Working Conditions in Malta

Permits:

Malta is an EU member which adopted the Euro currency.

Crew members or actors originating from the EU (and including Norway, Switzerland and Iceland) do not need any WORKING PERMITS to work in Malta. Other non-resident crew and cast members require an employment license (aka a “work permit”) to work on the island. A block application for this employment license may be made depending on the country of origin. Application fees and processing times differ but generally these take a good six weeks for processing. Work permits can be processed either before or once a crew member enters Malta. Budget €300 Euros per crew member application. Group applications can work out cheaper. Depending on the nationality of the applicant, there can also be a visa application to be processed and paid for once the work permit is issued out of Malta. Entry visas are generally processed through consulates or embassies representing Malta abroad.

If an actor or crew member who officially needs a work permit is cast or hired only a few weeks or days before the scheduled shooting date/s, there will not be time to issue a work permit and this person can enter Malta using a tourist visa as applicable to his/her citizenship. In this case it is best to avoid discussing “work” at airport immigration upon arrival. The work permit application can be started by the production coordinator as soon as possible and in the case of the above the permit will arrive six weeks later, sometimes after the work is completed. However it is recommended to still apply for the work permit in order to remain as much as possible within the parameters of the law and also to render this person’s salary eligible for the film cash rebate.

For LOCATION SHOOTING in Malta, when filming in public areas, a “no objection” letter or email from the relevant local council is required, with common practice being that a donation is made to the local council at the discretion of the production company. Donations are typically between €233 per filming day and €1000, depending on the amount of inconvenience caused to the council and residents. In principle council do not have the right to demand a donation or fee, however a token of €100 is the minimum expected for the simplest of filming activities.

For use of government property or specific areas such as listed sites or protected environments, permits from different government authorities are required. Processing time generally takes an average of two to three weeks. Urgent permits can be organized sooner if there are no complicated construction plans involved.

For environment-sensitive permits such as areas protected by UNESCO and/or by other NGOs, apply as early as possible as you may have to wait for a board meeting that might only happen once a month. Some locations might appear simple but in reality they can involve sensitive matters such as a rare fauna underwater and hence dropping a boat anchor would be considered “a risk”, in which case a bank guarantee might be required as well as an inspector might have to be present during the day at the cost of a couple hundred Euros.

All public authorities and organizations apply different location fees and administration prices depending on the type of use, length of time. A typical location fee can range from €300 per day to €5000 for protected or grand buildings and areas. The fee set is more a matter of negotiation than related to any set price list.

Working and Turnaround Hours

Crew working hours are generally 11 hours + 1 hour lunch break.

Turnaround is 12 hours but this is not set in stone; It is certainly not expected to be less than 11 hours unless by exception due to unpredictable circumstances.

Continuous days with running lunches can be done, in which case the standard working day is 10 working hours or less, as per agreement with crew. In these cases overtime is not applicable and any such need must be only with approval of all departments working on set.

Crews generally work 5 or 6 day weeks, with no surcharge for the Saturday as this is charged at the week-day rate. However it is worth noting that at the time of creating this document there is currently a proposal by the film commissioner to implement a rule whereby Saturdays are charged at x 1.5 the week-day rate and he is indicating that such a rule may be introduced without much advance notice. So in view of this possibility it is wise to budget increased Saturday rates..

There is also a proposal by the film commissioner to create turnaround penalties if a production is going to make use of the cash rebate. In case this proposal becomes a hard rule, it is wise to budget for now for an hour of overtime for each turnaround hour broken. Hopefully the actual implemented rules will be less costly.

Fees

All salaries are negotiable but see the guidelines. At the moment there is a big influx of films competing for the same crew and therefore the market forces generated by the balance of supply and demand are such that salaries are currently very inflated.

When hiring local crew, the film commission that offers the Cash Rebate stipulates that crew should be offered both options of being hired through invoice (ie: as a “contract worker”) OR on payroll (as an “employee”). In the case of the former, 18% VAT may need to be added depending on whether the crew member is exempt or not. This VAT is refundable and therefore only a cash flow issue, not a budget concern.

In the case of the employee, there will be fringes involved and these will be an additional cost to the production unless they salary is lowered to make space for this surcharge. More info on the cost in Social Benefits below.

Malta has a population of approximately 500,000 people and thus there’s a limited crew-base. In reality Malta is between two to three crews deep, meaning up to three productions can operate comfortable at the same time before serious crew shortages become a supply issue. However if one big Hollywood film is operating in Malta, the crew shortage issue can be felt before the third production arrives. This issue naturally depends on timing and dates, meaning if there is a clash or not. In the best case scenario up to 85% of your crew can be composed of locals. In the worst case scenario, up to 85% of your crew may have to be non-locals. Drivers and labourers are not being calculated as crew for the purpose of this assessment.

