Malta Still Measures a Visit in Calendar Months, and Still Points at a Union Instrument That Was Repealed in 2010
This replaces the general rule for you
A Union Citizen Enters on an Identity Card - and Then Has One Month to Tell the Police Where They Are, Unless They Paid for the Bed
A national of a Union or EEA state does not enter Malta on the Immigration Regulations at all. Part II of those Regulations, which used to carry the free-movement rights, is revoked with respect to nationals of the EU and replaced by the Free Movement of European Union Nationals and their Family Members Order, which implements Directive 2004/38/EC. Under article 3(2) of the Order a Union citizen enters and leaves on a valid identification document rather than a passport, and family members who are not nationals of a Member State on a valid passport, with an entry visa issued free of charge and on an accelerated procedure where one is needed at all. Article 3(3) gives three months' residence "without any conditions or any formalities", extended to six for a person seeking employment. The sting is in article 3(6), and it is a Maltese addition rather than a Union one: a Union citizen who is not covered by article 31 of the Immigration Act - that is, who is not staying anywhere that provides accommodation for reward - must report their presence to the Principal Immigration Officer within one month of arrival, and failing to do so is an offence carrying a fine of €232.94. Staying in a hotel discharges it, because the hotel's own register does the work. Staying with family does not.
Whether a traveller needs a visa for Malta is settled by Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 and not by Maltese law: Annex I nationals need one, Annex II nationals do not for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. What Maltese law adds is a measure of its own that has never been brought into line. Regulation 11(1) of the Immigration Regulations permits a third-country national to enter "for a visit the duration of which shall not exceed three months", with a visa "as required by the Common Consular Instructions" - the Union instrument the Visa Code replaced in April 2010, named in a regulation still in force. Regulation 11(4) gives the visa-exempt traveller three months as well, and adds something the Union measure does not have: the Principal Immigration Officer may extend a visit beyond three months. The Immigration Act counts in months too. Under article 6(2) leave to land and remain is deemed to have been granted for three calendar months unless the officer specifies otherwise, and leave to land alone for twenty-four hours. Three calendar months is not 90 days in any 180-day period: one is a single block measured forward from arrival, the other is a rolling allowance measured backwards. Separately, the Act puts a register duty on whoever sells you a bed: article 31 applies to any premises where lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided for reward, and the keeper must record every guest who is not an exempt person.
At a glance
- Visa
- Decided by Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, not by Maltese law
Regulation 11(1)(b) of S.L. 217.04 requires a visa "as required by the Common Consular Instructions" and names no countries; the lists are Annex I and Annex II to the Regulation.
- Length of a visit in the Maltese regulations
- Not more than three months
Regulation 11(1) of S.L. 217.04 for a visa holder, regulation 11(4) for a traveller who needs no visa.
- Length of a visit under the Union measure
- 90 days in any 180-day period
Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. The two measures are not the same: three calendar months runs forward from entry, the Union allowance is counted backwards over the preceding 180 days.
- Default leave to land and remain
- 3 calendar months
Article 6(2) of the Immigration Act, which applies unless the Principal Immigration Officer expressly specifies a longer or shorter period.
- Default leave to land only
- 24 hours
Article 6(2) of the Immigration Act.
- Extension of a visa-free visit
- The Principal Immigration Officer may extend beyond three months
Regulation 11(4) of S.L. 217.04. The Union exemption in article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 contains no such power.
- Who records your stay
- The keeper of the premises, in a register
Article 31(1) and (8) of the Immigration Act, which applies to any premises where lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided for reward.
Requirements
- A valid passport
- A visa where Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 requires one
- Documents substantiating the purpose and conditions of the planned visit, and sufficient means of support for the visit and the return journey
- Not to have been reported as a person to be refused entry, and not to be considered a threat to public policy or national security
- Your details entered in your host's register, if you are staying anywhere that provides lodging for reward
What applies to you
A Union Citizen Enters on an Identity Card - and Then Has One Month to Tell the Police Where They Are, Unless They Paid for the Bed
A national of a Union or EEA state does not enter Malta on the Immigration Regulations at all. Part II of those Regulations, which used to carry the free-movement rights, is revoked with respect to nationals of the EU and replaced by the Free Movement of European Union Nationals and their Family Members Order, which implements Directive 2004/38/EC. Under article 3(2) of the Order a Union citizen enters and leaves on a valid identification document rather than a passport, and family members who are not nationals of a Member State on a valid passport, with an entry visa issued free of charge and on an accelerated procedure where one is needed at all. Article 3(3) gives three months' residence "without any conditions or any formalities", extended to six for a person seeking employment. The sting is in article 3(6), and it is a Maltese addition rather than a Union one: a Union citizen who is not covered by article 31 of the Immigration Act - that is, who is not staying anywhere that provides accommodation for reward - must report their presence to the Principal Immigration Officer within one month of arrival, and failing to do so is an offence carrying a fine of €232.94. Staying in a hotel discharges it, because the hotel's own register does the work. Staying with family does not.
- A valid identification document, for the Union or EEA citizen
- A valid passport for a family member who is not a national of a Member State, and an entry visa where one is required, issued free of charge
- A report of your presence to the Principal Immigration Officer within one month, if you are not staying in paid accommodation
What the law says
«may be permitted to enter Malta for a visit the duration of which shall not exceed three months provided he - (a) holds a valid passport; (b) holds a valid visa, as required by the Common Consular Instructions;»The Common Consular Instructions were replaced by the Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, which applied from 5 April 2010. S.L. 217.04 has been amended five times since - most recently by Legal Notices 183 and 204 of 2026 - and still names them.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
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«A third country national who is not required to hold a visa under the provisions of this Part shall be entitled to enter into and move freely within Malta for a period of three months, provided that the Principal Immigration Officer may extend beyond three months the visit in Malta of such a third country national.»The visa-free visit in Maltese law, with a power of extension that the Union exemption does not contain.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Unless the Principal Immigration Officer expressly specifies a longer or shorter period, leave granted under paragraph (b) of the last preceding sub-article shall be deemed to have been granted for twenty-four hours in the case of leave to land and for three calendar months in the case of leave to land and remain in Malta.»The default periods, and the officer's discretion to set any other.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«This article applies to any premises, whether furnished or unfurnished, where lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided for reward.»The reach of the register duty: not only hotels, but any paid accommodation.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«of every person above the age of fourteen years staying at any premises to which this article applies to sign, when so required, a statement as to his nationality, and, if not an exempt person, to furnish and sign a statement of the particulars required under this article;»The guest's own half of the duty. It begins at fourteen.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Nationals of third countries listed in Annex II shall be exempt from the requirement set out in Article 3(1) for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.»The exemption and the Union measure of it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The three-month figure and the 90-days-in-180 figure are both quoted here because Malta's own instruments carry the first and the Union carries the second. Nothing read for this record reconciles them, and the Immigration Act and the Immigration Regulations were both searched in full.
"Exempt person" in the Immigration Act is a defined class - article 4 covers citizens of Malta, people with a right of entry under the Treaty, diplomats and their dependants - and most of the Act's duties fall only on people outside it.
- consolidatesImmigration Act, Chapter 217 of the Laws of Malta
Laws of Malta
About this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesImmigration Regulations, S.L. 217.04
Laws of Malta
About this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesRegulation (EU) 2018/1806, consolidated text of 30 December 2025
EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · consolidated to 2025-12-30
About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source