Maltese Citizenship

Registration

Maltese citizenship can be acquired through registration subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. An applicant can be the wife or husband of a Maltese citizen, a widow or widower of a Maltese citizen, a former citizen of Malta, a child over eighteen years old born to a Maltese mother who was, at time of giving birth, a Maltese citizen and a direct descendant of an ascendant who was born in Malta.

When applying, the necessary certificates (such as marriage and birth certificates, passport and identity card) must be presented to the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs (hereinafter ‘DCEA’).

Naturalization

Maltese citizenship can be acquired through naturalization. This mode of acquisition may be used by former Maltese citizens, by applicants born abroad to returned Maltese migrants, by applicants who were born in Malta to at least one Maltese parent but hold a foreign citizenship, by applicants whose parents subsequently acquired Maltese citizenship and by those who are of Maltese descent but were born abroad.

Parents and Guardians may apply for naturalization as a Maltese citizen on behalf of a minor.

Those eligible for naturalization must have been residing in Malta for a period of 5 years.

The documents which have to be presented to the DCEA include; the applicant’s birth certificate, passport, identity card, police conduct certificate, photographs amongst other.