MT · Citizenship by descent

Maltese citizenship by descent

Reaches a great-grandparent. Every answer on this page is what Postern’s rulebook returns, word for word, with the law it cites. The free check runs the same rules.

Last verified 25 September 20268 sourcesNot legal advice

MT · PARENTLIKELYThrough a parentCitizen by descentMT · GRANDPARENTPOSSIBLEThrough a grandparentRegistration of descendants (Art. 5)MT · GREAT-GRANDPARENTPOSSIBLEThrough a great-grandparentRegistration of descendants (Art. 5)
Routes
Citizen by descent (Art. 5) · Registration of descendants of Malta-born persons
Dual citizenship
Kept on every open route
Comes with
EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

The stamps assume no one in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born. What changes each answer is below.

On this page
  1. 01Who qualifies
  2. 02Dates that matter
  3. 03Mothers’ lines
  4. 04Keeping your citizenship
  5. 05The routes and the law
  6. 06The documents
  7. 07What it takes
  8. 08Where the records live
  9. 09Law changes
  10. 10Other doors
  11. 11Sources

01Who qualifies

Who qualifies, generation by generation

LIKELY

Can you claim Maltese citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by descent

A child born abroad to a Maltese citizen is Maltese by descent and registers at the consulate.

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Maltese citizenship through a grandparent?

Registration of descendants (Art. 5)

Any descendant of a Malta-born ancestor whose own parent was also born in Malta is entitled to register, in any generation. From 1 August 2028, a living parent in between must have registered first.

What would settle itWhether your Malta-born ancestor’s own mother or father was also born in Malta; that pair of Maltese births is what the law requires. If your parent is living, applying before 1 August 2028, or having your parent register first, keeps the line open.

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Maltese citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Registration of descendants (Art. 5)

Any descendant of a Malta-born ancestor whose own parent was also born in Malta is entitled to register, in any generation. From 1 August 2028, a living parent in between must have registered first.

What would settle itWhether your Malta-born ancestor’s own mother or father was also born in Malta; that pair of Maltese births is what the law requires. If your parent is living, applying before 1 August 2028, or having your parent register first, keeps the line open.

What changes the answer

02Dates that matter

The dates that matter

  1. 1989
    31 July 1989

    A person born outside Malta is a citizen from birth if at the birth a parent was a citizen of Malta otherwise than by descent (for births on or before 31 July 1989, the father). Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188), as amended to Act XXI of 2025 (consolidated 24 July 2025), Art. 5(2)

  2. 1989
    31 July 1989

    A person born abroad on or before 31 July 1989 whose mother was a citizen of Malta at the birth (otherwise than by descent) is entitled to be registered as a citizen on application and oath of allegiance. Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188), as amended to Act XXI of 2025 (consolidated 24 July 2025), Art. 5(2)(a), proviso

  3. 2028
    1 August 2028

    From 1 August 2028, if the applicant's parent is alive on that date (or born after it) and is also such a descendant, the applicant can register only if that parent acquired Maltese citizenship first; a parent who dies before that date is treated as having acquired it, and one who dies after it having applied still counts. Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188), as amended to Act XXI of 2025 (consolidated 24 July 2025), Art. 5(4)-(7), inserted by Act XXI of 2025

03Mothers’ lines

How mothers’ lines were treated

In Malta’s rule, the answer changes when the line runs through a woman:

  • LIKELY
    If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1990

    Born abroad before August 1989 to a Maltese mother, you are entitled to register as a Maltese citizen.

In the law’s words

04Keeping your citizenship

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

05The routes

Every route, and the law behind it

Citizen by descent

Open through a parent

  • LIKELY
    Through a parent
  • LIKELY
    Through a parent, if the parent is your mother and you were born before 1990

The law

Registration of descendants (Art. 5)

Open through a grandparent or a great-grandparent

  • POSSIBLE
    Through a grandparent

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • Whether your Malta-born ancestor’s own mother or father was also born in Malta; that pair of Maltese births is what the law requires. If your parent is living, applying before 1 August 2028, or having your parent register first, keeps the line open.

