Qualified personnel with non-EU nationalities who earn at least €30,000 are having their work permit applications processed within five working days, through the so-called Key Employee Initiative, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

He said that Identity Malta has also consulted constituted bodies over the possibility of extending this scheme to staff with special skills in other sectors who do not fall within the current eligibility criteria.

Replying to a parliamentary question, he said that over the past weeks, checklists for the catering and low-skilled sectors had been simplified.

Individual assistance is also being given to companies which second staff outside the EU. There is also an Outreach Initiative through which Identity Malta goes to companies to process applications, rather than having applicants come to its office.

In a separate Parliamentary Question, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo confirmed that there were 37,717 foreigners working in Malta as at the end of March, according to JobsPlus records. Of these 27,334 are EU citizens, while 10,383 come from non-EU countries.