Why this page exists
Official guidance for the Pre-Departure Course can change. Rather than silently editing pages, we record substantive content changes here — what changed, and when the underlying sources were re-checked — so returning readers can see what is new.
Change log
Date:
Published a new /employers page: a plain-language guide for employers whose new hire needs the Pre-Departure Course. Covers the employer's own role (registering the candidate on Skills Pass, and separately submitting the Single Permit application at Identità, which official guidance states "may only be submitted by the employer"), what the new hire needs to do before arriving, the 42-day timeline, what to do if that window is missed, what happens if the employer changes mid-course, and how to verify a certificate. All facts reused from already-sourced content elsewhere on this guide (registration, timeline, and troubleshooting pages) rather than re-derived, per the network's official-source discipline.
Date:
Re-checked every fee, timing and eligibility claim on this guide against the official Identità and Skills Pass pages. Nothing has changed: the course fee is still €250 (€245 plus a €5 Phase 2 booking fee), Phase 1 still allows up to 42 days, the certificate still has no expiry, and Identità still verifies the certificate as part of the work-permit application from 1 March 2026. The three known discrepancies between official pages all remain, so the notes on the cost, interview and certificate pages still stand: the interview is described as both a 20-minute online interview and a 30-minute onsite interview depending on which official page you read, the certificate platform is named as both Hyland and Blockcerts, and the €5 booking fee is attributed to the course on one page and to the Skills Pass add-on on another. The verification date on the homepage has moved to today; pages we did not re-check keep their earlier date.
Date:
Re-checked the official certificate and Phase 2 interview wording. The Hyland vs Blockcerts certificate-platform naming discrepancy remains: one official Skills Pass page still mentions Hyland, while the FAQ and Tourism & Hospitality certification page point to Blockcerts. The interview discrepancy also remains and is now documented more precisely: Identità describes a 20-minute live online interview conducted at ITS Malta or authorised Global Assessment Centres, followed by in-person verification, while the Skills Pass FAQ describes an onsite 30-minute interview at the candidate's closest VFS centre. The guide now states both descriptions and tells readers to follow their own booking confirmation.
Date:
Published the Pre-Departure Course page batch: dedicated guides covering who needs the course, how the Single Permit relationship works, registration, a documents-and-information checklist, cost (including the Skills Pass fee discrepancy), the Skills Pass comparison, the certificate and 1 March 2026 verification change, the Phase 2 interview, and a map to the official portals. All sources re-checked and dated as of this entry.
Date:
Initial publication of the Malta Pre-Departure Guide homepage and trust pages (About, Contact, Disclaimer, Privacy, Sources, Terms). All sources checked and dated as of this entry.