A dated record of substantive changes to this guide and when sources were last checked.
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:
Added a sixth Pre-Departure test-shaped topic, “Inclusion, integration and community life”, for the official first-module area of the same name: 14 practice questions on who runs integration in Malta, the national integration and anti-racism plans, and which equality body handles discrimination complaints. Each question names the Human Rights Directorate or NCPE page it was checked against.
Date:
Added a fifth Pre-Departure test-shaped topic, “Tax, records and your residence card”, for the official first-module area Legal and Administrative Essentials: 19 practice questions on tax and social security taken from your pay, your Jobsplus employment record, and what to do if your residence card is lost or your address changes. Each question names the tax authority, Department of Social Security, Jobsplus or Identità page it was checked against.
Date:
Added a fourth Pre-Departure test-shaped topic, “Health care and school”, for the official first-module area Health and Education: 20 practice questions on when to call 112, where to go for everyday care, the 24-hour health centres, the 1400 and 1579 helplines, and registering children for state school. Each question names the Ministry for Health, health directorate or Migrant Learners' Unit page it was checked against.
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Added a third Pre-Departure test-shaped topic, “Getting around and waste”, for the official first-module area Transport and Waste Management: 24 practice questions on free bus travel with a personalised Tallinja card, using and exchanging a foreign driving licence, waste separation bags and fines, and bulky and special waste. Each question names the Malta Public Transport, Transport Malta, ERA, WasteServ or local council page it was checked against. Collection days are not stated because they differ by locality.
Date:
Added a second Pre-Departure test-shaped topic, “Documents, arrival and housing”, for three official first-module areas (documentation, the pre-departure checklist, and accommodation): 30 practice questions on the documents for a first Single Permit, health screening, the biometrics appointment and Interim Receipt, renewal, and renting a home under the Private Residential Leases Act. Each question names the Identità page, health authority page or law it was checked against.
Date:
Added a Pre-Departure study topic for the official second module (rights, obligations and workplace standards): 30 practice questions on contracts and pay, working hours and rest, leave and notice, avoiding exploitation, health and safety, and food hygiene. Each question names the Maltese law or government page it was checked against, and every practice question now has a one-tap “Report a problem” button.
Date:
Re-checked the seven Pre-Departure study topics against Identità's Pre-Departure Course page and the Skills Pass pages, all read between 29 September and 1 October 2026. The topics no longer use Skills Pass phase labels for the assessment, predict what an interview will ask, or state permit-change and renewal rules this guide cannot confirm; they point to Identità for those. Unsourced population, distance, public-holiday and ranking figures, generalisations about Maltese culture and workplaces, a wrongly labelled hospital, and several Maltese phrase and pronunciation errors were corrected or removed, and the practice questions were reworked to match. These topics now show a review date of 2026-10-01.
Date:
Re-checked every claim on the homepage and its FAQs against Identità's Pre-Departure Course page and 28 February 2026 notice, the Home Affairs page, and the Skills Pass general site's FAQs, registration guide and obtaining guide and the tourism information site's pages, all read on 2026-10-01. The homepage no longer says your employer registers you first, that a passport-size photo is required, when the 42 days start, that the English assessment is basic, or that the certificate itself never expires. It now states where the sources differ beside the claims they affect: the course structure (two modules and a 20-minute interview, or four exams and a 30-minute onsite interview), the interview's format and venue, the exemptions from the course, the certificate platform (Hyland or Blockcerts) and the Skills Pass add-on fee. 1 March 2026 is now described as the start of certificate verification, not of the requirement. The homepage now shows Last checked 2026-10-01.
Date:
Re-checked every claim on the troubleshooting, what-to-do-if-you-fail, login, official portal, sources and about pages, the countries overview, each country page and each role page against Identità's Pre-Departure Course and 28 February 2026 notice pages, the Home Affairs Ministry page, the Skills Pass FAQ, registration and process pages and the tourism information site's process, FAQ, user-guidelines and certification pages, all read on 2026-10-01. The pages now say where the official descriptions differ (interview length and venue, the 42-day windows, Blockcerts versus Hyland certificate delivery, the fee components) instead of choosing one, no longer describe the two official websites as two separate candidate portals, and name the sources they rely on. These pages now show Last verified 2026-10-01.
Date:
Re-checked every claim on the cost, registration, certificate, how-it-works and timeline pages against Identità's Pre-Departure Course page, Single Permit application page and 28 February 2026 notice, the Home Affairs Ministry page, the Skills Pass FAQ, registration and process pages and the tourism information site's process, FAQ, user-guidelines and certification pages, all read on 2026-10-01. On this site the pages also qualify who needs the course by Identità's stated exemptions. The pages now say where the official descriptions differ (the fee components, the interview length and venue, the sequence of the two parts, the certificate delivery platform) instead of choosing one, state no combined fee total that no official page publishes, and name the sources they rely on. These five pages now show Last verified 2026-10-01.
Date:
Re-checked every claim on the interview, interview preparation, Single Permit, documents checklist and Skills Pass comparison pages against Identità's Pre-Departure Course page and 28 February 2026 notice, the Skills Pass FAQ and process pages, the tourism information site and the Home Affairs Ministry page, all read on 2026-10-01. Removed wording the sources do not support (an assumed fully English interview, an "official quotation" about workplace scenarios, advice to apply before the course is finished, blanket statements about who needs the course), kept the 20- versus 30-minute interview-format conflict stated with both sources, and said where the course is completed, including the interview. These five pages now show Last verified 2026-10-01.
Date:
Corrected the timeline page to distinguish Identità's 20-minute live online interview from the separate in-person verification interview. Official descriptions still differ on interview format and venue; readers should follow their booking confirmation.
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Improved the Study Hub with short recall sessions, spaced review, original speaking scenarios, mixed knowledge checks and missed-answer practice. Corrected assessment guidance and clarified that these exercises supplement official course materials; practice scores do not predict an official pass. Progress stays in this browser.
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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.
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Read the official Identità Pre-Departure Course guidanceOpens the official website