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@craigconley

Hi, Long-Stay D-Visa is the national visa is a long-stay visa, which allows you to stay for a maximum of 365 days in Malta. You can check the details with identita Malta.

That's great, thanks for your help

@craigconley

Hello. I am not sure if you are retired, but would the Malta Retirement Programme suit your needs?

If you are concerned about traffic, Gozo would offer a quieter lifestyle, as long as you are not living on the main road leading from the ferry to the capital, Victoria.

There are some relatively traffic free areas in Maltese towns and villages, if you avoid the main roads.

Personally I would avoid Sliema/St Julian's or Bugibba/Qawra areas as these are very busy. Mellieha is rather hilly and should you need to travel down to Valletta, this can take around one hour by car, two hours by bus. I lived in Manikata (a suburb of Mellieha) for 10 years up until last year. Eventually this became unbearable with all the traffic passing to the Gozo ferry travelling through the narrow streets. Additionally as there were no shops, bank, post office, doctors or chemist in Manikata, this meant travelling by car for everything, hence adding to the traffic. It is important to chose somewhere that has day to day needs within walking distance because parking can be difficult in many areas. I currently live in Mgarr and I have found this quite pleasant. A few small shops, a couple of chemists, doctors, an ATM and a few restaurants close by, but plenty of countryside and a sandy bay within easy relatively flat walking distance. Some villages/towns you may want to consider are Rabat, Attard, Lija, Balzan, Siggiewi, Zurrieq, Zejtun or Qrendi.

@Evreham

The is so much for this very useful feedback. We’re late fifties/early sixties so not drawing state pension yet. Thank you for the link.

Thank you too for the area advice. Something that you describe would suit us; some amenities but not with lots of traffic. Happy to live nearer the countryside as we like a bit of space. No intention of living in the busier conurbations. We would rent initially in any event to give us flexibility to find where we would want to end up. We will have a look at the areas you suggest. Not keen to live where it’s too hilly!!

@craigconley

Hi Craig,

Try south Malta.

Close enough to Valetta, three cities (by bus for free with the Tallinja card, and avoiding parking challenges), airport and much slower pace. We chose Marsaskala.

If you are receiving a pension, the retirement program may be of interest. There is a minimum tax payable plus other conditions. For us it was a cheaper way to get a residence permit without having to make a >100k euro financial commitment upfront.

If you start coming to Malta watch out for the rolling 90 day stay Schengen limit... get an app like 'Schengen Cal' to help you.

I wish we had applied for the MRP before coming here. Identita is slow at the moment. Applications are in but we are still waiting, for two months now, for the appointment for biometrics. Residence cards can take several months to be issued after that.

Good luck!