What letters does a Malta business visa need?

Two. An invitation from the Maltese company or organisation, and a covering letter from the company sending you. Malta's checklist asks each to state the same three things — your identity, the purpose of the journey, and the period and place of stay — so they are read against each other.

Can I stay in Malta longer than 90 days on a business visa?

Not on this one. The short-stay visa allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period. A business need of more than 90 consecutive days is a separate national application to Malta's Central Visa Unit, which asks for proof of the business relationship, an agenda, and documents justifying why the activity must exceed 90 days.

Can I buy the travel insurance anywhere?

No. Malta's checklist says insurance may only be purchased from one of the 16 Schengen-recognised insurance companies in India, with cover of at least EUR 30,000 valid across the Schengen area for the full trip.

The Maltese company is giving me a flat to stay in. What do I submit?

Malta's Declaration of Proof, completed and signed by the host, in original and witnessed by a Maltese public notary, with a copy of the host's ID card and supporting documents. A line in the invitation saying accommodation is provided is not enough.

Malta · Visa guide

Malta Business Visa

A short-stay Schengen visa for business meetings, conferences and training in Malta.

ProcessingUsually about 15 calendar days from submission
Visa categoryBusiness Visa
Your guideOne consultant

Get a free assessment WhatsApp us

A business visitor visa is refused when the purpose looks like work. Call us with the invitation and your company details. We tell you if the purpose reads right.

Call +91 91155 80911 WhatsApp

Start here

Malta Business Visa — overview

A Maltese business visa is a short-stay Schengen visa (Type C) for meetings, conferences, training or business events in Malta — up to 90 days in any 180-day period. It needs two letters that mirror each other: one from the company inviting you, one from the company sending you.

This page is about that short-stay visa. If the business genuinely needs you in Malta for more than 90 consecutive days, that is a different, national application made to Malta's Central Visa Unit — and Malta states plainly that an application filed under "business" which is really employment, or really a short stay, will be refused.

Earliest slot we saw

Checked by hand · 26 September

Cochin: 28 Sept
Lucknow: 28 Sept
New Delhi: 28 Sept

Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A snapshot from the portal on the date above, not a live feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All Malta centres & earliest dates

Two letters, written to be compared

Malta's business checklist asks for the same three facts twice. The inviting company in Malta states your identity, the purpose of the journey, and the period and place of stay. The sending company in India states your identity, the purpose, and the period and place of stay.

That repetition is deliberate. The two letters are placed side by side, and the quickest way to raise a doubt is for them to disagree — a conference in one and "client meetings" in the other, or dates that differ by three days. We draft the Indian letter from the Maltese invitation, not independently, so they describe one trip.

The purposes Malta names are meetings, conferences, training or business-related events. Keep to that vocabulary. "Deployment", "project execution" and "on-site support" describe work.

Business is not employment — Malta says it in writing

Malta's Central Visa Unit puts the warning on its own checklist: applications submitted under the business category that are in fact related to employment will be refused. If your role in Malta involves doing the job rather than discussing it, this is the wrong visa, and we will tell you before you pay the fee rather than after.

The 90-day line

This page covers the short-stay visa: up to 90 days in any 180. Where a contract genuinely needs someone on the ground for more than 90 consecutive days, Malta runs a separate national application with its own demands — proof of the business relationship between the two companies, an agenda, documents justifying why the activity cannot be done in 90 days, and the host company's Memorandum and Articles of Association. The two routes are not interchangeable: Malta also refuses long-stay business applications that are really short stays.

The house rules Malta shares across its checklists

Insurance only from one of the 16 Schengen-recognised insurers in India.
Three blank pages in the passport.
Nothing printed back-to-back; the photograph not stapled.
Accommodation with a host means the Declaration of Proof, witnessed by a Maltese public notary — a sentence in the invitation does not replace it.

Source: High Commission of Malta — Business visa checklist (short stay), and Identità Central Visa Unit — documentation for professional/business visas exceeding 90 days, as held in our knowledge base. Requirements change; confirm against the current checklist before you submit.

