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Getting your qualifications recognised in Malta: MQRIC, the regulated professions, the timing

A Statement of Comparability from MQRIC puts your degree on the Malta framework. Fast-track permits need it; nurses, electricians and teachers need their regulator too.

Updated 5 November 2026 · 3 min read

Your degree is worth exactly what Malta says it is worth, and Malta says it through one office: the Malta Qualifications Recognition and Information Centre, MQRIC, inside the further and higher education authority. For the fast-track permits and for every regulated profession, its statement is a document Identità and Jobsplus look for. Apply before you have the job offer; it is the step most people start too late.

What MQRIC does

It compares a foreign qualification with the Malta Qualifications Framework and issues a Statement of Comparability giving it an MQF level. A bachelor’s degree is typically level 6, a master’s level 7. The statement is not a licence to practise and not an admission; it is the recognition that other steps build on. Applications are online, with certified copies and translations, and there is a fee; the authority’s site has the current amount and the form.

When you need it

  • Specialist Employee Initiative: eligibility requires an MQF level 6 qualification in a directly related area, or a lower qualification plus three years’ related experience. Identità asks for the MQRIC recognition.
  • Key Employee Initiative: qualifications or experience to match a managerial or highly technical post; Identità’s checklist asks for certified copies recognised by MQRIC.
  • Jobsplus suitability check since November 2025: recognition of qualifications from MQRIC “where applicable” is one of the four categories checked.
  • Regulated professions: MQRIC first, then the profession’s own regulator.

The regulated professions

ProfessionWho else must approve
Nurses and midwivesCouncil for Nurses and Midwives; Identità’s checklist names it
Doctors, dentists, pharmacistsThe respective Maltese councils
ElectriciansA Maltese electrician licence; named in Identità’s checklist
Security officersPolice licence and security tag
Food handlersFood Safety Commission card
TeachersTeacher’s warrant from the education authorities
Drivers of light passenger vehiclesMaltese or EU driving licence

Each takes its own time, often months, and some require exams or language tests. A nurse who arrives as a carer while the Council processes registration is following the common path, not a failed one.

The order that works

  1. Get certified copies of every certificate and transcript, apostilled where your country requires.
  2. Translate anything not in English with a translator registered in Malta or an accepted sworn translator at home.
  3. Apply to MQRIC online. Keep the reference number.
  4. Apply to the professional regulator with the MQRIC statement.
  5. Only then negotiate the salary that assumes your qualification.

What recognition does not fix

  • A degree in an unrelated field still fails the Specialist Employee “directly related” test.
  • A diploma mill. MQRIC checks the institution; a certificate from an unaccredited school gets no level.
  • Experience without paper. Reference letters with dates, duties and the referee’s contacts carry weight in Identità’s checklist, but they are not a qualification.

Cost and time

A fee per qualification, published by the authority, and weeks to months depending on the country and the institution. Nobody can expedite it for a fee. An agent offering “guaranteed MQRIC recognition” is selling you a form you can fill in yourself.

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.

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