Tell us which countries, sectors and skills you cover so we can see how your profile might fit employers on Gozo.
The Gozo Region is the island of Gozo, the smaller of the two main Maltese islands, and its fourteen local councils: Victoria (Rabat), Fontana, Għajnsielem, Għarb, Għasri, Kerċem, Munxar, Nadur, Qala, San Lawrenz, Sannat, Xagħra, Xewkija and Żebbuġ. AtoZ Serwis Plus proposes a sourcing partnership to recruitment agencies and workforce suppliers abroad for any case in which an employer on the island might seek help with a post it has not filled locally. The partner would find and pre-screen candidates at home; AtoZ Serwis Plus would pass on the employer’s written request and match the files to it; and the employer would choose whom to interview and hire.
AtoZ Serwis Plus is not a Maltese-licensed employment agency and has no office in Malta, Gozo, or anywhere else in the islands. The Gozitan employer makes the hire and files the Single Permit application in its own name. Should a Maltese temping or recruitment agency stand in the chain instead, that agency needs DIER's EDIER-sent Agency Licence before it can lodge anything, and Jobsplus would then examine the Gozitan client as closely as the agency itself. Nothing described here amounts to an open vacancy or a live request from any employer.
The Gozo Regional Council brings the island’s together for regional matters, but it has no say in permits. Identità, Jobsplus and DIER apply the same national rules on Gozo as on the main island. The island does have its own ministry, the Ministry for Gozo, whose stated role is to secure economic and social prosperity for Gozitan entities and residents. Its schemes for employers, farmers and commuters shape several questions a partner would ask before presenting anyone.
The island’s links to Malta leave from the harbour at Mġarr. The Ministry for Gozo’s schemes and schemes cover four strands of activity, each with its own screening brief.
The Ministry supports island accommodation operators holding a Malta Tourism Authority licence to promote the destination, and another scheme promotes niche tourism markets. As a result, hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants are likely sources of requests. Non-EU nationals in front-of-house roles at MTA-licensed businesses must also earn the Institute of Tourism Studies’ Hospitality Skills Pass. At the same time, cleaners, kitchen porters and stores staff are exempt. Because demand on a small island can rise and fall through the year, a partner would ask whether a contract runs all year or for a season.
Government services for Gozo include a pass that lets farmers send agricultural products to Malta without paying for the crossing, and a registration service for storing pitkali crates on the island. Both point to farms on the main island selling produce. Farm work is outdoor and physical and can be seasonal, so a partner would ask about crops or livestock, hours, machinery and how a worker reaches outlying fields.
The Ministry lists services for older adults and persons with special needs, including admission to the Santa Marta Day Centre. Screening for care posts would assess qualifications, experience with older adults, spoken English, and, for a regulated profession such as nursing, whether recognition in Malta must come first.
servizz.gov.mt lists the Supporting Sustainable Quality Employment in Gozo Scheme, which provides partial salary reimbursements to employers with a registered address on Gozo for full-time, indefinite posts based on the island, and a sister scheme for knowledge-based sectors; partners would check whether either is open. Whether an employer uses either scheme is its own affair, but a partner would note whether a draft contract is open-ended or fixed-term. Where a manufacturer or workshop gives an address in the Xewkija industrial area, the partner would confirm on MBR and in the draft contract that registered office and real workplace match.
For current figures, including monthly passenger movements across the channel, consult the National Statistics Office (nso.gov.mt).
How many people a Gozo employer might seek depends on that employer. A request could be narrow, such as a single cook, a pair of room attendants, or one farm hand, so partners who can find a few well-matched people quickly may be more useful.
At first contact, the partner would ask for nothing beyond a CV and proof of the main skill, perhaps a trade certificate, a past employer’s reference, or a short clip of the candidate working. Passports, police certificates and medical papers wait for the employer’s list.
Island fit deserves a direct conversation early. A candidate would be told the workplace is on Gozo, the international airport is on the main island, every trip to Malta involves a sea crossing, and weekend visits to the larger island require planning. Candidates who want city life may prefer to step aside here rather than after filing.
English matters in hospitality and care, where workers deal with guests, residents and families. A partner would assess spoken English at screening, because the Pre-Departure Course interview also checks it. Partners would also confirm that no candidate has paid, or been asked to pay, anyone in connection with the opportunity. If a candidate mentions paying a broker, pause and report; don't proceed.
Before any candidate file leaves the partner, the parties would agree to check the employer behind the request. The steps match those used elsewhere in Malta, but the island adds a few questions of its own.
