How the Pre-Departure Course fits into your Single Permit application

What the Single Permit is, in brief

A Single Permit is the combined residence-and-work authorisation that third-country nationals generally need in order to live and work in Malta — issued through Identità’s Expatriates Unit. This guide focuses specifically on the Pre-Departure Course requirement; for the full Single Permit application process itself — eligibility categories, employer obligations, required forms, and processing — Identità’s own pages are the authoritative source, since that process sits outside what the official Pre-Departure Course pages describe in detail.

What this page can responsibly cover, grounded directly in the official Pre-Departure Course materials, is where the course and its certificate sit within that wider application — because that relationship is exactly what those materials describe.

Where the certificate fits

Identità’s guidance states plainly that “a valid Pre-Departure Course Certificate will be required for all first-time Single Permit applications”. In other words, the certificate is described as a supporting document your application needs to include — not a separate permit, and not an alternative route into Malta. It sits alongside whatever other documentation your Single Permit application already requires.

The course itself runs through the Skills Pass portal, entirely separate from the Single Permit application system — so completing it is a preparatory step you can take before, or in parallel with, assembling the rest of your application, rather than something that happens inside the Single Permit process itself.

The published rollout timeline

Identità’s materials describe a phased rollout with two key dates:

• 5 January 2026 — the Pre-Departure Portal opened, and applicants could begin the course.
• 1 March 2026 — Identità begins formally verifying Pre-Departure Course certificates as part of the work-permit application process.

The practical implication of the second date is straightforward: from 1 March 2026 onward, official guidance indicates that having a verifiable certificate in hand — well before you submit — helps avoid the kind of processing delay that comes from missing supporting documentation. If your planned application date is close to or after that point, completing the course early gives you a buffer rather than a bottleneck.

What official guidance does not spell out

To stay within what the official Pre-Departure Course materials actually state, this guide does not speculate about what happens procedurally if a first-time applicant submits without a certificate after verification begins, since the official page describing the certificate requirement does not detail the consequence. If that scenario applies to you, that is a direct question for Identità — not something to infer from this or any other unofficial summary.

Practical sequencing

1. Confirm whether the course requirement applies to your situation — see who needs the Pre-Departure Course.
2. If it does, register and complete the course through the Skills Pass portal — see how registration works — well ahead of when you plan to submit your Single Permit application.
3. Keep your certificate, along with the rest of your Single Permit documentation, ready before you submit — particularly if your application falls on or after 1 March 2026.
4. For everything about the Single Permit application itself beyond the course — eligibility, employer sponsorship, required forms, and processing — go to Identità’s official guidance, which is the authoritative source for that broader process.

Official sources for this page

• Identità (opens in a new tab)

  Primary description of the Single Permit Pre-Departure Course requirement for non-EU nationals.

  Source last checked: 8 June 2026