Coming to Malta from Kenya: the visa route, care and hospitality jobs, the fees that are not real

Kenyans work in Malta’s care homes, hotels, restaurants and cleaning companies, and increasingly in customer service and IT. Malta has no mission in Kenya, so the visa goes by courier through Identità. The permit is applied for and paid by the employer, and the only fee you should ever see is the visa’s.

Where the visa comes from

Malta has no embassy or high commission in Kenya. Identità’s premium process for countries without a Maltese mission applies: email the Central Visa Unit with your approval in principle, receive a token, upload documents, pay €300 covering all fees, send your passport by courier, receive the visa in six to eight weeks. Check VFS Global’s Malta pages in case a centre is listed for your country; we could not confirm one on an official page at the time of writing.

The jobs Kenyans take here

Carers in homes for the elderly and in households, healthcare support, nurses after Council registration, hotel housekeeping and front desk, waiting and kitchen staff, cleaners, English-language customer service for gaming and tech. Hospitality needs the Tourism and Hospitality Skills Pass. Carers have extra vaccination rules in the health screening.

The health screening

If Kenya is on Malta’s current high-risk tuberculosis list, a chest X-ray in Malta within six weeks of the application is required, and a repeat screening a year later. All tests are done in Malta. A “medical certificate” bought in Nairobi is not accepted.

Documents

Degrees and diplomas through MQRIC; nursing through the Council for Nurses and Midwives; certificates for family reunification legalised in Kenya. Passport valid for more than eight months.

Life here

East African communities are smaller than the West African ones and spread through the central towns and the harbour area. English is the language of work and of the island, which makes the first weeks easier than for most.

The scam, Kenyan version

Agents selling “Malta care jobs” for large fees, often with a fake offer from a real care home. The permit is the employer’s application and the employer’s €600. The visa is €300 all-in by courier. Read never-pay-an-agent and verify-an-employer, and ask the care home for a video interview from the premises before you believe anything.

The money

The minimum wage is €229.44 a week in 2026, about €994 a month. A room costs €450 to €700 a month. Run your own numbers in the salaries guide before you accept. A salary far above the ranges there is a red flag, not a prize.

What never happens

Nobody in Malta charges you for a job. Agencies here are licensed by DIER and commit an offence if they take money from an applicant. Employers may not take money from workers for recruitment. The permit fee is the employer’s. You pay the two official courses, your visa, your health tests and your flight, and nothing else.

Check this at the source

• Identità, long-stay visa policy: who needs a D visa, where to apply, premium process €300, 6 to 8 weeks. https://identita.gov.mt/central-visa-unit-national-visa-long-stay-visa/
• Missions of Malta: embassies and high commissions. https://missions.foreign.gov.mt/embassies/ and https://missions.foreign.gov.mt/high-commissions/
• Identità, working and residing in Malta. https://identita.gov.mt/working-residing-in-malta/
• DIER: agencies may not charge applicants. https://dier.gov.mt/en/faqs/employment-agencies-regulations-and-the-temporary-working-regulations/2/