Red flags include a request that names no workplace, a contract that leaves pay blank, an employer that cannot be traced on MBR, a request for money from candidates, or pressure to send passports before an interview. Any of these would halt the process until resolved. Youcan aalso check VAT registrationthrough the Malta Tax and Customs Administration and the EU's VVEU service
Citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland can work on Gozo without a permit. Anyone staying past three months registers with Identità, which issues an eResidence document. The employer still notifies Jobsplus of the engagement.
Everyone else staying beyond six months needs the Single Permit, one card for both residence and work. Before that, Jobsplus checks whether the post could be filled closer to home: the vacancy goes on its portal and on EURES, and the employer justifies rejecting any Maltese, EU, EEA or Swiss applicant. Jobsplus weighs the firm’s dismissals, redundancies and registration record, and whether the candidate fits. Malta sets no national ceiling, yet each firm may grow its non-EU headcount only within a size-based limit, and must have at least one worker from Malta, the EU, the EEA or Switzerland on its staff. A small family business on Gozo would confirm that last point at the outset.
Qualified, higher-paid posts may suit the EU Blue Card, the Key Employee Initiative or the Specialist Employee Initiative, with shorter adverts and faster handling. Cab driving and food delivery are another matter: Jobsplus treats both as saturated occupations and advises refusing many fresh applications, and a cab driver tag requires an EU-issued licence. Partners should leave both out of any island plan.
The steps follow a fixed order, and the island adds one final leg to the journey.
The permit binds the worker to the Gozitan employer and job named in it: no work for anyone else, on either island, and none in another EU country, though short Schengen trips remain possible. A first permit normally lasts a year. Renewal can last longer for skilled staff, fast-track permit holders, and lower-skilled staff who complete approved accredited training or move up a Skills Pass level.Movinge to another employer means anewh application, and when a job end,s the worker has only a short window to secure a new one.
Gozo applies the same employment law as the rest of Malta, built on the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and its regulations. The written terms a partner would expect to see reflect that framework:
The employer deducts income tax under the Final Settlement System and remits it, with social security contributions, to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. Any other deduction, such as rent, needs a legal basis and written agreement and must show on each payslip. For seasonal hotel posts,, a partner wouldreviewd how hours areare spread across busy and quiet months; for farm posts, how early starts and weekend work are paid.
For the permit, Identità looks for one of three things: a Housing Authority-registered lease naming the worker, a deed of ownership, or an approved accommodation declaration when the employer or a third party supplies the home. Bedroom count caps how many unrelated tenants a rented home may hold.
On Gozo, the question is lessabout the distance to work thanabout how they will getg there. A partner would ask where the worker will sleep, whether that is in the same locality as the workplace, and how they will travel at the start and end of each shift. Coastal hotels, outlying farms, and workplaces in Victoria each require different arrangements for early and late shifts.
The second question is whether the job involves crossing to Malta. The Ministry for Gozosupportsr Gozo residents who work full-time on the main island, including help with collective transport organised from Ċirkeww, and a Daily Commuter Travel Card for frequent travellers between the islands; partners would check whether each is open. A Gozitan employer hires a non-EU worker to work on the island so that any regular crossing would be set out in the job order, and nobody should be housed on Malta for an island job without an open agreement.
Partners would never describe accommodation as free unless the employer has confirmed it in writing, and any rent deducted from wages would be shown in the contract and on the payslip.
The paperwork grows with the process, so candidates hand over sensitive papers only when there is a real reason.
Candidate data is protected by the EU General Data Protection Regulation and Malta'Malta’sProtection Act, overseen by the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). If files travel from the EU side to a partner outside the EU, the GDPR requires a transfer safeguard, such as standard contractual clauses signed by both sides. Files would be kept only as long as needed and deleted when a candidate withdraws.
Employers on Gozo can interview by video, with the partner arranging the call and, where the employer agrees, an interpreter.
Candidates never pay for interviews or tests. The businesses involved settle any cost of a local test centre and never pass it on to the candidate. The employer also uses the interview to explain the practical side of the job: shift patterns, the season, housing, and how the worker will reach Mġarr when they need the main island.
Once the approval in principle and the visa are in hand, a partner would brief the worker on the journey: arrival at Malta International Airport, the trip to the Ċirkewwa ferry terminal or to the fast ferry in Valletta, and the crossing to Mġarr. The employer will tell the worker in advance who will meet them and where they will sleep on the first night.
