Estimated Timeline: How Long It Takes to Open a Company in Malta?

We confirm the structure, usually a private limited company, and complete customer due diligence on every director, shareholder and beneficial owner. This covers certified identification, proof of address, a bank or professional reference, Form BO(1) for beneficial owners and Form K(1) for director consent. We review the pack against MBR and anti money laundering standards before anything is filed.

We reserve a unique company name through the MBR BAROS portal. The name must not be identical or confusingly similar to an existing one, and the reservation holds for three months while the rest of the file is prepared.

At least 20% of the authorised capital is deposited and a bank certificate is issued as proof for the Registrar. At this stage the account can be an EU account or a digital account, so this step does not hold up the filing.

We prepare and circulate the Memorandum and Articles of Association for signature. These set the company name, registered office, objects, share capital, directors and company secretary, and govern how the company is run.

We submit the full pack electronically to the Malta Business Registry. Once the filing is approved, the Registrar issues the Certificate of Registration, and the company legally exists from the date shown on it.

We register the company for income tax with the Commissioner for Revenue and obtain its Tax Identification Number, using the certificate of registration. A company incorporated in Malta is resident and domiciled in Malta from the moment it is registered.

We register the company for VAT where the activity requires it. Registration is mandatory once turnover exceeds €35,000 a year and optional between €7,001 and €35,000. We select the correct basis, Article 10, 11 or 12, according to the activity and the right to reclaim input VAT.

If the company will employ staff, we obtain the PE employer number from the Commissioner for Revenue, which requires the income tax and VAT numbers first, then register each employee with Jobsplus. This step is skipped for companies with no payroll.

This is the part that sets the real pace. A digital account gives a European IBAN with SEPA access in days, enough to operate from day one, though with limits on credit and certain local payments. A traditional Maltese bank account takes three to six weeks for a low risk company owned by EU residents, and six to ten weeks or more where the owners are non resident. We often run a digital account immediately and a traditional account in parallel.

A standard trading or holding company needs no licence and skips this step entirely. Regulated activities are different. Financial services and fintech require MFSA authorisation, and gaming requires a Malta Gaming Authority licence, each running as a separate track from incorporation. We flag this early so the licence and the company move forward together.