There usually isn't one right moment to decide how an older parent should be cared for. More often a fall, a hospital stay or a hard winter makes the question urgent. In Malta the realistic choices are:
- a live-in carer in your parent's home;
- a visiting carer who comes for set hours;
- government services at home;
- a care home, government or private.
Many families end up combining more than one.
This guide sets the options side by side using official information only. That means the rules in Maltese law and on AACC and Identità pages, checked on 20 October 2026. It doesn't rate or name care homes, and it isn't medical advice. For questions about your parent's health or the level of care they need, start with their GP.
The options, side by side
| Live-in carer | Visiting carer | Government services at home | Care home | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A worker employed to live in your parent's home | A worker employed for agreed hours or days | AACC services such as Home Help, Telecare and Meals on Wheels (sources: AACC: Home Help Service; AACC: Telecare; AACC: Meals on Wheels) | Residential care in a government or private home (source: AACC: residential care) |
| Who arranges it | You (or your parent) as the employer | You (or your parent) as the employer | AACC, after an application and assessment (source: AACC: Home Help Service) | AACC assessment for a government place (source: AACC: residential care); the home itself for a private place |
| Minimum pay or cost | €1,016.37 a month minimum wage (Group 1) (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order) | €5.82 an hour minimum (Group 6), or €1,000.08 a month (Group 2) (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order) | For example, Home Help at €2.33 a week (source: AACC: Home Help Service) | Government, level 1: 60% of pension and other income (source: AACC: residential care); up to 80% of the pension at higher care levels (source: Budget Speech 2026). Private: set by each home |
| Help towards the cost | Carer at Home, up to €9,000 a year, if eligible (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home) | Carer at Home, if eligible (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home); Home Help of Your Choice at €10 an approved hour (source: servizz.gov.mt: Home Help Service) | Most services are subsidised; some are free with a Pink Form (source: AACC: Telecare) | Tax deduction for private home fees (sources: Budget Speech 2026; BDO Malta: Budget Measures Implementation Act) |
| Your parent stays at home | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
The sections below explain each column. Every cost figure is also gathered in one table.
A live-in carer
What "live-in" means in law. Malta's Domestic Service (Conditions of Work) Regulation Order (S.L. 452.170) puts domestic workers into six groups (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order). Group 1 is "workers engaged on a monthly basis who sleep in their employer's house on not less than seventeen (17) nights in any month". Their minimum wage is €1,016.37 a month (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).
It isn't round-the-clock duty by default. On days a live-in worker sleeps in, the Order says they're:
- entitled to all meals;
- entitled to "a minimum daily rest period of three (3) hours in the aggregate in every day", at times agreed with the employer (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order);
- entitled to a day of rest every week, paid at double time if worked (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).
Sick leave applies "from the first day of employment" (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order). Whether the general working-time rules also limit a live-in carer's hours is a question for DIER or a lawyer, not something to assume. Our guide to what a live-in carer costs covers pay, contributions and bonuses. How to employ a carer covers the contract and paperwork.
If the carer is from outside the EU, the live-in carer route has two rules worth knowing early:
- The employer is the person who needs care. Identità asks for a doctor's referral "confirming that the employer requires a full-time carer" (source: Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application). If your parent can't submit the application themselves, someone else can do it with a notarised power of attorney (source: Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application).
- The carer lives in the employer's home. The employer declares that the carer is accommodated "free of charge in my own habitual residence" (source: Identità: Form CEA C2).
The permit fee is €27.50 (source: Identità: single permit). The full process is in our non-EU carer guide.
Families often choose live-in care when:
- someone needs to be present for most of the day, and often at night;
- their parent very much wants to stay at home;
- there's a room the carer can call their own.
The trade-off is sharing a home. Clear written hours, a genuine day off and agreed privacy on both sides usually matter as much as pay.
A visiting (live-out) carer
A visiting carer works set hours and goes home. Under the same Order (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order):
- Paid by the hour (Group 6): at least €5.82 an hour. "Where employment exceeds four (4) hours in any one (1) day payment shall in no case be less than the equivalent of a day's work." (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order)
- Paid by the day (Group 5): at least €38.82 a day (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).
- Paid monthly, not sleeping in (Group 2): at least €1,000.08 a month (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).
- Hours: for monthly-, weekly- and daily-paid workers on days they don't sleep in, the Order limits hours to eight a day and 40 a week, excluding breaks. Time beyond that is paid at time and a half (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).