The worker would carry the passport and visa, the signed contract, the Pre-Departure Course certificate, any Skills Pass certificate and the ememployer’sontact details. In the first days, the employer completes biometrics and the remaining Identità filings, sends Jobsplus the engagement form within a few working days (which also produces the social security number) and hands over the written terms.
A short induction would cover the workplace, safety rules, the payslip, how to reach the partner, and the bus and ferry options for days off. Partners would keep in touch over the first weeks to catch problems such as pay that differs from the contract.
Agencies in Malta may not charge jobseekers any fee, and an agency that does commits an offence that can lead to refusal or revocation of its licence. An employer caught taking money from workers over hiring or dismissal risks disqualification from further non-EU recruitment. No charge to a candidate is ever accepted in cooperation with AtoZ Serwis Plus. The single official cost a candidate meets directly is the Pre-Departure Course, reserved solely on the Skills Pass portal; a middleman offering to arrange it for a fee is a red flag.
Workers facing unpaid wages, excessive hours or unlawful deductions can turn to DIER, which enforces employment conditions, takes complaints from current and former employees and accepts anonymous reports. Jobsplus and the police carry out joint inspections against illegal employment, and employers who hire people without the right to work face sanctions. Labour trafficking is a grave offence pursued by a specialist police unit, and its victims may be granted residence.
Fraud prevention on Gozo rests on the same checks as anywhere else: a real employer on MBR, a written request, a draft contract and no money from candidates. Fake offers can borrow real place names, so a partner would treat an unsolicited message promising work in Victoria or at a coastal hotel with suspicion until the employer has been verified directly.
Partners would confirm details on these public pages before acting:
Agencies and workforce suppliers that can source hospitality, farm, care or trade candidates willing to live on a small island are invited to send their profile through the recruiter registration form. Useful details include the countries and sectors you cover, your licence or registration at home, how you test skills and spoken English, and how you prepare candidates for island life and the Mġarr crossing. If a suitable, verified request from an employer on Gozo arises,we'll discuss the next steps with youthent. For the national picture, see the Malta recruiter page.
If your agency screens hospitality, farm, care or trade candidates who would settle well on a small island, register your profile. We would come back to you if a suitable, verified request from a Gozo employer arises.
In practice, they cover the same ground. The Gozo Region groups the local councils of the island of Gozo under the Gozo Regional Council. As a local government grouping, permits, labour market tests, and inspections still come from national bodies such as Identità, Jobsplus, and DIER.
Theisland’ss fourteen localities are Victoria (Rabat), Fontana, Għajnsielem, Għarb, Għasri, Kerċem, Munxar, Nadur, Qala, San Lawrenz, Sannat, Xagħra, Xewkija, and Żebbuġ. Each runs local services, while the regional council handles matters shared across Gozo.
Yes. Victoria is the English name ofGozo’ss central town, known in Maltese as Rabat. Don't confuse it with Rabat on the main island, which belongs to the Western Region. A job order should include the full workplace address so there is no doubt which island is meant.
None in the permit process. The regional council coordinates local government matters across Gozo, but it does not approve work permits, test the labour market or license agencies. Those roles belong to Identità, Jobsplus, and DIER, which serve Malta and Gozo alike.
It is the government ministry dedicated to the island. Its stated aim is to secure economic and social prosperity for Gozitan entities and residents. It runs schemes for employers, farmers, students, and commuters, and it lists Gozo Channel, the state ferry company, among its entities. It does not issue work permits.
Gozo Channel, a government company listed among the Ministry of Gozo’s entities, runs the main ferry between Mġarr on Gozo and Ċirkewwa on Malta. It carries both passengers and vehicles, so a worker with heavy luggage may find it easier than the fast ferry for foot passengers.
Yes. A fast ferry links Mġarr with Valletta and carries foot passengers only. Partners would check current routes and timetables close to travel, as fast ferry services and schedules can change.
Malta International Airport is on the main island, so a newcomer would travel by road to the Ċirkewwa ferry terminal or to Valletta for the fast ferry, then cross to Mġarr. The employer would confirm in advance who meets the worker and where they will sleep on arrival.
Accommodation and catering, farming, care for older people, and smaller manufacturing or workshop activity all feature in the Ministry for Gozo’s services and schemes. Government schemes also support knowledge-based firms on the island, and partners would ask each employer to describe the actual post.
Non-EU nationals in front-of-house roles at hotels and restaurants licensed by the Malta Tourism Authority must add the Institute of Tourism Studies’ Skills Pass to the Pre-Departure Course. Accounts, stores, cleaning and kitchen porter roles are excluded. A request from Gozo would say which category the post falls into.
