Who helps a worker in Malta: the offices, numbers and organisations that answer

Malta is small enough that the right office is a bus ride away and usually answers the phone. The hard part is knowing which one. This is the directory, by problem. Everything here is free unless it says otherwise.

By problem

Problem	Go to
Unpaid or short wages, no payslip, dismissal, leave, overtime, probation	DIER
Permit, renewal, change of employer, grace period, family, long-term residence	Identità
Job vacancies, engagement and termination records, employment history, courses	Jobsplus
Lease registration, deposit, landlord, overcrowding	Housing Authority
A fee demanded for a job, a fake offer, threats, stolen passport, fraud	Police
Health screening for the permit	Health screening unit
Health care	Your health centre, Mater Dei Hospital
Qualification recognition	MQRIC at the further and higher education authority
Tax number, tax return, payslip tax	Malta Tax and Customs Administration
Social security number, benefits	Department of Social Security
Visa	Central Visa Unit at Identità, or the visa application centre in your country

The offices

DIER, Department for Industrial and Employment Relations. 121 Melita Street, Valletta. Employees call 1575; employers 1576. Email info.dier@gov.mt. Weekday mornings. Takes complaints, investigates, goes to court for you. Licenses employment agencies and can revoke a licence for charging applicants.

Identità, Triq il-Wied, Msida. Expatriates Unit +356 2590 4800, singlepermit.identita@gov.mt. Everything about permits and cards. Appointments are booked online. Bring originals.

Jobsplus, the public employment service. Online portal for vacancies, your employment history (you will need it for the eResidence card and for long-term residence), and courses. The government helpline for the new migration measures is 153.

Housing Authority. Rent registration +356 2299 1010, customer.care.ha@ha.gov.mt. Adjudicating Panel for money disputes on registered leases up to €5,000.

Malta Police Force. Emergency 112. Any police station takes a report; there is an online form for remote reports, useful if you are still abroad and were scammed from Malta.

Health screening, Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit. The employer applies online; questions go through the portal and the unit’s pages.

Unions

Unions in Malta take individual members, including non-EU workers, and represent them at DIER and the Industrial Tribunal. The two large general unions are the General Workers’ Union and UĦM Voice of the Workers; sector unions exist for nursing, teaching and others. Membership costs a monthly fee. Join before you need them; a union that already has you as a member moves faster when the employer stops paying.

Organisations that help non-EU workers

Several non-governmental organisations in Malta help migrants with employment and residence problems, usually free: legal information, help with DIER and Identità paperwork, and support in cases of exploitation. Ask at your embassy, at a union, or at a place of worship for the ones active in your community this year; names and opening hours change, and we do not list what we have not checked this month. If you were trafficked or are being held by debt or passport, say the word “exploitation” to the police or to DIER; both have procedures for it.

Your own country

• Philippines: the Department of Migrant Workers, hotline 1348, and the nearest Migrant Workers Office or embassy. Licensed agencies and approved job orders are listed on dmw.gov.ph.
• Everyone: your embassy or the one that represents your country in Malta. Malta has no embassy in most source countries; the country pages on this site say which office handles yours.

Two rules for every office

1. Go with paper. Contract, payslips, passport, permit, the email you sent the employer. The office can act on paper; it cannot act on a story.
2. Ask for the reference number of your case and the name of the person you spoke to. Write them down before you leave.

Check this at the source

• DIER contact. https://dier.gov.mt/en/contact/
• Identità, working and residing in Malta. https://identita.gov.mt/working-residing-in-malta/
• Jobsplus. https://jobsplus.gov.mt/
• Housing Authority contact. https://housingauthority.gov.mt/contact/
• Malta Police Force, file a report. https://pulizija.gov.mt/en/file-a-report/
• Health screening unit. https://hpdp.gov.mt/idcu/work_permits_for_first_time_applicants
• Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines. https://dmw.gov.ph/