Help towards the cost. If your parent qualifies for the government Home Help Service, Home Help of Your Choice lets them use a helper they choose "at a subsidised rate of €10.00 for every hour approved" by AACC's Home Help Committee (source: servizz.gov.mt: Home Help Service). That's a subsidy for the approved hours only, not every hour you arrange. The rules on who can be the helper are in AACC's guidelines, so check them with AACC first. The Carer at Home scheme pays up to €9,000 a year to people over 60 who employ a carer of their choice (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home). The carer must hold a recognised qualification, and you need a notarised employment agreement (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home). Our Carer at Home guide explains the conditions.
A visiting carer often suits a parent who is mostly independent but needs help with mornings, meals, bathing, shopping or company. It can also suit families who live nearby and can cover some of the gaps. Nights are the usual gap. Telecare (source: AACC: Telecare) and family cover are how many households fill it, or they move to live-in care when nights become the problem.
Government services at home
Before or alongside a carer, check what AACC can provide. All these services start with the Elderly Services Application and a GP's medical report (sources: AACC: Home Help Service; AACC: Telecare):
- Home Help: light chores and shopping, for people over 65 living alone or with other over-65s (among other groups), for a €2.33 weekly contribution (source: AACC: Home Help Service).
- Telecare: an alarm pendant, for a €25 refundable deposit plus €4 a month (source: AACC: Telecare).
- Meals on Wheels: one chilled meal a day, for €2.20 (source: AACC: Meals on Wheels).
- CommCare Domiciliary Caring: care at home for people who are housebound or recently out of hospital, after a CommCare assessment (source: AACC: Domiciliary Caring).
- Dementia Activity Centres: day care up to three times a week, for people with a dementia diagnosis (source: AACC: Dementia Activity Centres).
Our guide to government help at home for older people covers every service, with eligibility and costs.
Care homes: government and private
Government residential care. AACC's "Home Admission" service provides residential care for older people and people with disability "who can no longer cope with living in their own homes" (source: AACC: residential care). It's open to:
- a senior citizen over 60;
- a senior citizen with dementia;
- a senior citizen who needs long-term care; or
- a senior citizen who can't live in their own home (source: AACC: residential care).
How to apply. Send the Elderly Services Application, with a medical report signed by the GP and any hospital certificates or reports (source: AACC: residential care). The application then goes to an Assessment Team. A multi-disciplinary team of "medical doctors, nurses, therapists and social workers" assesses your parent's social and clinical wellbeing, cognitive difficulties, mobility and dependency, and the support available. If your parent can't leave the house, the assessment happens at home (source: AACC: residential care). The team then sets the level of care needed and how urgent the case is. Once accepted, residents are invited to an orientation visit before admission (source: AACC: residential care). servizz.gov has a page for the same service (source: servizz.gov.mt: Home Admission).
AACC describes what government homes provide (source: AACC: residential care):
- nurses and care staff, with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and podiatry as needed;
- daily meals, cleaning and a hair salon.
St Vincent de Paul is described as "a hybrid between a nursing home and a hospital for senior citizens, with a total population of over 1,100 residents" (source: AACC: residential care). AACC also publishes a charter for care home residents. It stresses "the right to dignity, freedom, security and physical and mental wellbeing, as well as the freedom of choice and self-determination" (source: AACC: residential care).
Places in private homes paid for by the state. AACC pages mention senior citizens in "Government Residential Homes or forming part of the Public Private Partnership Scheme" (source: AACC: Physiotherapy Service). No official page we found explains how those places are allocated, so ask AACC.
Private care homes. The regulator for services for older people is the Older Persons Standards Authority (OPSA), which publishes a register of licensed service providers (source: OPSA: register). AACC's own respite page refers to "OPSA-licensed long-term care home[s]" (source: AACC: Residential Respite). Private homes set their own fees, and there's no official list of them. Before you compare, ask each home for its fees in writing:
- what the fee includes;
- what costs extra;
- whether a deposit is needed;
- how much notice either side must give;
- when fees are reviewed.
Check the home's licence on the OPSA register. If you pay fees to a private home, you may be able to claim a tax deduction (see costs).
What each option costs: the official figures
These are the figures official sources publish. They're floors and subsidies, not what families typically pay. There's no official average for carers' pay or private care home fees, so we don't give one.