9 items

Documents you need

Application form
Filled in and signed by the applicant. Nothing in the file should be printed back-to-back.
One photograph
Recent, colour, white background, 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm. Do not staple it to the form.
Passport
Valid at least 3 months after the intended stay, issued within the previous 10 years and not valid for more than 10, with at least 3 blank pages.
Travel medical insurance — from an approved insurer
Valid for all Schengen countries, at least EUR 30,000, dated to cover the whole trip including arrival and departure days. The checklist states it may only be bought from one of the 16 Schengen-recognised insurance companies in India.
Cover letter from you
Purpose of travel, duration, names of anyone accompanying you, and transport and accommodation details.
Invitation from the Maltese company
From the inviting company or organisation, stating your identity, the purpose of the journey (meetings, conferences, training or business events), and the period and place of stay.
Covering letter from your sending company
From your employer or company in India, stating the same three things: your identity, the purpose, and the period and place of stay.
Flight reservation
Return or round-trip reservation, plus intra-Schengen travel if you are visiting several states.
Proof of accommodation
A confirmed hotel booking, or — if the host is accommodating you — Malta's Declaration of Proof completed and signed by the host, in original, witnessed by a Maltese public notary, with the host's ID and supporting documents. Proof is needed for every Schengen state on the itinerary.

5 steps

How the process works

Typical processing: Usually about 15 calendar days from submission — may extend up to 45 calendar days. Apply at least 2-3 weeks before travel.

Step 1
Free eligibility review
We assess your profile and build a document checklist matched to the embassy's requirements.
Step 2
Build the file & cover letter
Every document — finances, bookings, insurance and the cover letter — is prepared and verified.
Step 3
Book the VFS Global appointment
Applications in India are submitted through VFS Global — we schedule your slot.
Step 4
Submit & give biometrics
You attend the VFS centre to submit the file and provide fingerprints and a photograph.
Step 5
Decision & passport return
The embassy decides the application and your passport is returned through VFS.

Transparent

Costs & fees

Item

Amount

Schengen visa fee (adult)

EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11; under 6 exempt. Payable in INR.

EUR 90

VFS Global service charge

Plus optional add-ons such as courier.

Confirmed at booking

Government and third-party fees change often — we confirm the exact current amounts for your case before you pay anything.

5 answers

Frequently asked questions

Two. An invitation from the Maltese company or organisation, and a covering letter from the company sending you. Malta's checklist asks each to state the same three things — your identity, the purpose of the journey, and the period and place of stay — so they are read against each other.
Not on this one. The short-stay visa allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period. A business need of more than 90 consecutive days is a separate national application to Malta's Central Visa Unit, which asks for proof of the business relationship, an agenda, and documents justifying why the activity must exceed 90 days.
Malta's Central Visa Unit says so directly: applications submitted under the business category that are in fact related to employment will be refused. Attending meetings, negotiating and training are business; doing a job in Malta is not.
No. Malta's checklist says insurance may only be purchased from one of the 16 Schengen-recognised insurance companies in India, with cover of at least EUR 30,000 valid across the Schengen area for the full trip.
Malta's Declaration of Proof, completed and signed by the host, in original and witnessed by a Maltese public notary, with a copy of the host's ID card and supporting documents. A line in the invitation saying accommodation is provided is not enough.

Why it matters

Going it alone vs filing with us

On your own

Guessing the document list — one missing or wrongly formatted paper triggers a refusal.
Generic cover letters copied from the internet that officers recognise and flag.
No read on peak rejection windows or what this visa post is strict about.
Government and VFS fees are non-refundable — money lost if you are refused.
A refusal stamp follows you and weakens every future visa application.

With Lifeset Overseas

An honest case assessment before you spend a rupee on government fees.
A file built to the embassy's exact checklist and in the exact order.
Weak finances, ties or purpose identified and fixed before submission.
Previously refused? We can rescue and rebuild the file.
Every case handled by one consultant, end to end.

Refused before?

A refusal isn't the end

A refusal is not a permanent bar — but it only improves if the actual reason is found and answered, and nobody can tell you a second application will succeed. If a Malta visa has been refused, we: