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@Bekki1019

Hello Bekki,

Welcome on board !

Please note that I have created this new thread on the Malta forum from your post so that members can provide you some updated infos.

If you are looking for a professional, feel free to contact our pet relocation partner : /en/travel-with-pets/europe/malta/

All the best

Bhavna

Bringing pets here isn't super hard just expensive.

Much harder to get visas and all the legalities around.

You should also absolutely not for 1 minute believe some TV show about life here, you need to visit and spend time here not as a tourist.  Get a Airbnb for a month outside of the tourist hotspots (where you won't be living) and see how life actually is.

@Bhavna

Thank you so much! What brought you to Malta?

@volcane

That's the plan. Even though I've travelled extensively I realize it's much different living in a foreign country than it is to visit one. We have friends living abroad as well. Though not in Malta but in Italy and Ireland. My fiance has never travelled out of the US. We plan to visit for our honeymoon next year.

I'd appreciate if you would elaborate on your comment about legalities, etc. I'm not a ride-or-die type of woman. I investigate as much as I possibly can before making a commitment. I've known my fiancé since I was 15 y/o. We're both 57 now.

@Bhavna
Thank you so much! What brought you to Malta? - @Bekki1019

Bhavna doesn't live in Malta, she is a Moderator/Administrator of ½ûÂþÌìÌà and makes sure the site runs smoothly.

There really are only a few options for non europeans: Pay a lot of money to get residence by investment or get a job who will sponsor your move here as a visa applicant.

As a non european you have few options.

You should also study the impact on taxes as America makes it quite difficult.

I have a contact in California who ships animals all over the world. She quoted me a price of $18,000 to ship my 3 100lb Bouvier dogs to Malta.

It's definitely worth considering the kind of place you need for your dog, we dont have much green space, gardens, accessible parks etc and it's very unpleasantly hot for certain breads in summer. Bulk of the beaches do not allow dogs and those who do are not sandy beaches.

It can be hard to find expert vets for certain breeds and we have few (I think now just 1) 24/7 vet where you can wait hours to be seen.

There is also near 12 hour per day constant fireworks everywhere for 6 months of the year which can severely traumatise animals.

12 hours of fireworks everyday, slight exaggeration.

@volcane

I have since found out we cannot have our retirement funds deposited into a Maltese bank, so that's a deal breaker for our plans to move to Malta.

I have been looking at real estate and very few places that are affordable have yards or courtyards for dogs to use.

A couple of years ago I saw a villa made out of blue stone, with a barn and dressage court for a horse, with a trail to the coast for $300,000 Euro. Not sure what island this was on.

Hot weather would not be a problem as it gets over 100 deg here in California every summer.

One of my Bouvier dogs is frail and old (11yrs) so he would not be able to travel and I don't want to leave him because he most likely would not live long enough for me to ever see him again if me moved for 4 years.

What originally sounded like a viable plan to escape the chaos that is sure to take over our USA turns out to be wildly expensive/impractical.