06The documents

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Through a parent

  • Your parent’s Maltese birth certificate or citizenship certificate
  • Your birth certificate
  • Your parents’ marriage certificate

Registration of descendants (Art. 5)

Through a grandparent or great-grandparent

  • Your Malta-born ancestor’s birth certificate, and the birth certificate of their Malta-born parent
  • Birth and marriage records for each generation to you
  • If you apply after 1 August 2028: your living parent’s Maltese registration

Most countries also want proof that no one in the line became a citizen elsewhere before the next birth: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter that none exists.

07What it takes

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

Time
4–9 months for the citizenship certificate, then 4–6 weeks for a passport.
Cost
About $300–600: certified copies, apostilles, translations and the passport fee.
The hard part
Getting your Maltese parent’s birth or citizenship record if they left decades ago; the Community Malta Agency will still want the marriage record for every generation in between.
Who decides
The Community Malta Agency, through the Maltese consulate for your address.
The first record
Your parent’s Maltese birth certificate, from The Public Registry of Malta. Request a certified copy from the Public Registry in Valletta by name and approximate date; they answer written and email requests, typically in a few weeks. identita.gov.mt

How it’s filed

Where
Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta), Valletta, through the Maltese embassy in Washington or the Consulate General in New York (which explicitly handles citizenship-by-descent applications for 8 northeastern states) office list
How
By post; no appearance needed
Fee
About $227
Decision
4–10 months
What goes in the file (6)
  1. Form I, completed and signed
  2. Member's full birth certificate, apostilled
  3. Maltese parent's Maltese birth certificate or citizenship certificate or passport
  4. Parents' marriage certificate
  5. Copy of the member's passport or ID
  6. Proof of the €150 fee
What goes wrong (6)
  • €150 on filing, €50 more on collecting the certificate if approved (Form I). A certificate of citizenship alone costs €15 (Agency).
  • Unverified split: a child born abroad on or after 1 August 1989 to a Maltese parent (or earlier, to a Maltese father) is generally a citizen automatically and may need only the €15 certificate or a passport. Form I covers people who must register, such as pre-1989 children of Maltese mothers. Confirm with the Agency before filing; primary law text not fetched this pass.
  • komunita.gov.mt serves a captcha to automated clients; forms and fees were confirmed from search results of the official domain.
  • Decision time: 4–9 months (takes); not published officially.
  • The New York Consulate General handling citizenship-by-descent intake for 8 northeastern states is a materially new finding: the network is not just 'the Maltese embassy or consulate for the member's residence' via Washington alone.
  • From CA, GB, AU, NZ, BR, AR, ZA: same Agency through the Maltese mission there; same forms and fees.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Registration of descendants (Art. 5)

Time
12–24 months for a document-heavy, two-generation case (some sources cite 3–9 months for simpler descent registrations), and time-sensitive: a 2025 amendment closes the chain if the linking parent, alive on 1 August 2007, dies after 1 August 2028 without applying.
Cost
About $600–1,200: the government fee itself is modest (~€150/€50); most of the cost is certified copies, apostilles and translations for every generation.
The hard part
Documenting an unbroken line of two consecutive Malta-born generations. If your grandparent's own parent wasn't also born in Malta, this route likely doesn't apply and it's worth confirming with the Community Malta Agency before spending on records.
Who decides
The Community Malta Agency, through the Maltese consulate for your address.
The first record
Your Malta-born ancestor’s birth certificate, from The Public Registry of Malta. Request certified copies for the ancestor and their Malta-born parent by name and approximate date; older entries may need the National Archives of Malta. identita.gov.mt

