Coming to Malta from Ghana: the High Commission, the D visa, care and hospitality

Ghanaians work in Malta’s care homes, hospitals, hotels, cleaning companies and warehouses, and Ghana is one of the few African countries where Malta has its own mission. That makes the visa step direct. The permit is still the employer’s application and the employer’s cost.

Where the visa comes from

Malta’s list of missions includes a Malta High Commission in the Republic of Ghana. Long-stay visa applications go through the High Commission or a visa centre working for it; the decision is made by the Central Visa Unit at Identità. Check the High Commission’s page for appointment rules. Six to eight weeks after the approval in principle. West Africans in neighbouring countries without a Maltese mission use Identità’s premium courier process at €300.

The jobs Ghanaians take here

Carers in homes for the elderly and in households, nursing (registration with the Council for Nurses and Midwives first), healthcare support, hotel housekeeping and kitchen staff, cleaners, security, warehouse and construction. Carers and health workers have extra vaccination requirements in the health screening; security work needs a Maltese police licence.

The health screening

If Ghana 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. Carers and nannies need measles and hepatitis B cover whatever the country. Everything is done in Malta.

Documents

Qualifications for nursing and for the Specialist Employee route must be recognised by MQRIC. Certificates for family reunification are legalised in Ghana and translated in Malta if not in English. Passport valid for more than eight months.

Life here

West African communities are concentrated in the harbour towns, Marsa, Ħamrun, Birkirkara and St Paul’s Bay. Pentecostal and Catholic churches with African congregations exist; ask in the community. English is the language of work and of the island.

The scam, Ghanaian version

“Malta work visa” packages sold through agents and social media, fees for “processing” and “medical”, fake offers from real Maltese care homes. The visa through the mission costs the visa fee plus centre fees; the permit costs the employer €600. Read never-pay-an-agent and verify-an-employer. A real care home advertises on Jobsplus and interviews you on video.

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/