Budget scenario
€7,000
6 months, all in
- 25-wk course: €1,500
- Shared room: €500/mo
- Food/transport: €400/mo
The real student work rules, the visa that changed in 2024, and what a month in the Mediterranean actually costs. No agency spin.
Yes, you can work 20 hours a week while studying English in Malta, but only after your first 3 months of study and with a Jobsplus employment licence. Courses of 15 weeks or more require a student visa obtained before you travel.
20 h
per week (after 3 months)
15+ wks
course needs a prior visa
€229/wk
minimum wage 2026
≈ €4,700
funds for 6 months
Section 1 · Work rules
A non-EU student enrolled on a course longer than 90 days with at least 15 hours of lessons a week can work in Malta, but the rules differ sharply from Ireland: the right only begins after the first 3 months of study, and it depends on an employment licence issued by Jobsplus (the state employment agency).
In practice: you arrive, get your residence permit, study for 3 months living off your savings, and only then apply for the licence and start working up to 20 hours a week. Anyone selling you "work from day one in Malta" is out of date or lying.
| Situation | You can | Details |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 months of study | 0 h / week | Official waiting period: full-time study, no work. |
| After 3 months + licence | 20 h / week | With a Jobsplus employment licence, applied for by you (not the employer). |
| Minimum course length | 90+ days | The course must exceed 90 days, with at least 15 h of lessons a week. |
| Type of school | Licensed | English schools licensed by the Malta ELT Council. |
| Minimum wage (2026) | €229.44 / wk | For 40 h. At 20 h that is about €115/week, roughly €500/month. |
Section 2 · Costs
Figures for a 6-month package in Malta (St Julian's and Sliema area), including a licensed course, accommodation, food, transport and insurance. Conversions use live exchange rates.
Budget scenario
€7,000
6 months, all in
Most common
€9,000
6 months, all in
Comfortable
€12,400
6 months, all in
Tool
Build your budget with live exchange rates
Destination, duration, accommodation type and extras. Results in about 30 seconds. Coming soon.
💡 Working 20 h/week at minimum wage you gross about €500/month. In Malta that helps with day-to-day costs but does not cover everything: plan your savings mainly for the first 3 months, when you cannot work yet.
Section 3 · Proof of funds
Reference amount
€4,700
= €26 × ~180 days
≈ €783 per month
The official baseline is €26 per day of stay if your accommodation is not yet paid, or €18 per day if it is already settled. For 6 months that is about €4,700 (or €3,300 with accommodation paid). The proof goes into the D visa application, before you travel.
Good to know: a bank statement from your home country covering the last 3 to 6 months works, together with a bank letter, all translated into English.
Rule of thumb: beyond the official minimum, bring a comfortable reserve for the first 3 months without work. That gap is what catches out people who arrive counting on a salary from week one.
Section 4 · Areas
Student hub
The centre of student life: most schools are here or nearby, with Paceville next door for nightlife. Higher rents and lots of buzz.
Seafront and shops
A seafront promenade, cafés and strong retail. Close to everything by ferry or bus, with a slightly more grown-up pace than St Julian's.
Historic capital
UNESCO heritage, museums and baroque architecture. Few schools inside the walls, but the whole island's buses converge here.
Budget-friendly
Bugibba and Qawra have the island's lowest rents and a beach-town feel. Further from the action: 30 to 40 minutes by bus to the big schools.
Section 5 · Step by step
Only ELT Council licensed schools count for the student visa. The course must exceed 90 days to unlock work rights later.
Mandatory for the visa application. Keep the payment receipts too.
Minimum cover of €30,000, the Schengen standard. Costs between €200 and €500 for 6 months.
Applies to courses of 15+ weeks, and has done since March 2024 (no more sorting it out in-country). Allow about 45 days. Courses up to 12 weeks: visa-free entry for many nationalities.
Bring the school letter, insurance, proof of funds and your address in Malta. The residence card is what keeps you legal beyond 90 days.
The no-work waiting period. Live off your reserve, focus on the English, and keep your attendance up: schools report it to immigration.
You apply for the licence yourself (not the employer), with proof of full-time enrolment. Then: up to 20 h/week. Hospitality, restaurants and iGaming hire the most students.
Section 6 · Comparison
The classic dilemma for study-and-work students. Short answer: if earning while you study is priority one, Ireland wins (higher wages and work rights soon after registration). Malta wins on entry cost, climate and Schengen mobility during the course.
| Criterion | 🇲🇹 Malta | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Work rights with an English course | ✓ 20h/wk (after 3 months) | ✓ 20h/wk (soon after the IRP) |
| Minimum wage | €229/wk (~€5.74/h) | €14.15/h |
| Cost for 6 months (all in) | €7k–12k | €10k–15k |
| Visa | D visa in advance for 15+ weeks | None in advance for most LatAm passports (register on arrival) |
| Climate and mobility | Mediterranean · inside Schengen | Frequent rain · outside Schengen |
"I did a 30-week course in St Julian's. For the first 3 months I lived off the savings I brought; after the Jobsplus licence I got waitressing work in Sliema. Malta is small, the sun helps, and the English came with daily life."
Camila, 27 · Belo Horizonte → St Julian's · 9 months
Illustrative testimonial based on real accounts. Verified student reviews appear on each school's page.
Next step
We filter schools licensed by the ELT Council with 15+ hours a week of lessons, the ones that count for the student visa. Real prices, verified reviews.
Section 7 · FAQ
These answers ship as FAQ schema (JSON-LD) so they can surface in Google AI Overviews.
Courses up to 12 weeks: many nationalities (including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Peru) enter visa-free under Schengen rules. Courses of 15 weeks or more: everyone from outside the EU needs a national D visa applied for via VFS Global before travelling, allowing about 45 days. The rule changed in March 2024.
No. The official rule is clear: non-EU students may only work after their first 3 months of study, and they also need the Jobsplus employment licence. Plan your savings for that period. It is the biggest practical difference from Ireland.
The 2026 minimum wage is €229.44 per week (40-hour basis). At 20 h that is about €115/week, roughly €500/month. In Malta that helps with costs but does not cover everything. In Ireland the same 20 h at minimum wage bring in around €1,130/month. Run that maths before choosing your destination.
If the priority is working early and higher wages: Ireland. If it is lower entry cost, Mediterranean climate and travelling around Europe during the course: Malta. Both require a long course at an accredited school. Compare the numbers in the table above and read the full Ireland guide.
Yes. Malta is part of the Schengen area: with the D visa and residence permit you can move around other Schengen countries as a tourist, up to 90 days in any 180-day period. A real advantage over Ireland, which sits outside Schengen.
You can renew the residence permit for as long as you remain enrolled on an eligible full-time course and keep the minimum attendance (schools report it to immigration). Renewal is yearly. To stay for good, the route is a change of status: work visa, higher education or another permit.
Sources:
Trust caveats: