Crew member on a Maltese flagged yacht

Crew members who are neither residents nor citizens of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK, hence citizens residing in a third country, working under the Maltese flag, must be insured according to the law of their country of residence.

Persons insured in Malta may benefit from a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and from an S1 form if they reside in a Member State other than Malta (on presentation of the salary slips showing the contributions);

They can also obtain the U1 form in order to claim unemployment benefits in their country of residence;

Contributions are calculated based on a percentage of the weekly salary up to a certain threshold (€455.79 for 2018); if the weekly salary is over that threshold, a fixed sum is upheld.

Roughly, Social Security Contributions amount to a total of around €200 per month.

Weekly SSC is now: €44.21 each and the Maternity fund contribution is €1.37 = Total contribution of €45.58 per week. So whatever the salary, if it is over €455.79 weekly, the Social Security Contributions are capped to a total of €45.58 per week.

The number of weeks per month is calculated based on the number of Mondays in a month (4 or 5).

So for a month with 4 Mondays, the cost is € 45.58 x 4 = € 182.32.

For a month with 5 Mondays, the cost is € 45.58 x 5 = € 227.90

Although these social contributions are taken of the seafarer’s gross pay, often the employer will chose to cover that expense.

Remember, this is not applicable for third country residents.

The cost to the employer is the same as for the seafarer. It is exactly the same amount as for the seafarer.

If the employer elects to pay the seafarer’s part as well, the total cost would be:

For a month with 4 Mondays, the cost is € 45.58 x 4 x 2 = € 364.64
For a month with 5 Mondays, the cost is € 45.58 x 5 x 2 = € 455.80
Remember, this is not applicable for third country residents.

Regarding the pension aspect, each state pays a rate of benefit which reflects the length of the claimant’s insurance in their scheme; this applies anywhere in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland; a person who has worked for more than one year in two or more of the above-mentioned states will be paid a pension proportional to the periods in these states

So, if for instance a person worked 20 years in Malta, 15 years in Italy and 5 years in the United Kingdom (total 40 years), this person should get a pension of not less than 20/40 years of the theoretical amount from Malta, 15/40 from Italy and 5/40 from the U.K; all these states will work out the full theoretical rate of pension as if the person worked the whole 40 years there;

It is the portability of rights.

Returns and payments are not optional, they are mandatory. It is the law.

At the latest on the 30th of June of each year, each crew member who worked on a Maltese Flag Ship are required to submit a tax return in Malta.

If the crew member is not a resident or citizen of Malta, there will be no taxes to be paid in Malta, but the declaration might still need to be made.

It is the crewmember’s responsibility to file and declare his revenues in his/her country of residence or citizenship.

We offer this service.

Although you have the basic health coverage under Malta’s social security, it will not cover the majority of your health expenses. Therefore, the Maltese legislation requires that a private insurance is added to it (regardless of your residence).

We usually choose to provide you with a WYCC Healthcare plan which give you an extra private protection. But there are other options.