| Cost line | Official figure (2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Live-in carer: minimum wage (Group 1) | €1,016.37 a month | S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order |
| Carer paid monthly, not sleeping in (Group 2) | €1,000.08 a month | S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order |
| Visiting carer paid by the day (Group 5) | €38.82 a day | S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order |
| Visiting carer paid by the hour (Group 6) | €5.82 an hour; not less than a day's pay if more than four hours in a day | S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order |
| Employer costs on top of wages (social security, statutory bonuses, leave) | See what a live-in carer costs | G3 |
| Non-EU live-in carer permit | €27.50 | Identità: single permit |
| Carer at Home subsidy | Up to €9,000 a year | servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home |
| Home Help of Your Choice subsidy | €10 per approved hour | servizz.gov.mt: Home Help Service |
| Home Help Service | €2.33 a week (€3.49 where more than one person in the household receives it) | AACC: Home Help Service |
| Government care home (level 1) | 60% of pension, social assistance and bonuses (net of tax), plus 60% of other income. Property other than the home is counted as income of 5.5% of its capital value. The resident keeps at least €1,397.62 a year | AACC: residential care |
| Government care home, higher care levels | Between 60% and 80% of the pension "depending on the level of care required", plus 60% of other income (Budget 2026 speech; AACC's page gives only the level 1 rule) | Budget Speech 2026 |
| Government care home, both spouses resident | Budget 2026 announced that, from 2026, the deduction from combined income falls from 60% to 50% (and from 80% to 70% where that rate applies) | Budget Speech 2026 |
| Private care home | Set by each home; not published officially | — |
| Tax deduction for private care home fees | Cap raised from €2,500 to €4,500 a year (announced in Budget 2026; BDO reports it applies from year of assessment 2027) | Budget Speech 2026; BDO Malta: Budget Measures Implementation Act; MTCA: homes for the elderly, 2025 |
| Residential respite, booked yourself | Up to €72 a night reimbursed, within 63 days a year | AACC: Residential Respite |
AACC's residential care page also links to an online calculator (source: AACC: residential care).
Trying respite first
If you're unsure whether a care home, or more care at home, is the right step, respite lets your parent and your family try it for a while. It also gives the family carer a genuine break.
- Residential Respite: a stay in a care home for "a maximum of 63 days" a year, used up to three times a year, for people over 60 who live at home and depend on a family carer (source: AACC: Residential Respite). Once approved, you can book a respite bed yourself at any OPSA-licensed long-term care home. AACC reimburses "up to €72 per night" within the 63-day limit (source: AACC: Residential Respite).
- Respite at Home: AACC sends "a qualified care worker who will stay at home with the senior citizen" so the family carer can take a break. Packages run from single days up to a full week, 24 hours a day, up to three times a year (source: AACC: Respite at Home). CommCare assesses each case (source: AACC: Respite at Home).
- Dementia Activity Centres: for a parent with a dementia diagnosis, day care up to three times a week, between 06:30 and 18:00 (source: AACC: Dementia Activity Centres).
Thinking it through, by situation
Every family is different, and a GP or AACC assessment will tell you more about your parent's needs than any table can. As a starting point:
| If your parent… | Options families often look at | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| Needs someone there most of the day and at night, and wants to stay at home | A live-in carer; Carer at Home if eligible | Live-in carer costs · Carer at Home |
| Is mostly independent but needs help with some daily tasks | A visiting carer; Home Help; Meals on Wheels | Government help at home |
| Lives alone and you worry about falls or nights | Telecare; a live-in carer; Night Shelter if largely independent | Government help at home |
| Is cared for by a relative who is exhausted | Respite at Home; Residential Respite; Carers Allowance for the relative | Government help at home |
| Is living with dementia | Start with the GP and the Dementia Helpline (1771, 24/7) (source: AACC: care for people with dementia); Dementia Intervention Team; Dementia Activity Centres | Dementia care at home |
| Needs more care than can be arranged safely at home | An AACC assessment for residential care; OPSA-licensed private homes | AACC residential care |
| Has no room for a carer to live in | A visiting carer, or several visiting carers covering different times; a care home | This guide, visiting carer |
When you're ready to look at care at home, post a job using the button below, saying whether you need live-in or visiting care and the hours. You can also browse live-in carer and home care profiles. Carers who are interested reply, and you decide who to contact.
Sources we checked
Every figure and rule in this guide links to the official page it comes from. We re-check them when the rules or the Budget change.
- AACC: residential care, page updated 6 Feb 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- servizz.gov.mt: Home Admission, page updated 20 Jun 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Residential Respite, page updated 6 May 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Respite at Home, page updated 22 Nov 2024. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home, page updated 20 Jun 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- servizz.gov.mt: Home Help Service, page updated 20 Jun 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Home Help Service, page updated 6 Jan 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Physiotherapy Service, page updated 28 Jan 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- Budget Speech 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- BDO Malta: Budget Measures Implementation Act, page updated 3 Aug 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Dementia Activity Centres, page updated 22 Nov 2024. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- MTCA: homes for the elderly, 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- OPSA: register. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- Identità: Form CEA C2. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- Identità: single permit, page updated 27 Aug 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Domiciliary Caring, page updated 22 Nov 2024. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Telecare, page updated 14 May 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: care for people with dementia, page updated 3 Aug 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- AACC: Meals on Wheels, page updated 27 Mar 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.