In conclusion, a rule of thumb is to budget for a high contingent of foreign crew if another two productions are already prepping or shooting at the same time, or if it seems likely that this will be the case by the time you start prepping your shoot.

Overtime and surcharges

Overtime is paid at time and a half (x 1.5) of the normal rate. Sundays and Public Holidays are normally at double time. 7th days are paid at double time regardless of whether the 7th day falls on a Sunday or not.

Social Benefits

In such a case the individual crew member is hired as an employee, meaning put on the payroll, the production is fully responsible for payment of their Social Security Contributions (SSC) which consists of healthcare and pension contributions. If the salary is not negotiated lower to allow for these fringes, then these fringes will be an added cost to the production.

Crew members employed on payroll involves the payment of fringes (SSC) by the producer. These range from 14% to 19% depending on the weekly wage. It is advisable to budget 18% and certainly not less than 17%.

Allowances

Living allowances (or “per diems”) vary depending on production but on average are between €40 to €75 per day, not considering contractuals to ATL personnel that could be closer to €100. A typical low budget TV production would pay €40 per filming day and €60 for non-filming days.

Other allowances like for vehicle use vary between €15 and €30 per day, sometimes depending on whether a crew member is hiring a car or using his/her own car.

Maltese crews required to film on Malta’s sister island of Gozo, involving an additional 2-3 hours of return travel time, will typically receive a minimum of three paid hours for their return travel time but only if travel was performed outside the standard 11 hour working day. They will typically also receive a fuel allowance for the return trip (allow at least €8) in addition to a ferry cost disbursement (allow €15 including the car) Such allowances can be agreed on a per project basis. Lodging on Gozo for Maltese crew is also an extra cost but sometimes sharing of apartments is possible.

Accommodations

Accommodation costs vary according to season and room availability. In the last year they have become very inflated.

Rates for 5 star hotels typically start at €150 per night for a standard room on single occupancy to €300 per night in peak season – May/June to September/October. Rates of €100-€150 per night are also possible but highly dependent on the aforementioned variables and best not to be assumed without getting a quote.

A 4-star hotel room can cost between €120 and €230 depending on the season.

All the above are bed and breakfast rates and include 7% VAT which is refundable.

Actor’s fees

Day rates for local actors and day players are negotiable, with a typical day rate for an actor being in the region of €300 – €400 per day. A few actors can also charge up to €700 per day, and a couple top actors are known to charge between €1000-€1500. Stunt rates are typically starting from €500 per day.

Extras Daily Rates

Financial Incentives

The Maltese government offers qualifying productions a cash rebate of “up to” 40% broken down as follows:

All is based on the qualifying EU expenditure in Malta once filming is complete.

Expenses like construction materials are eligible under certain conditions. Fuel is not eligible for refund.

Above-the-Line personnel are capped at a total expenditure of €12,500,000 collectively, or the rebate cannot exceed €5,000,000.

Fringes, per diems and EU crew salaries are eligible. Double dipping is not permitted unless the funding is from a regional scheme. A standard Cultural Test has to be passed to determine the percentage. Further information can be obtained from the Malta Film Commission website (www.screenmalta.com) or from here www.pcpmalta.com

Weather

Malta has hot and dry summers with about 12 hours of sunshine and mild winters which allow an average of 10 shooting hours.

If shooting during winter or early Spring and late Autumn it is advised to have at least 2 days of weather cover sets per week of shooting.

Average daily mean temperature range from around 13°C (55.4°F) from December to February, to 26°C (78.8°F) from June to August. Fortunately it is not unusual for temperatures to reach 20°C (68°F) during the winter months.

Average hours of daylight range from around as high as 14 hours in summer to as low as 10 hours in the winter.

Average sunshine hours range from around 11.5 to 12 hours in summer to 5 to 6 hours in winter.

Average rainfall in mm ranges from 3mm in summer to 98mm in winter, with the wettest months being in the following order: November, December, January and then October & September (the latter two being very similar).

Average number of rainy days is as follows:

Of course nowadays statistics need to be considered with a pinch of salt as past weather patterns are not very reliable in forecasting the future.


This document was compiled in January 2024 by The Producer’s Creative Partnership (PCP) – www.pcpmalta.com For further information write to info@pcpmalta.com