That depends on the employer so that a partner would ask directly. A first Single Permit is tied to one employer and is normally issued for a year, so a contract that covers only a short season raises questions about the months that follow. The draft contract would settle the duration in writing.
Which crops or animals are involved, which machinery the worker would use, how hours and rest days change through the growing season, where the worker will live and how they will reach the fields. Government passes help Gozo farmers send produce to Malta, which may mean early starts.
The Ministry for Gozo lists care services for older adults and persons with special needs, including a day centre. Care requests could come from public or private settings. Screening would cover care qualifications, English and whether the post is a regulated profession needing recognition in Malta.
A scheme listed on servizz.gov.mt that provides partial salary reimbursements to employers with a registered address on Gozo for full-time, indefinite posts based on the island. Partners would check whether it is open. The employer chooses whether to apply, but it is one reason a partner would read the contract type and duration closely.
Manufacturers and workshops on Gozo may give an address there. Whatever the address, a partner would confirm in the Malta Business Registry and in the draft contract that the registered office and the actual workplace match, and that the job order describes the on-site work.
No to both. AtoZ Serwis Plus is not a Maltese-licensed employment agency, has no office anywhere in the islands, and holds no vacancies or job orders of its own. The Gozitan employer files the Single Permit application, or a Maltese agency holding a DIER Employment Agency Licence does; in that case, Jobsplus also assesses the client on Gozo.
servizz.gov.mt lists a Ministry for Gozo scheme that helps MTA-licensed accommodation operators on Gozo promote the island, and the Ministry also supports niche tourism markets. Partners would check whether each scheme is open, and would read any hotel or guesthouse request on its own terms rather than assume demand.
The employer on Gozo files the Single Permit application online withIdentità’ss Expatriates Unit. A licensed Maltese agency may file instead where it employs the worker and places them with a client. A partner abroad cannot file, and neither can AtoZ Serwis Plus.
The parties would agree to search the Malta Business Registry, compare the registered details with the letterhead and contract, confirm anyagency’ss DIER licence, and require a signed written request and a draft contract. A business that is not a company would supply its other registration details.
The post and duties, the workplace locality on the island, hours and shift pattern, pay basis, contract length, the housing arrangement and whether any travel to Malta is involved. It would be signed by an authorised person and match the draft employment contract.
An employer missing from the Malta Business Registry, no named workplace, blank pay in the draft contract, a demand for money from candidates, or pressure to send passports before any interview. Any of these would pause the process until the employer resolves it in writing.
Yes. Nationals of EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland need no work permit there. After three months of residence, they obtain an eResidence document from Identità, and the employer files the usual Jobsplus engagement form for them, as for any worker on Gozo.
The Gozitan employer publishes the vacancy on the Jobsplus portal and EURES, then justifies any rejection of local, EU, EEA or Swiss applicants. JJobsplus reviewsthefirm’ss dismissal and redundancy history and registration record, and judges whether the candidate is suited to the work.
Yes. A firm hiring from outside the EU must have at least one person from Malta, the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland on staff, and Jobsplus restricts how quickly it can add non-EU staff based on its size. A small family business on Gozo would check both conditions early.
No fixed national quota applies. Limits bite at the firm level instead, through the Jobsplus growth limit and the rule on having local or EU staff, and every application is judged on its own facts.
Senior or specialist posts with higher pay may qualify for the EU Blue Card, the Key Employee Initiative or the Specialist Employee Initiative, all of which need a shorter advert and move faster. The employer would confirm eligibility with Identità before filing.
No. Jobsplus considers both occupations saturated and advises against many new permit applications. In addition, a Transport Malta cab driver tag is open only to holders of an EU-issued driving licence. Partners would keep both roles out of their island plans.
Anyone applying for a first Single Permit must pass it. It combines an online module on everyday life and work in Malta, another on workplace rights, and a brief live interview in which English is assessed. Candidates reserve it on the Skills Pass portal, and Identità verifies the certificate.
Candidates book it themselves on the Skills Pass portal, the only booking route. A broker offering to arrange it for a fee, or asking more than the official cost, is a warning sign. Partners would explain this before you apply for Gozo.
The rules give Identità up to four months to decide a Single Permit application, and that period applies on Gozo as anywhere in Malta. Complete files help, but no employer, partner or AtoZ Serwis Plus can promise an approval or a date.
Once Identità has captured biometrics, received every document and issued the residence card or an interim receipt granting temporary permission to work. Arriving earlier on the island gives no right to work, paid or unpaid.
