Renewing a Maltese Passport in Australia: Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne (2026)

Can you renew a Maltese passport in Australia?

Maltese citizens living in Australia can renew a Maltese passport without travelling to Malta, by applying in person at a Maltese mission in Australia, where biometrics are taken and the application is sent to the Identità Passport Office in Malta, which decides it, prints the passport and returns it to the mission or holds it for collection.

Australia is home to the largest Maltese community outside Malta, and Malta's official missions directory describes the demand for consular services there as high. Malta's High Commission in Canberra states that the consulates in Melbourne and Sydney provide passport issuance and citizenship applications, among other services. For most Maltese Australians, the renewal therefore runs through a consulate in one of those two cities.

The fee you pay to Identità is the same as in Malta. What differs is everything around it: the mission's own charges, the courier, the lack of an official processing time and the distance between your appointment and the office that decides your application.

Which Maltese mission in Australia should you use?

Malta's official missions directory lists three missions in Australia: the High Commission in Canberra and the Consulates General in Sydney and Melbourne, and the High Commission states that the two consulates provide passport issuance and citizenship applications, so most renewals are lodged in Sydney or Melbourne after confirming the appointment with the mission directly.

Because the High Commission in Canberra is also accredited to New Zealand, Maltese citizens in New Zealand fall within the same network. Before you book, confirm with the mission which office will handle your application, how appointments are made and what it currently charges, using the contact details on the official Maltese missions directory. We do not reproduce addresses or telephone numbers here, because they change and the official page is the reliable source.

What do you need to bring to the appointment?

A Maltese passport renewal in Australia needs a completed Form A, your previous Maltese passport, your original valid Maltese ID card with a copy of both sides, and passport photographs that meet Identità's rules, and if you hold no valid Maltese ID card, one photograph must be endorsed by a recommender and Form A sections 7 and 8 completed.

Identità's photograph rules are strict: a white background, eyes open, lips closed and no headwear. Photographs taken for Australian documents do not automatically meet them, so check before you print. Many Maltese Australians who left Malta as children, or who were born in Australia, have never held a Maltese ID card, which is why the recommender question comes up so often in Australia. The official checklist is on Identità's adult renewals page.

Who can be your recommender if you live in Australia?

For an adult renewal, the recommender must be a Maltese national with a university degree who has known you for at least two years, while for a child's passport the recommender may be a Maltese, EU or Commonwealth national living in Malta with a university degree who has known the child for at least two years.

The distinction matters in Australia. An Australian friend with a degree cannot act as recommender for an adult, because the rule asks for a Maltese national, although a Maltese national living in Australia can. For a child, the recommender must be living in Malta, so families in Australia usually need a relative or family friend in Malta who meets the conditions. Settle this before you book, because the recommender signs the form, and for a child also endorses a photograph, and the mission will not accept a file without it.

What does it cost to renew a Maltese passport in Australia?

A Maltese adult passport renewed from Australia costs the same Identità fee as in Malta in 2026, €70 between September and March or €80 between April and August, plus the mission's processing fee and courier charges, which are set by the mission, can be charged in local currency and are not published by Identità.

The fee that applies follows the Maltese calendar, not the Australian one. A renewal lodged in the Australian winter, between June and August, falls into the €80 peak band, while one lodged between September and March pays €70. Children aged 10 to 15 pay €40 and children under 10 pay €16. If the passport you are replacing was lost or stolen while still valid, a €15 supplement applies. Ask the mission for its current charges and payment methods when you book, and see our full guide to Maltese passport fees in 2026 for every line.

How long does a renewal from Australia take?

A Maltese passport renewal made from Australia has no official processing time, because Identità publishes a standard time of 4 working days only for applications made in Malta, and an application from abroad also travels between the mission and Malta in both directions and can be held while your Maltese nationality is confirmed.

Plan backwards from your travel date and allow generous time, particularly before the European summer, when demand is highest. Three things you control make the biggest difference: a complete file on the day of the appointment, a recommender who meets the rules, and records that confirm your nationality without further enquiry. If you need the passport for a specific trip, say so when you book and ask the mission what it can realistically offer.

