Maltese Passport for a Child in 2026: Consent, Photos and Fees

When can a child get a Maltese passport?

A child can get a Maltese passport once the child is a Maltese citizen and, for a child born outside Malta, once the foreign birth has been registered with the Malta Public Registry, and every application needs both parents' consent, a recommender and photographs that meet the Passport Office's rules.

For most families the citizenship question answers itself. Under the Maltese Citizenship Act, a child born on or after 1 August 1989 is a Maltese citizen automatically if either parent was a Maltese citizen at the time of the birth, whether the child was born in Malta or abroad. No citizenship application is needed. Two situations need more care: for children born abroad between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989, citizenship passed automatically only through the father, and the child of a parent who became Maltese by registering as a descendant does not become Maltese automatically. Our guide to whether your child is automatically Maltese explains those rules in full.

Born in Malta

A birth in Malta is notified to the Identità Public Registry within 15 days. Once the birth is registered in Malta, the original birth certificate is not needed for the first passport application, which keeps the file simple.

Born abroad

A child born abroad to a Maltese parent is Maltese from birth, but the Passport Office can only issue a passport once the foreign birth is registered with the Public Registry, in person in Malta or through a Maltese mission. Registration costs €2.60 and needs the original civil birth certificate, with an apostille unless it was issued in the EU. Our page on newborn registration and the first passport covers that step, and our guide to registering a baby born abroad to a Maltese parent goes into the documents in detail.

How much does a Maltese passport for a child cost in 2026?

A Maltese passport for a child costs €16 for a child under 10 and €40 for a child aged 10 to 15 in 2026, with urgent fees of €60 and €80 respectively, while a 16 or 17 year old pays the adult fee of €70 from September to March or €80 from April to August, or €160 urgent.

These are the government fees published by the Identità Passport Office and read on 13 October 2026. A standard application made in Malta is ready in 4 working days, and the urgent service is ready in 4 working hours, but only for applications made in Malta. Applications made through an embassy, high commission or consulate add a mission processing fee and courier charges set by each mission. Mirabello's service fee is separate and confirmed per case.

One payment detail catches parents out. In Malta, passport fees can be paid in cash, by card or by cheque, but cheques are not accepted for urgent applications or for amounts under €20, so the €16 fee for a child under 10 cannot be paid by cheque. Our guide to Maltese passport fees in 2026 sets out every fee, including the adult bands, in one place.

Do both parents have to consent to a child's Maltese passport?

Both parents must consent to a Maltese passport for a child by signing section 6 of Form A in front of the recommender with original ink signatures, and the Passport Office refuses scanned or electronic signatures, so a form signed by one parent and then emailed to the other for signature cannot be used.

The consent rule applies to every child's passport, from a newborn's first passport to a renewal for a 17 year old. It is the requirement that most often sends families back for a second appointment, because both parents and the recommender need to be in the same place at the same time, holding the same form.

When one parent lives in another country

A parent who is abroad gives consent by signing Consent Form I at a Maltese embassy, high commission or consulate, which emails it to the Passport Office. The absent parent therefore needs an appointment at a mission too, and that appointment should be arranged before the child's application is submitted, so the consent is on file when the application arrives in Malta. Where one parent cannot or will not sign, take advice from the Passport Office before you book anything, because the standard consent route assumes both parents sign.

Consent Form I is not the citizenship Form I

Two different documents share the letter I. Consent Form I is the passport consent form a parent abroad signs at a mission. Form I at Aġenzija Komunità Malta is an application to register as a Maltese citizen, used by people born abroad between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989 to a Maltese mother, at a government fee of €150 plus €50 on approval. A parent asked for "Form I" should confirm which one is meant.

Who can act as recommender for a child's Maltese passport?

The recommender for a child's Maltese passport must be a Maltese, EU or Commonwealth national living in Malta who holds a university degree and has known the child for at least two years, and both parents sign the consent section in the recommender's presence before the recommender endorses one photograph as a true image of the child.

The recommender's role is to confirm the child's identity. On the endorsed photograph the recommender writes "This is a true image of" followed by the child's name, and signs. The rule for adults is different: an adult's recommender must be a Maltese national with a university degree who has known the applicant for at least two years, so a person who can sign for a parent's own passport may not be the right person for the child's, and the reverse.

