Driving a UK-registered car in Malta: the 30-day rule, what registration tax costs, and what to do instead

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

Once you live in Malta, a car you bring in must be inspected and registered within 30 days of arriving. For this, you count as resident if you hold a valid Maltese ID document or live here at least 185 days a year because of personal and work ties. To drive the car in those 30 days, apply to Transport Malta within one working day of arrival for a temporary permit and licence disc (form VEH 64, €20); the exemption ends when the 30 days are up. After that the administrative fine is €30 for every day the car remains unregistered. Visitors whose home is abroad can generally keep a car on foreign plates for up to six months. Non-resident workers and students can apply within seven months of arrival for a 12-month permit (form VEH 27A), provided the car isn't sold, hired out, or lent to or driven by someone living in Malta. On the UK side, the registration doesn't lapse, but the DVLA expects to be told when a car leaves the UK for 12 months or more, as a permanent export.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Malta drives on the left, so a right-hand-drive UK car needs no headlamp or steering changes. What matters is approval and inspection. A car first registered in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 follows the pre-Brexit registration procedure; one first registered in the UK from 2021 needs a certificate of conformity showing an EU type approval, or a single vehicle approval certificate. A car more than four years old needs a VRT roadworthiness pass, and a UK car needs an odometer certificate from an approved agency such as JEVIC or CAP HPI, or an EU roadworthiness certificate showing the latest reading.

What registering it involves

1. Within one working day of arrival: a 30-day temporary permit from Transport Malta (form VEH 64, €20).
2. The registration value from Transport Malta's valuation website, and an inspection at the Technical Unit in Paola (€55).
3. A VRT roadworthiness test for a car over four years old, and an odometer certificate for a UK car.
4. Registration at Transport Malta, all within 30 days of arrival: registration tax, the €15 registration fee, plates (€70 a pair), the annual circulation licence and Maltese insurance.

What it costs

• Registration tax for a car: (registration value × CO2 in g/km × a CO2 rate) + (registration value × length in mm × a length rate). For a used car with an NEDC CO2 figure, the CO2 rate runs from 0.07% to 0.23% if it meets the latest Euro standard and up to 0.47% for older standards; the length rate runs from 0.0020% to 0.0034%.
• Minimum for a used car from outside the EU more than five years old, made in 2018: €2,107 up to 100 g/km, €2,529 at 101–130, €2,810 at 131–140, €4,917 at 141–150, €5,620 at 151–180, €9,834 at 181–220, €16,859 at 221–250 and €18,967 above 250 g/km. You pay the formula or the minimum, whichever is higher.
• The minimum jumps at eight years: for a car made in 2019 it is €1,200 at 101–130 g/km, for one made in 2018 €2,529.
• Example (illustrative values): a 2018 family hatchback, 120 g/km. Registration tax of at least €2,529 (more if the formula gives more), before fees.
• Fees: €15 registration (€10 online), €55 inspection, €70 for plates, plus the VRT test, the odometer certificate and the annual circulation licence.

Moving home with the car?

Exemption from registration tax for people moving to Malta comes from Transport Malta on form VEH 007: you must have lived outside Malta for a continuous 24 months and had the car registered in your name for 24 months before the move, declare it between two months before and 12 months after you become resident, and apply within 30 days. It covers one car, once, with a €100 fee if granted. If an exempt car is later sold in Malta, registration tax becomes due on its market value.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

The obvious comparison is taking it back yourself: the ferry to Sicily, then about 2,500 km by road through Italy and France to Calais, plus fuel, tolls, the Channel crossing, the journey back and then selling the car in the UK. It only works while the MOT and UK insurance are valid, and for a resident past the 30 days the fines are already running. We collect it free from your address, handle the export paperwork, and pay you in pounds sterling (£) by bank transfer on collection day.

Common questions

Rules, rates and thresholds change. This guide is a general summary as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice — check the current position with the registration authority before relying on it.

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