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Independent Malta immigration reference · Verified against official guidance

Malta·Pathway

TCN · Portal · Status

What your
status means

Every status the Single Permit portal can show you, with Identità's own definition and the thing the definition leaves out — who has to act next, and whether that person is you.

Transcribed from Identità guide, p.22
Last checked 17 Jul 2026

Why this is hard to find

Identità does publish what each status means. It is on page 22 of a 23-page PDF user guide, under the heading “Online Portal - Status Description”. The guide is not linked from the status screen, and searching for the exact wording of a status returns almost nothing.

So people guess, in Facebook groups, at the worst possible moment. Every status Identità publishes is below, quoted in full, with what each one means in practice. Where the text is stamped as Identità's definition, those are their words, exactly. The rest is ours.

One thing is worth knowing before you read it. The guide's own introduction sets out the process: the employer starts the application and sends it to the employee to review; the employee reviews it and sends it back; the employer submits it to Identità. You never file anything. That is why so many of these statuses resolve to “chase your employer” rather than “wait for the government”.

Find your status

Eleven statuses on the path to a card. Three that end it. The middle column is the one people actually want: whether anyone is working on your file right now.

Single Permit portal statuses · source: Identità guide p.22
Portal statusNext move
Pending Completion by EmployerYour employer’s
Pending Review by ApplicantYours
Applicant Review in ProgressYours
Pending Submission by EmployerYour employer’s
SubmittedIdentità’s
In ProgressIdentità’s
Processing by Third PartiesAnother authority’s
Ready for Final ApprovalIdentità’s
ApprovedIdentità’s
Collection letter posted to registered addressYours
IssuedNone — you are done
WithdrawnNone — this application has stopped
RejectedNone — this application has stopped
RevokedNone — this application has stopped

The statuses, in portal order

Pending Completion by Employer

Next move: Your employer’s

Identità defines it as “Application still needs to be finalised by Employer”
What that means
Your employer has opened an application but has not finished filling it in. Nothing has reached Identità. As far as the government is concerned, you have not applied.
What you can do
Ask your employer what is outstanding and offer to supply it today. This status can sit for weeks with nobody noticing, because nobody is waiting on a queue — they are waiting on a person.

Pending Review by Applicant

Next move: Yours

Identità defines it as “Applicant needs to review, update, and proceed with application”
What that means
This one is yours. Your employer has filled in the application and sent it to you to check. It stops here until you act.
What you can do
Check your email — including spam — for the review link from the portal. Read every field, especially the spelling of your name against your passport and your employment details. If something is wrong, request a correction; it goes back to your employer to fix.

Applicant Review in Progress

Next move: Yours

Identità defines it as “Applicant is in the process of reviewing, updating the application”
What that means
You have opened the review and not yet sent it back to your employer.
What you can do
Finish the review and use Submit to Employer. Until you do, the application cannot move — your employer cannot submit it to Identità on your behalf while it sits with you.

Pending Submission by Employer

Next move: Your employer’s

Identità defines it as “Application has been updated by applicant but needs to be submitted to Identità by Employer”
What that means
You have done your part. The application is complete and sitting in your employer's portal, waiting for them to press Submit. It has still not reached Identità.
What you can do
Chase your employer, in writing, and keep the message. This is the most common place an application quietly stalls: it looks finished from your side, and no clock has started.

Note

The guide notes that an application at this stage can still be modified or withdrawn by the employer.

Submitted

Next move: Identità’s

Identità defines it as “Application has been submitted to Identità”
What that means
It has finally left your employer and reached Identità. This is the point at which the process becomes a queue rather than a person.
What you can do
Nothing. Keep your documents together and wait. Identità and Jobsplus say an application may take up to four months to be processed.

In Progress

Next move: Identità’s

Identità defines it as “Application has been received and is being processed”
What that means
Identità has it and is working on it.
What you can do
Nothing you can do. This status is genuinely uninformative — the official description says only that a received application is being processed, which tells you nothing about where in the queue you are.

