Healthcare When Moving to Malta: Entitlement and Registration

Most employees lawfully working in Malta and paying Maltese social-security contributions can use the public health service. That entitlement is not created by an EHIC, residence card or private policy alone. Confirm it with Malta's Entitlement Unit, and keep interim cover until confirmation is in hand.

Which route normally applies?

Situation	Common basis	What to do
Employee paying Malta Class 1 contributions	Malta insured person	Confirm the Jobsplus engagement and social-security record, then request/verify entitlement with the Entitlement Unit.
Self-employed person paying Class 2	Malta insured person	Show registration and contribution evidence; new starters should confirm the effective date.
EU pensioner or qualifying dependant insured by another state	S1 registration	Obtain the S1 from the competent country and register it in Malta.
Temporary visitor insured in EU/EEA/Switzerland	EHIC for medically necessary state care during a temporary stay	EHIC is not a relocation plan or private-care policy. Register under the correct resident basis after moving.
Reciprocal-healthcare-country route	Bilateral entitlement certificate/card	Check the exact services and validity; coverage may be narrower than Malta insurance.
Not yet publicly entitled	Private or route-required insurance	Maintain comprehensive cover for the gap and for any permit condition.

Are a spouse and children covered through the worker?

They are not automatically covered just because the worker has a payslip. Non-working dependants may obtain derived entitlement under Maltese law or EU coordination, depending on nationality, residence, their own insurance status and family relationship. Register each dependant with the Entitlement Unit and obtain written confirmation.

Prepare the worker's contribution/engagement evidence plus marriage or birth certificates, passports/residence cards, proof of Malta address and any S1 or foreign insurance-status document. Keep private cover for a dependant until the route is confirmed.

Registration file and sequence

1. Before arrival: bring a medication summary, diagnoses, recent reports, prescriptions, vaccination records, EHIC/S1 where applicable and temporary insurance.
2. Start work: make sure the employer files the Jobsplus engagement and that your social-security number is correct.
3. Collect evidence: passport, residence document/application evidence, Malta address, Jobsplus engagement, payslip/contribution proof and dependant civil documents.
4. Apply or verify: contact the Entitlement Unit using its current service route.
5. Record the result: keep the confirmation number/document and ask what to present at a health centre, hospital or pharmacy.
6. Register dependants separately: do not assume the worker's record has populated the whole household.

If the employer has not registered you or deductions do not appear correctly, resolve that with payroll, Jobsplus and Social Security; the hospital cannot repair an employment record.

Continuing regular medication

• Travel with enough medicine for the transition where lawful, in original packaging.
• Carry a prescriber letter using generic medicine names, dosage, diagnosis and contact details.
• Check Malta and airline rules before carrying controlled or narcotic medicines; obtain any required Schengen certificate/export permission.
• Book a Malta GP early. A foreign prescription may not be directly dispensable, and the GP may need to issue a Malta prescription or refer you.
• Ask whether the medicine is licensed and stocked in Malta and whether an equivalent brand is used.
• If you may qualify for free Schedule V medicines, ask the Malta clinician about the application; it is not automatic.

Do not wait until the final dose to start the conversion.

Care after registration

Use a government health centre or GP for ordinary illness and the referral gateway. Public specialists are generally accessed through a referral from primary care or another clinician; urgent cases are triaged faster, while routine waiting times vary. Private GPs and specialists can usually be booked directly and paid privately or through insurance.

Return to the complete Moving to Malta guide to place healthcare registration in the wider residence, work and housing sequence.

• Doctors, pharmacies and ordinary care
• Private health insurance in Malta
• Pregnancy, maternity and children's healthcare
• Emergency numbers

Last reviewed: 9 August 2026. Entitlement depends on the insured person's facts; obtain written confirmation from the Entitlement Unit before cancelling interim cover.