Renewing a Maltese Passport in the UK: London or Malta? (2026)

Can you renew a Maltese passport in the UK?

Maltese citizens living in the United Kingdom can renew a Maltese passport at the High Commission of Malta in London, which takes your photograph, fingerprints and signature in person and sends the application to the Identità Passport Office in Malta, where the passport is decided and printed before being returned to the High Commission or held for collection in Malta.

The High Commission of Malta in the United Kingdom describes consular services for Maltese nationals residing or travelling in the UK as one of its key responsibilities, including issuing passports, assisting in emergencies and offering guidance on citizenship processes. Malta's official missions directory lists the High Commission in London as Malta's mission in the United Kingdom.

The UK route has one feature that sets it apart from Australia or North America: Malta is a short flight away. For many Maltese in Britain, the real choice is not how to renew from abroad, but whether to renew in London or during a visit to Malta. This guide covers both.

Should you renew in London or in Malta?

Maltese citizens in the UK can renew either at the High Commission in London, which avoids any dependence on travel but has no official processing time and adds the mission's own charges, or in person at the Identità Passport Office in Malta, where a standard passport takes 4 working days and the urgent service 4 working hours.

Renewing in Malta only works if your current passport, or another valid travel document, gets you there, and if your stay is long enough to collect the new passport in person. If you are short of time, the urgent service in Malta is the only official way to have a passport within the same day. In Malta, booking is through Identità's online Passport Booking system, which is recommended rather than mandatory.

What do you need to bring to the High Commission?

A Maltese passport renewal at the High Commission in London needs a completed Form A, your previous Maltese passport, your original valid Maltese ID card with a copy of both sides, and photographs that meet Identità's rules, and if you have 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 a white background, eyes open, lips closed and no headwear. A photograph that is acceptable for a UK document may still fail them, so check before you print. Many Maltese in Britain, especially those born in the UK, have never held a Maltese ID card, which is why the recommender requirement comes up so often. The full checklist is on Identità's adult renewals page, and our step-by-step guide to renewing a Maltese passport from abroad walks through the form.

Who can be your recommender in the UK?

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.

A British friend cannot act as recommender for an adult unless they are also a Maltese national, but a Maltese national living in the UK can. For a child, the recommender must live in Malta, so UK families usually need a relative or friend in Malta who meets the conditions, even though British nationals are Commonwealth nationals. Settle this before you book: the recommender signs the form and, where needed, endorses a photograph.

What does it cost to renew a Maltese passport in the UK?

A Maltese adult passport renewed at the High Commission in London costs the same Identità fee as in Malta in 2026, €70 between September and March or €80 between April and August, plus the High Commission's processing fee and courier charges, which are set by the mission and are not published by Identità.

Children aged 10 to 15 pay €40 and children under 10 pay €16. If the passport being replaced was lost or stolen while still valid, a €15 supplement applies. Missions can charge in local currency, so ask the High Commission for its current charges and how they are paid when you book. Our breakdown of Maltese passport fees in 2026 covers every line, including the urgent fees.

If you would like your file checked before you book an appointment, book a free consultation with Mirabello Consultancy and we will review your documents, your recommender and the best route for your timing.

How long does a renewal from the UK take?

A Maltese passport renewal made at the High Commission in London 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 the UK also travels to Malta and back and can be held while your Maltese nationality is confirmed.

Plan backwards from your travel date. Demand peaks before the summer, which is also when the €80 fee band applies. A complete file on the day, a recommender who meets the rules and records that confirm your nationality without further enquiry are the three things you control. If a trip is fixed and close, compare the London timeline with a renewal in Malta using the urgent service.

How do UK-born children of Maltese parents get a first passport?

A child born in the UK on or after 1 August 1989 to a parent who was Maltese at the time of the birth is Maltese automatically, but the UK birth must be registered with the Identità Public Registry, at a fee of €2.60, before Identità issues a first passport, which costs €16 for a child under 10.

The original UK birth certificate is kept by the Registry, and because the United Kingdom is no longer an EU member, a UK certificate needs an apostille, as every certificate issued outside the EU does. For people born abroad between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989, citizenship passed automatically only through the father, and children of Maltese mothers from that period register with Form I. Our guides Is my child automatically Maltese? and registering a baby born abroad explain each step.

What changes when the passport is for a child?

A child's Maltese passport applied for in the UK 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, and abroad a minor attends with a parent or guardian. Our guide to a Maltese passport for a child covers the consent rules in full.

Can you renew a Maltese passport by post from the UK?

A Maltese passport cannot be renewed by post or online from the UK, because your photograph, fingerprints and signature must be captured in person every time a passport is issued, so each applicant, apart from children under 6, attends the High Commission in London or the Passport Office in Malta.

That rule shapes how families plan. If several family members need passports, one appointment for everyone avoids several trips to London, and the files can be prepared together so that the same recommender and the same supporting documents serve each application. Children under 6 do not attend, but both parents' consent is still required.

Collection follows its own rules. In Malta, an adult collects in person with an ID card, fingerprints are checked again, and the old passport is cancelled and returned. For a child, one parent alone may collect for ages 11 and under, while a parent and the child collect together for ages 12 to 17. For applications made in the UK, the new passport is returned to the High Commission, or held for collection in Malta if you ask the mission to arrange that when you apply.

What if your Maltese passport is lost or stolen in the UK?

A Maltese passport lost or stolen in the UK 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, including British ones, and if the lost passport was still valid a €15 supplement is added for the oath you swear about the loss.

Contact the High Commission first and ask how they handle the police report in your case. Our guide to a lost or stolen Maltese passport abroad sets out the steps.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps Maltese citizens in the UK

Mirabello Consultancy is a Swiss advisory firm with offices in Zurich, Dubai and Hong Kong SAR, and we help Maltese citizens in the UK remotely: we check your documents and nationality records, prepare Form A, help you find a qualifying recommender, review photographs and consent signatures, advise on London versus Malta for your timing 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, and our Maltese citizen services page covers births and marriage too. The official rules are on Identità's Passport Office pages.