Guidance

Malta: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 19 February 2024

About: Malta

This document contains useful information about Malta which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 16 February 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has minor formatting changes.

Malta: names

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about names in Malta.

There are no restrictions on the number of names that can be given to a child in Malta. Not all names given will be recorded on the Malta (or Gozo) Public Registry.

The Director of the Public Registry may not register the name of the child, if the name:

• is shorter than 3 letters
• includes numbers or symbols
• is a common surname in Malta
• is derived from an obscene or offensive word
• consists of a word or words associated with sexual activity
• exposes the child to ridicule or contempt

The Malta Public Registry will record the names given under ‘Names to be Called’, and when this has been recorded the forenames and middle names cannot be changed.

Change of name in Malta

Name changes are allowed in Malta.

Malta passports can only be issued in the name recorded in the Public Registry. The Public Registry will:

• not add or amend middle forenames
• change a surname due to marriage or adoption
• change a name without a court order if there is a transliteration of the name from another European language
• change a name if a Malta court orders the change

A change of name (other than by marriage or adoption) in Malta can be confirmed using a civil status certificate issued by the Public Registry in Malta or Gozo.

Malta: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about nationality in Malta.

Dual nationality has been recognised in Malta since 10 February 2000.

Before 10 February 2000:

• prior to 21 September 1964, citizens could hold both British and Malta nationality status
• from 21 September 1964 until 10 February 2000, citizens could only hold either British or Malta nationality status (the other nationality status would need to be renounced)
• legislation was introduced on 1 August 1989 which allowed Malta citizens who had emigrated and naturalised as a citizen of another country (having lived there for more than 6 years) to retain their Malta citizenship

Malta: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Malta.

Legitimacy

Malta recognises the difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate from birth, if:
  • their parents were married at the time of the birth
  • previously unmarried parents marry after the birth
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

For a child to be considered legitimate from birth following the marriage of their unmarried parents, one of the following must apply:

• both parents must be named on the child’s birth certificate
• the child must be acknowledged in the Act of Marriage
• a court judgement must show if maternity or paternity has been declared

Parental responsibility

Both birth or adoptive parents will have parental responsibility (known as parental authority in Malta) for the child if they are both named on the certificate if registered in Malta.

If the parents separate or divorce, parental responsibility will be settled through mediation or a court decision. Parental responsibility may also be determined through a legally binding document signed by both parents in the presence of a notary.

Where one birth parent is named on the birth certificate, that parent will have sole parental responsibility for the child.

Malta: adoptions

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about adoptions in Malta.

Adoptions are legal in Malta.

Malta: marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about marriage in Malta.

Polygamous marriages are not legal in Malta. Marriages by proxy are allowed.

Malta: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about documents in Malta.

Birth, marriage and death certificates are issued by the Public Registry in Malta or Gozo depending on where the life event took place.

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Birth certificates

Birth must be registered within 15 days of the birth. Late birth registrations are allowed in exceptional circumstances.

Birth certificates are issued by the Public Registry when the birth is registered; they issue:

• full birth certificates on A3 size paper, acceptable for passport purposes
• extract birth certificates on A4 size paper, not acceptable for passport purposes

On a Malta birth certificate, there are two sections for names, the sections are:

• ‘Names Given’, which records all forenames given to the child (for example, Anna Brenda Claire)
• ‘Names to be Called’, which records the name the child should be called at all times, possibly including:
  • all forenames (for example Anna Brenda Claire)
  • a combination of forenames (for example Anna Claire)
  • one forename (for example Anna)

Each certificate has a unique birth number.

Information cannot be removed from a document. Corrections and other changes are ordered by the Courts of Law, noted on the full certificates and included in the extract birth certificates.

Marriage certificates

Following a religious or civil marriage in Malta:

• the registrar must provide the details of the marriage to the Public Registry within 5 working days of the date of marriage
• the Director of Public Registry must register the act of marriage within 30 working days of receipt
• a marriage certificate will be issued when the marriage has been registered

Death certificates

Death certificates are issued following all deaths in Malta. All deaths must be registered within 30 days, by the Director of Public Registry.

Identity documents

Mandatory identity and residence cards are issued to all Malta citizens.