Opening a bank account in Malta as a worker: what the bank wants, how long it takes

Since 1 October 2025 a non-EU worker’s wages must be paid by bank transfer into an account in the worker’s name, or by electronic transfer through a licensed institution. So the bank account is a legal requirement for your first payday, and Maltese banks are slow to open one for newcomers. Start on day one.

What the bank asks for

Each bank sets its own list, and the list is longer for non-EU nationals. Expect:

• Passport.
• Residence card, or the interim receipt from Identità, or for EU citizens the eResidence application, which the EU citizens’ guide covers.
• Employment contract, and often a letter from the employer confirming your job and salary.
• Jobsplus engagement acknowledgement.
• Proof of a Maltese address: the registered lease, or a utility bill in your name, or a landlord’s letter. How to find a flat and sign the lease is on its own page.
• Sometimes a reference from your home bank, and a declaration about tax residence.

Bring originals and copies of everything. One missing paper is one more week. The bank sits with the SIM and the doctor in your first weeks in Malta.

How long

Days for EU citizens with a contract and an address; weeks for non-EU workers, sometimes more than a month at the large banks. Smaller banks and some newer licensed institutions are faster. Ask colleagues from your country which branch opened theirs quickest; it varies by branch as much as by bank.

While you wait

• Ask your employer to pay the first salary into an account you already hold in the EU, or through a licensed electronic money institution with a Maltese or EU IBAN in your name. DIER’s wording allows “an electronic transfer through a licensed and accredited financial institution” to an account in your name.
• Keep a written record of every payment and its date. Cash “until the account opens” is illegal for workers hired since October 2025 and leaves you without proof.

Choosing

Fees for a basic account are modest; ask about monthly charges, card fees, foreign transfers and whether the app works without a Maltese phone number. You need: a euro account, a debit card, online banking, and cheap transfers home.

Sending money home

International transfer services and apps are usually cheaper than a bank wire for small amounts; compare the exchange rate, not just the fee. Never route your salary through someone else’s account to “save fees”. It breaks the bank-transfer rule and puts your wages in someone else’s hands.

Problems

• Refused without reason: ask for the refusal in writing and try another bank. Banks must offer basic payment accounts to legal residents under EU rules, with conditions.
• Employer insists on cash: that is the employer’s offence. Record it, and call DIER on 1575.
• Account frozen for “verification”: respond to the bank’s document request the same day; delays are usually a missing proof of address.

Keep

Your IBAN, your account opening letter, and monthly statements downloaded as PDFs. Statements are the evidence for unpaid-wage claims, for permit renewals, for family reunification and for long-term residence. Match each one against your payslip, line by line.

Check this at the source

• DIER: wages to third-country nationals by bank or electronic transfer from 1 October 2025. https://dier.gov.mt/en/faqs/salary-payments-into-bank-accounts-for-third-country-nationals/
• Identità: the interim receipt and the card. https://identita.gov.mt/working-residing-in-malta/