How do second-generation Maltese Australians prove their citizenship?

A person born in Australia on or after 1 August 1989 to a parent who was Maltese at the time of the birth is Maltese automatically, but a first passport is only issued once the foreign birth is registered with the Identità Public Registry, and the mission may ask for proof of the parent's citizenship when records in Malta are thin.

For people born abroad between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989, citizenship passed automatically only through the father; children of Maltese mothers from that period register with Form I. Citizenship does not pass automatically to the child of a person who became Maltese by registration on the basis of descent. If you are applying for your first Maltese passport rather than renewing one, start with our guides Is my child automatically Maltese? and registering a birth abroad.

If you are unsure whether your file is complete, book a free consultation with Mirabello Consultancy and we will check your position and your documents before you book the mission appointment.

What changes when the passport is for a child in Australia?

A child's Maltese passport applied for in Australia needs both parents to sign section 6 of Form A in front of the recommender with original ink signatures, a parent living in another country to sign Consent Form I at a Maltese mission, and from age 6 the child's attendance for facial biometrics, while children under 6 do not attend.

Scanned or electronic signatures are refused. Children aged 0 to 5 need two photographs, one endorsed by the recommender as a true image of the child. Abroad, a minor attends with a parent or guardian. Because passports for younger children carry a shorter validity, families renew them often, and aligning several children's renewals into one appointment saves a lot of travel. Our guide to a Maltese passport for a child covers the consent rules in full.

Can you get an urgent Maltese passport from Australia?

Maltese citizens in Australia can ask the mission to treat a passport application as urgent, and the urgent fee of €160 for an adult then applies, but Identità's 4-working-hour urgent service is available only for applications made in person in Malta, so no 4-hour timeframe applies to an application lodged in Australia.

If you are travelling to Malta anyway, you can renew there in person and use the urgent service on the spot. Otherwise, the most reliable way to avoid an urgent situation is to check your passport's expiry date well before any planned travel and to renew early.

Should you renew in Australia or during a visit to Malta?

Maltese Australians who are already planning a trip to Malta can renew in person at the Identità Passport Office during the visit, where a standard passport takes 4 working days and the urgent service 4 working hours, while renewing in Australia avoids any dependence on travel but has no official processing time and adds the mission's charges.

The choice depends on timing. Renewing in Malta only makes sense if your current passport is still valid enough to travel on, and if your stay is long enough to collect the new one; in Malta the passport is collected in person with your ID card, and the old passport is cancelled and returned. Renewing in Australia suits anyone who needs the new passport before travelling, or whose passport has already expired. Families with several passports to renew often find the Australian route simpler, because one well-prepared appointment can cover several applications.

Whichever route you choose, the documents are the same: Form A, the previous passport, your ID card or an endorsed photograph, and compliant photographs. Booking in Malta is done through Identità's online Passport Booking system, which is recommended rather than mandatory.

What if your Maltese passport is lost or stolen in Australia?

A Maltese passport lost or stolen in Australia is replaced with Form A, section 7 completed by a recommender, and an original police report issued in Malta, because Identità does not accept foreign police reports, and if the lost passport was still valid a €15 supplement is added for the oath you swear about the loss.

The Maltese police report requirement surprises many people living abroad, so contact the mission first and ask how they handle it in your case. Our guide to a lost or stolen Maltese passport abroad sets out the steps.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps Maltese Australians

Mirabello Consultancy is a Swiss advisory firm with offices in Zurich, Dubai and Hong Kong SAR, and we help Maltese citizens in Australia remotely: we check your documents and your nationality records, prepare Form A, help you find a qualifying recommender, review photographs and consent signatures, confirm the right mission and follow the application through to collection.

You can renew a passport yourself, and many people do. Government fees are paid at cost and shown separately, and our fee is confirmed per case. Our Maltese passport renewal service describes the scope, our Maltese citizen services page covers births and marriage too, and the official rules are on Identità's Passport Office pages.