific Skills Pass portal for tourism and hospitality roles.
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Skills Pass (Tourism & Hospitality)
https://tourism.skillspass.org.mt/skillspass (opens in a new tab)Sector-specific Skills Pass operational details for tourism and hospitality.
Re-checked 2026-06-14. The current fee table states: Pre-Departure Course €245; Tourism and Hospitality Skills Pass €230 including a €5 booking fee; Video Conference Interview no additional payment included. The page still contains an earlier sentence saying candidates book the Phase 2 interview and pay €250, so this is now treated as an internal wording conflict on the official page rather than as a separate fee to add to the total. See the cost page's discrepancy note.
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Skills Pass (Tourism & Hospitality)
https://tourism.skillspass.org.mt/faqs.html (opens in a new tab)Sector-specific Skills Pass frequently asked questions.
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Skills Pass (Tourism & Hospitality)
https://tourism.skillspass.org.mt/user-guidelines.html (opens in a new tab)Sector-specific Skills Pass user guidelines.
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Skills Pass (Tourism & Hospitality)
https://tourism.skillspass.org.mt/certification (opens in a new tab)Official description of how Tourism & Hospitality Skills Pass certificates are issued, stored, and verified through Blockcerts.
Re-checked 2026-06-14. Describes Skills Pass certificates as digital blockchain credentials issued by ITS and stored/imported through the Blockcerts Wallet App.
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Skills Pass
https://app.skillspass.org.mt/ (opens in a new tab)The official Skills Pass account application — where candidates log in, register, and complete the Pre-Departure Course and Tourism & Hospitality Skills Pass.
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When official pages disagree
Occasionally, two official pages describe the same detail differently — for example, how a course fee is broken down. When that happens, we say so in plain language on the relevant page, show both versions, and note that the point needs further verification, rather than inventing a single reconciliation that no official source actually states.