With the introduction of the new Pre-Departure Course through the Labour Migration Policy the original Skillspass system will be dovetailing into the new system and assure that the objective is to only facilitate access to skilled employees in the hospitality and tourism industry.
The previous Skillspass will now be divided into two. The first part will be the Pre-Departure Course which is mandatory for all non-EU/EEA/EFTA national who intend to come and work in Malta. The second part will be the sector specific courses of each claimed sector. The Tourism and Hospitality sector includes mainly the Basic Customer Care and the Basic Maltese Tourism Product and the occupation assessment where applicable. These are all done online through the Skillspass platform.
Once a candidate passes the 1st and 2nd part online they will book for Phase 2 which is an online face to face interview to verify the knowledge acquired. If the candidate passes the Phase 2 they will be issued a Pre-Departure Course Certificate as well as a Certificate of Full Skillspass achievement with which they can start the process to apply for the work permit with Identità.
The target audience are all those non-EU/EEA/EFTA nationals wishing to come to work within the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Malta. Employers are also affected by these regulations.
All prospective employees should apply through the Pre Departure Portal which is now an integral part of the Skillspass portal administered by ITS and achieve the Certificate of Full Skills Pass Achievement. Failure to be in possession of a Pre Departure Course Certificate and a Certificate of Full Skills Pass Achievement one cannot apply to come and work in the tourism & hospitality Industry. Employers have to ascertain that prospective non-EU/EEA/EFTA employees are in possession of a valid Pre Departure Integration Course Certificate and Certificate of Full Skills Pass Achievement before applying for the Single Permit.
Those who obtained their Skillspass under the previous system before the introduction of the Pre Departure Course who renew their permit after a year with no objections from relevant authorities may be granted a two-year residence and work permit.
Meanwhile, workers who improve their qualification level and acquire a higher level Skillspass , hold a stable contract, and continue to meet all regulatory criteria will be eligible for a three-year permit.
Various regulations will be impacted, but mainly the following:
- ITS will process applications and provide the training and assessments accordingly as per normal procedures of the institute.
- Identità will require a valid Skillspass to proceed with issuing work permits for persons that intend to work in the tourism and hospitality sector.
- MTA by imposing such an obligation on the tourism and hospitality Industry for non-EU/EEA/EFTA nationals to be in possession of a valid Pre Departure Integration Course Certificate and a Certificate of Full Skills Pass Achievement and employers to ascertain that their non-EU/EEA/EFTA nationals are in possession of the same.
This document is informative only and does not substitute the legal obligations imposed by the legislation. Any discrepancies between this note and the published Legal Notice do not exempt any person from complying with the law as published in the Government Gazette.
ITS can be contacted at:
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +356 23793300
