2024 sees another steep drop in permits for third-country nationals

Malta issued work permits for 8,256 third-country nationals (TCN) – that is, citizens of countries outside the EU – up until September 2024, as compared to 19,130 for the entirety of 2023.

Although the different periods – nine months of 2024 as opposed to the full 12 months of 2023 – make any calculation necessarily speculative, taking last year’s figures on a pro-rata basis and comparing them to this year’s indicates a 42 per cent drop in TCN permit approvals.

Barring a major increase in the number of work permits issued in the last three months of 2024, the year is on track to see the second major reduction in TCN arrivals in a row.

The figures were tabled in parliament by Minister for the Interior, Security and Employment Byron Camilleri in response to a question posed by Opposition MP Graziella Galea.

The 19,130 work permits issued to TCNs in 2023 was itself a major step back (-41 per cent) from the 27,549 issued in 2022.

The decline in the number of new work permits does not mean that Malta is getting less crowded. Although many foreigners leave Malta after an average of two years, the post-COVID influx of workers to meet the needs of Malta’s rapidly re-opening economy seems to have largely remained intact. Foreign nationals now constitute about a third of Malta’s labour force and have driven the population to record figures, reaching 563,000 this year.

Although some argue that the arrival of so many foreign workers has been necessary to fill vacant positions and support Malta’s economic growth, the strains placed on the country’s infrastructure and social cohesion has been considerable.

The drop registered in TCN work permits reflects a change in the Government’s discourse as it seeks to meet the economy’s needs while addressing voters’ concerns.

Late last year, a new law regulating temping agencies was announced, while Prime Minister Robert Abela has adopted harsher rhetoric towards migrant workers, saying the numbers of foreigners working as food couriers and cab drivers is “in excess” and making it clear that foreigners in “saturated industries” must leave the country.