Does time spent in Malta as a student count toward long-term residence or PR?

Malta's long-term residence route requires several years of continuous legal residence, but periods spent solely as a student are typically excluded from that calculation.

This means that if your long-term goal is permanent residence, you will usually need to transition to another qualifying basis (such as employment) after your studies and accumulate the required residence on that basis. Plan your post-study options early rather than assuming study years will bridge you to PR.