Yes. Malta is in the Schengen area, and a visa national needs a national D visa before travelling, issued based onIdentità’s's approval in principle. A Schengen short-stay visa or visa-free entry allows visits only, not work.
Only for the same named employer and in the named job. The Single Permit does not allow work for any other business, on either island, or in another EU country. A second jobwithr a different employerneedsd its own approval.
The worker gets a short, time-limited window to line up another employer, who would then lodge a new application. The Gozitan employer notifies Jobsplus of the termination. A partner would stay in contact to explain the options.
Normally one year. Later renewals mayextendh further for skilled staff, holders of fast-track permits, and lower-skilled workers whocompletes approved accredited training or advance on the Skills Pass,aso long as the employer has honoured the agreed terms.
The Employment and Industrial Relations Act and its regulations, the same as oinMalta. Sector orders, known as Conditions of Work Regulation Orders, set minimum terms for trades such as hotels and clubs, cleaning, and construction, and DIER enforces them on both islands.
Overtime follows the sector ordthat coversing the job, such as tHotelsels aClubs Orderder for hotels, and the Gozo employer and DIER can confirm which order applies. Jobs outside any sector order earn at least 1.5 times the normal rate, and packages that hide an unstated amount of overtime are prohibited.
The government reviews the national minimum wage for full-time workers each year and adds the annual cost-of-living adjustment. Sector orders can set higher minimums, and statutory bonuses are paid on top. Amounts change so that partners would read the current figures on the DIER website.
They are paid into a bank or other licensed financial institution, never in cash, with an itemised payslip by payday. The employer keeps back income tax and social security and passes both to the tax authority, the MTCA.
Full-timers earn about five weeks of paid holiday a year, and a public holiday landing on a Saturday or Sunday adds a day. Sick leave and other special leave follow the sector order or the national minimum rules.
One of three: a Housing Authority-registered lease naming the worker, a deed of ownership, or an approved declaration when the Gozitan employer or a third party supplies the home. Rented homes must also respect the bedroom-based occupant limit.
Where the worker will sleep, whether that is in the same locality as the workplace, who pays rent and how, how many people share, and how the worker will reach early or late shifts. The answers would be written into the job order and the draft contract.
Not normally, as a Gozitan employer hires for work on Gozo. If a post involves regular crossings, the job order would state this and explain who arranges and pays for travel. A worker should not be housed in Malta for a Gozo job without an explicit agreement.
The Ministry for Gozo offers a subsidy for Gozo residents working full-time on the main island, which can include collective transport from Ċirkewwa, and a Daily Commuter Travel Card is available for frequent travellers. Partners would check whether each is open and who is eligible before mentioning either to a candidate.
A CV and something proving the main skill, for example a trade certificate, a reference or a short clip of work. Identity papers follow only after an employer lists in writing what it needs, which keeps data on unsuccessful candidates to a minimum.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation anMalta’s's Data Protection Act, overseen by the Information and Data Protection Commissioner. Sending files from the EU to a non-EU partner requires a GDPR transfer mechanism, typically standard contractual clauses that both parties sign.
They can interview by video, which avoids travel to the island. Front-of-house candidates may face a short role-play in English, cooks a practical task, farm hands questions on tools and crops, and care candidates scenario questions. The employer also explains island life, housing and the season.
The Ministry for Gozo lists a pass that lets farmers send agricultural products to the main island without paying for the crossing, plus a registration service for storing pitkali crates. A Gozo farm request may therefore involve packing and early loading, which partners would confirm with the employer.
No. Agencies may not charge jobseekers any fee, or they risk refusal or licence revocation, and employers who take money from workers face disqualification from non-EU hiring. Candidates also never pay for tests, interviews, or interpreters, and AtoZ Serwis Plus accepts no candidate charges in any cooperation.
DIER, the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations, takes complaints and claims about pay and conditions from current and former employees and accepts anonymous reports. Its rules apply equally on Gozo and Malta, and a partner can help the worker prepare the facts.
Joint Jobsplus and police inspections target illegal work, and employers using people without the right to work face sanctions. A specialist police unit prosecutes trafficking as a grave crime, and a victim may receive a residence permit.
The National Statistics Office at nso.gov.mt publishes current series on employment, tourism and transport, including passenger and vehicle movements between Malta and Gozo by month and quarter. Figures change, so partners shouldd alwaysrefer tod the latest release.
Complete the recruiter registration form with your countries, sectors,home licencee, screening method,s and experience preparing candidates for island life. Next steps would follow only if a suitable, verified request from an employer on Gozo arises.
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