Note

The guide does not say how long this status lasts, and neither will we. Anyone quoting you a precise number for it is guessing.

Processing by Third Parties

Next move: Another authority’s

Identità defines it as “Application is being validated by the relevant authorities”
What that means
Your file has left Identità's desk and is with other authorities for checks. Identità is waiting too.
What you can do
Nothing, and chasing Identità will not speed it up — it is not with them. The guide does not name which authorities or what they are checking.

Note

“The relevant authorities” is not defined anywhere in the guide. This is the single most opaque status in the list.

Ready for Final Approval

Next move: Identità’s

Identità defines it as “Application is being processed and will be ready soon. Applicant will be receiving the Approval in Principle to set an appointment for the biometric and picture process”
What that means
This is the good one. The decision has effectively gone your way and you are about to be asked in for biometrics.
What you can do
Watch for the Approval in Principle, then book your biometrics and photo appointment as soon as it arrives. This is the first point since your review where you have something to do.

Approved

Next move: Identità’s

Identità defines it as “Application is approved”
What that means
The permit is granted. You are not finished — the card still has to be produced and collected.
What you can do
Wait for the collection letter. Do not travel or make plans around a card you do not physically hold.

Collection letter posted to registered address

Next move: Yours

Identità defines it as “Application has been approved and applicant will receive the collection letter in post to proceed to Identità and collect – note that no collection is possible without presentation of letter”
What that means
A letter is in the physical post. That letter is not a formality: without it, Identità will not hand over your card.
What you can do
Make sure the registered address on the application is somewhere you actually receive post, and that your name is on the letterbox. If you have moved since applying, or you share a flat, deal with this now.

Note

The guide is explicit: no collection is possible without presentation of the letter. A lost letter is a real problem, not an inconvenience.

Issued

Next move: None — you are done

Identità defines it as “Residence Card has been issued and collected”
What that means
You have the card in your hand. This is the end of the process.
What you can do
Check the expiry date the day you collect it, and diarise your renewal. First-time permits are typically valid for one year, and renewal has to be filed before the permit expires.

When it ends without a permit

Three statuses stop the process. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters — one of them is your employer's doing, not the government's.

Withdrawn

Next move: None — this application has stopped

Identità defines it as “Employer has withdrawn application before it was sent and accepted by Identità”
What that means
Your employer pulled the application before Identità accepted it. Note who did this: not Identità, and not you.
What you can do
Ask your employer directly why, and get the answer in writing. If your employer withdrew an application you were relying on, that is a fact worth having on record.

Rejected

Next move: None — this application has stopped

Identità defines it as “Application has been rejected by Identità”
What that means
Identità refused the application.
What you can do
Ask for the decision in writing and read the stated reason before doing anything else. A refusal is not automatically the end — but the right next step depends entirely on the reason given, and that reason is not something anyone can guess for you.

Note

The guide gives no reasons, no appeal route and no timeline. If money is being asked of you to "fix" a rejection, be careful.

Revoked

Next move: None — this application has stopped

Identità defines it as “Application has been processed by Identità but revoked”
What that means
The application was processed and then withdrawn by Identità after the fact. This is different from a rejection: something changed, or came to light, after processing.
What you can do
Get the reason in writing and take advice from a licensed immigration advisor rather than from an agent.

Be careful here

A refused or revoked application is the moment people are most likely to be charged money by someone promising to fix it. Get the written reason first. Take advice from a licensed immigration advisor — an agent is not an advisor, and an unlicensed agent cannot lawfully file for you.

What we cannot tell you

How long each status lasts. Identità does not publish it, so we do not state it. What is published is that an application may take up to four months to be processed by Identità and the other stakeholders. Anyone quoting you a confident per-status timeline — “In Progress means three weeks” — is guessing, and you should treat the rest of their advice accordingly.

Which authorities “third parties” means. The guide does not name them.

Why an application was refused. Only the written decision says that.

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