How it’s filed

Where
Community Malta Agency, through the Maltese embassy in Washington or the Consulate General in New York (8 northeastern states) office list
How
By post; no appearance needed
Fee
About $227
Decision
6–24 months
What goes in the file (7)
  1. Form K, completed and signed
  2. Malta-born ancestor's full Maltese birth certificate
  3. Birth certificate of that ancestor's Malta-born parent (two consecutive Malta-born generations)
  4. Birth and marriage certificates for every generation from the ancestor to the member, U.S. records apostilled
  5. Evidence of the linking parent's status (and whether they were alive on 1 August 2007)
  6. Copy of the member's passport
  7. Proof of the €150 fee
What goes wrong (4)
  • €150 on filing, €50 on collecting the certificate (Form K). No residence in Malta required.
  • Time-sensitive (rulebook and takes): under the 2025 amendment the chain breaks if the linking parent, alive on 1 August 2007, dies after 1 August 2028 without having applied. File the parent's own application first where possible. Primary text not fetched; confirm with the Agency.
  • 12–24 months for document-heavy two-generation cases (takes); not published officially.
  • Once registered, the Agency tells the Public Registry so the foreign birth can be registered in Malta.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Estimates are honest ranges from official fee tables and what families report; where a fee or time could not be confirmed, it says so.

08Where the records live

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

  • birth

    Public Registry of Malta (Identità), civil status registers.

    Order by name, date and parents; older entries may need the National Archives of Malta (takes).

    Ask
    Online, in English · request page ↗
    Fee
    9.95 EUR (about $11)
    Takes
    1–6 weeks
    Good to know (2)
    • €9.95 for a full certificate online (€2.50 extract); order the full one. Processed in about six working days, delivered internationally; add airmail time.
    • For the descendants route, order the Malta-born ancestor's certificate and their Malta-born parent's.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • marriage

    Public Registry of Malta (Identità), for marriages in Malta; U.S. marriages from the county or state.

    Ask
    Online, in English · request page ↗
    Takes
    1–6 weeks
    Good to know (1)
    • Takes: the Agency wants the marriage record for every generation in between. Marriage certificate fee not verified this pass.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Translations

Into
English or Maltese
Who may translate
No translation needed
About
$0–$75 a page

English documents need no translation. U.S. records need the issuing state's apostille (not re-verified this pass). Non-English records need a certified translation into English; unverified whether it must be sworn.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

The passport

Where
Identità Passport Office through a Maltese embassy, high commission or consulate-general authorised to take passport applications (in person for biometrics). €70 adult September–March, €80 April–August, plus any mission fee.
Fee
About $80
Time
3–13 weeks

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

09Law changes

Recent and pending changes

The legislative watch has no pending bill or recent ruling recorded for Malta.

Already in the rule

The watch re-reads the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person re-checks the rule before anything here moves.

10Other doors

If descent doesn’t reach you

4 residence programs lead to Malta without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

11Sources

Every source on this page

1 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing. Records and filing checked 25 September 2026.

  1. LawMaltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188), as amended to Act XXI of 2025 (consolidated 24 July 2025) · Art. 5(2); Art. 9; Art. 5(2)(a), proviso; Art. 5(3); Art. 3(3) for births before 21 September 1964; Art. 5(4)-(7), inserted by Act XXI of 2025; Art. 5(8); Art. 7
  2. RecordsThe Public Registry of Malta: Your parent’s Maltese birth certificate
  3. RecordsHow to file: Citizen by descent · checked 25 September 2026
  4. RecordsHow to file: Registration of descendants (Art. 5) · checked 25 September 2026
  5. RecordsBirth records: Public Registry of Malta · checked 25 September 2026
  6. RecordsCertifikati.gov.mt (order existing Public Registry certificates online) · checked 25 September 2026
  7. RecordsTranslations into English or Maltese · checked 25 September 2026
  8. RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait · checked 25 September 2026

Not legal advice. Postern’s rulebook is written from the statutes and tested against documented cases; where the law is unsettled, the answer says “possible” or “unsure” rather than guess.

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