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Your first weeks in Malta: where to live, the bus, a SIM, a bank, a doctor

Landing in Malta with a job: which towns people live in, finding a room, the free Tallinja bus card, SIM, bank, health centre, the heat, the languages, the real size.

Updated 5 November 2026 · 5 min read

Malta is small enough that your first mistake is choosing a flat by the sea and your second is buying a car. Live near the bus you will take every day, get the free bus card in the first week, open the bank account before the first payday, and the rest falls into place. This is the practical list.

The real size of the island

Malta is 27 kilometres long. Gozo, the second island, is a 25-minute ferry. The whole country has about half a million people and most of them live in one continuous town around the harbours. You will hear “the north” and “the south” said with feeling, but the north is a 40-minute bus from the south.

Traffic is the thing that makes it feel big. The 7 a.m. bus from St Paul’s Bay to Sliema can take an hour. Choose where you live by the bus line to work, not by the view.

Where people live

  • Sliema, Gżira, Msida, Ta’ Xbiex. The office belt. Walkable to most financial, gaming and tech jobs. The most expensive rooms. Gżira and Msida are cheaper than Sliema and ten minutes on foot from it.
  • St Julian’s and Paceville. Hospitality jobs, nightlife, noise. Fine if you work there, tiring if you do not.
  • St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, Qawra. The north. Many hospitality and care workers live here. Cheaper, by the sea, busy in summer, quiet in winter. Long bus to the office belt.
  • Marsaskala, Żabbar, Fgura, Paola. The south. Cheaper again, more Maltese neighbours, good buses to Valletta and the airport side.
  • Birkirkara, Mosta, Naxxar, Ħamrun. Central, residential, no sea. The best value for someone who takes the bus in every direction.
  • Valletta and the Three Cities. Beautiful, small, old houses. Few rooms, high rents.

Ask the employer where their other workers live. That tells you the bus line. The town-by-town guide for workers goes through each area in more detail.

Finding a room

Most newcomers rent a room in a shared flat for the first year. Prices move, so take these as rough: a room in a shared flat from around €450 to €700 a month, a one-bedroom flat from around €900 to €1,300 outside the office belt and more inside it. The salaries guide has the fuller picture. The flat guide has where to look and what to sign.

How it works:

  • Rooms are found on Facebook groups and the two or three big property sites. Agencies take a fee from tenants for whole flats; for a room you usually deal with the landlord or the other tenants directly.
  • You pay a deposit, usually one month, plus the first month, up front.
  • Ask for a written contract and a receipt. Ask whether the lease is registered with the Housing Authority; a landlord who will not answer is a warning sign.
  • See the room before you pay. Never pay a “deposit to hold a room” to someone you have not met. That is a scam, and it runs from the same WhatsApp accounts as the job scams.
  • Check the water heater, the air conditioning and whether bills are included. Electricity in summer is the surprise on the first bill.

The bus and the Tallinja card

Buses are the transport. With a personalised Tallinja card, bus travel on day and night routes is free under the government scheme. The card registration fee is €25 for an adult. Apply online or at a sales point with a photo and your ID or residence document. Until the card arrives, a single cash fare is €2.00 in winter and €2.50 in summer, valid for two hours. The express Tallinja Direct routes are outside the free scheme and cost €3.00.

Download the Tallinja app for live times. Buses are late in rush hour and early when empty.

SIM card

The three networks are GO, Epic and Melita. A prepaid SIM costs little and is sold in their shops and in many kiosks; bring your passport. Switch to a contract once you have a bank account. Coverage is good everywhere except inside thick old walls.

Bank account

Start the day you have your Jobsplus engagement acknowledgement or your interim receipt from Identità. Bring passport, contract, proof of address and that receipt. The large banks take weeks for non-residents, so ask your employer about an interim arrangement, and ask colleagues which branch was fastest. Non-EU workers hired since October 2025 must be paid by bank transfer, so this is not optional. What the bank wants and how long it takes is on its own page.

Doctor

Public health care runs through local health centres and Mater Dei Hospital. Once you are registered and paying social security, you use the public service. EU citizens bring their EHIC for the first weeks. Register at the health centre nearest your home as soon as you have an address. Pharmacies are everywhere and the pharmacist will tell you whether you need a doctor. Check the current rules for your situation at health.gov.mt. Health centres, Mater Dei, insurance and pharmacies are in the health care guide.

The heat

From mid-June to mid-September it is above 30 degrees most days and the nights stay warm. Buildings are stone; they hold the heat into October and the cold into February. Buy a fan before you need one. Drink water. If your job is outdoors, ask your employer about heat breaks before summer, not during it.

The languages

Maltese and English are both official. All contracts, forms and road signs are in English. Shops, offices and hospitals work in English. Learning fifty words of Maltese will make your neighbours smile and your landlord patient. Italian is widely understood by older people.

The first-week checklist

  1. SIM card.
  2. Room with a written contract.
  3. Tallinja card application.
  4. Jobsplus registration done by your employer; keep the acknowledgement.
  5. Social security number and tax number.
  6. Bank account application.
  7. Health centre registration.
  8. For EU citizens: eResidence application within three months. For non-EU: biometrics appointment and interim receipt.

Check this at the source

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change. The official sources linked at the end are the final word.

Never pay anyone for a job in Malta. If someone asks for money, it is a scam. No agents →

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