The residence condition matters most for families abroad. A recommender for a minor must live in Malta, which means a family in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada or the United States has to identify the right person before the appointment is booked, not at the counter.

If you are unsure whether your recommender qualifies or how to arrange the consent signatures across two countries, Mirabello Consultancy can review the file before you book. Book a free consultation and we will confirm what your child's application needs.

What photographs does a child's Maltese passport need?

A child's Maltese passport needs two photographs for a child aged 0 to 5 and one or two photographs for an older child, each meeting the Passport Office's rules of a white background, eyes open, lips closed and no headwear, with one photograph endorsed by the recommender as a true image of the child.

For a baby, the photograph is usually the hardest part of the file. Eyes open and lips closed is a real requirement, not a guideline, and a photograph that does not meet it can be refused. Take several photographs on a white background and choose the clearest, and have the recommender endorse the chosen print only once it is final. Because children change quickly, use recent photographs rather than ones taken months before the appointment.

Does my child have to attend the Maltese passport appointment?

A child under 6 does not attend the appointment for a Maltese passport, while a child aged 6 or over attends in person so that facial biometrics can be taken, and when the application is made abroad the minor attends the Maltese embassy, high commission or consulate together with a parent or guardian.

For a baby's first passport, then, the parents attend and the child stays at home. From the sixth birthday the child comes along, which is worth planning around school terms, particularly where the nearest mission is in another city.

Collecting the passport

When the passport is collected in person, one parent alone may collect it for a child aged 11 or under, while for a child aged 12 to 17 a parent and the child collect it together. For applications made abroad, the mission sends the application to the Passport Office in Malta and the passport is returned by courier, or held for collection in Malta if you tell the mission.

How do you apply for a child's Maltese passport from abroad?

A child's Maltese passport applied for from abroad goes through the nearest Maltese embassy, high commission or consulate, where the parents present Form A, the consent and the photographs, a child aged 6 or over attends with a parent or guardian for biometrics, and the mission sends the application to the Passport Office in Malta.

The same Form A and consent rules apply abroad as in Malta. For a first passport, the child's foreign birth must already be registered in Malta, so that step comes first. No official processing time is published for applications made abroad, because the application travels to Malta and the passport travels back; plan for several weeks at least. Appointments at busy missions can be booked out for several weeks in peak season, and an application can be held while a parent's Maltese nationality is confirmed if the family's records in Malta are incomplete.

The urgent service does not change the picture much from abroad. You can ask the mission to treat an application as urgent and the urgent fee applies, but the 4 working hour timeframe is offered only for applications made in Malta. Our guide to renewing a Maltese passport from abroad covers the mission process step by step, and our Maltese passport renewal service page explains how we prepare the file.

How often does a child's Maltese passport need renewing?

A child's Maltese passport needs renewing more often than an adult's, because a passport issued to a child aged 10 to 15 is valid for 5 years and a passport issued to a child under 10 carries a shorter validity, while from age 16 the passport is issued at the adult fee with 10 years' validity.

A family with several children can find itself renewing passports often. It pays to align renewals so that one appointment covers several family members, and to check expiry dates well before any long trip. Each renewal repeats the full child rules: both parents' consent in front of a recommender, compliant photographs and, from age 6, the child's attendance.

If a child's passport is lost or stolen, the replacement costs the normal fee plus €15 where the passport was still valid, and Identità requires an original police report issued in Malta; our guide to a lost or stolen Maltese passport abroad explains what to do. And if a non-Maltese parent is becoming Maltese through citizenship by marriage, check at the same time whether the children already qualify by descent, so every family document is gathered once.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps with a child's passport

Mirabello Consultancy helps Maltese families obtain and renew a child's passport by confirming the child's citizenship position, preparing Form A, arranging the consent signatures and Consent Form I where a parent is abroad, checking the recommender and photographs, and booking the right appointment, working remotely from our offices in Zurich, Dubai and Hong Kong SAR.

You can apply for your child's passport yourself, and many parents do. Our role is to make sure the file is complete and consistent the first time, so you are not asked to come back for a missing signature or a refused photograph. Every decision rests with Identità; no third party can speed up or influence it, and the only official urgent service is the 4 working hour service for applications made in Malta.

Government fees are always paid at cost and shown separately from Mirabello's service fee, which we confirm per case after a free consultation. All of our services for Maltese families, including citizenship by marriage and birth registration, are brought together on our Maltese citizen services page.