Malta visa guideThe Malta family visit visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for staying with a relative or friend who lives in Malta, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You apply in person at a VFS Global centre, including Chandigarh and New Delhi, and the High Commission of Malta in New Delhi decides, usually within 15 calendar days of receiving the file.
Half the file comes from your host: an invitation, proof of their legal residence and, if you stay in their home, a Declaration of Proof witnessed by a Maltese notary. From India you add an MEA-apostilled birth or marriage certificate, your Aadhaar card and insurance from an approved insurer.
Do Indians need a visa to visit family in Malta, and which one?
Yes. To stay with a relative or friend in Malta, an Indian passport holder needs a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, filed under Malta's "Visiting Family and Friends" category. It is not an e-visa. You hand in a paper file at a VFS Global centre, give your fingerprints and a live photo, and the High Commission of Malta in New Delhi decides.
The visa allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period, shared across all 29 Schengen states. Which category you use depends on who your host is:
- Your host is an Indian or other non-EU national living in Malta, for example on a residence permit: use the ordinary Visiting Family and Friends category. Their invitation and proof of legal residence carry the file.
- Your host is a Maltese or other EU citizen and you are their spouse, child or dependent relative: you may qualify for Malta's Family Member of EU category, which is free and faster. It is explained in its own section below.
Malta family visit visa at a glance
- VisaNot an e-visa: paper file and biometrics in person
- Schengen short-stay visa, type C, Visiting Family and Friends
- How long you can stayOne allowance for the whole Schengen area
- Up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- Decision
- High Commission of Malta in New Delhi
- SubmissionChandigarh is the nearest centre for most of Punjab
- VFS Global, in person
- Visa feeFree under 6, and free for eligible family of EU citizens
- €90 adult, €45 child aged 6 to 11
- Typical waitCan stretch to 45 days
- 15 calendar days from receipt in New Delhi
VFS Global Malta India, Malta family and friends checklist and High Commission of Malta visa FAQ, checked 14 Oct 2026
This visa is for a visit. Moving to Malta to live with a relative is family reunification, a separate national process with its own checklist.
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Parents and relatives apply through VFS Global, which handles Malta applications for the High Commission across India. There are 11 centres: Chandigarh, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. For a family in Jalandhar, Patiala or Bathinda, Chandigarh is the shorter trip; in Delhi, use New Delhi. Centres open Monday to Friday.
Whichever centre you pick, New Delhi decides; Malta does not divide India into jurisdictions. Files from centres outside Delhi have further to go, and VFS says they can take up to three weeks.
- Each traveller attends in person. VFS does not accept a representative or travel agent in your place, and your host cannot apply on your behalf from Malta.
- Fingerprints. Parents who gave fingerprints for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months will not give them again, but every applicant has a live photo taken. Grandchildren under 12 give no fingerprints.
- Elderly parents. VFS sells an optional "Visa at your doorstep" service that lets you submit from a place of your choice, at extra cost. It has no effect on the decision.
- Where to ask. Send questions to VFS; it says the High Commission does not answer visa queries sent to it directly.
The appointment is booked online on the VFS Malta site after the form is ready. For how fast dates are opening, see our Malta appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist is printed further down this page. On a family visit, half the file comes from your host in Malta, and that half is usually the slow one.
What your host sends from Malta. Malta's checklist asks for an invitation from the family member or friend giving their address, contact details and the intended period of your stay, together with evidence of their legal residence: a copy of their passport or national ID card, or their residence permit. If you will stay in their home, the host also completes Malta's Declaration of Proof:
Fill in and sign the Declaration of Proof
The form is on the VFS Malta site. It must be complete, signed and in original.
Have it witnessed by a Maltese public notary
A plain signed letter, or a notary in India, does not meet the checklist.
Attach the supporting papers
A copy of the host's ID card and of your passport's bio-data page; proof of residence such as title deeds, a rental agreement or energy bills; proof of income such as a salary slip, pension receipt or official income statement; and, if applicable, a health insurance policy for you.
Courier the originals to you in Punjab
You hand the originals in at VFS with your own file, so allow for the notary appointment and the courier time.
What you add in India. Two items here catch Punjab families out. Malta asks for your birth or marriage certificate apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs, and a plain or notarised copy is not the same thing. It also lists your Aadhaar card, original with a photocopy. Your money and ties then depend on who you are:
Retired parent
- Proof of money Malta's checklist asks for
- Three months of pension statements and/or proof of steady income from property or a business
Salaried
- Proof of money Malta's checklist asks for
- Original bank statement for 3 months, stamped and signed by the bank; last 3 payslips; employment contract; your employer's leave approval; ITR acknowledgements for the last two assessment years
Business owner or self-employed
- Proof of money Malta's checklist asks for
- Original bank statement for 3 months, stamped and signed; company registration with its GST number; business bank account statement; ITRs for two years
Host or relative paying the costs
- Proof of money Malta's checklist asks for
- Bank statements of both the sponsor and the applicant for 3 months, stamped and signed; proof of sponsorship or private accommodation; your own ITRs for two years
Minor travelling with one parent
- Proof of money Malta's checklist asks for
- The other parent's notarised consent and passport copy, or a court order showing sole custody
If your income comes from farming, show it the way the checklist asks for property income: ownership records for the land, and the bank credits from crop sales.
How much is the Malta visa fee for Indians visiting family?
Each parent pays the €90 adult visa fee, a grandchild aged 6 to 11 pays €45, and children under 6 pay nothing; spouses and other eligible relatives of EU citizens go through a free procedure. VFS takes the fee in rupees at its exchange rate on the day and adds its own per-person service charge with GST, so read both figures on the VFS Malta fee tab just before you go. If the visa is refused, the visa fee is kept unless the application was inadmissible, and VFS charges are never returned. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does a Malta family visit visa take, and when should you apply?
Fifteen calendar days is the standard, and it runs from the day your file arrives at the High Commission rather than your VFS visit. If more papers or checks are needed, Malta's FAQ allows up to 45 calendar days. On top of that, VFS asks for 3 to 6 days of transit between the centre and New Delhi, and warns that files from states outside Delhi can take up to three weeks in all.
A delay notice is also live: on 10 August 2026 VFS told applicants, on the High Commission's instructions, that unforeseen circumstances at the mission may slow processing beyond the usual time. We found it still posted on 14 October 2026.
Your application window:
- Close to the date: no later than 15 calendar days before travel, unless the High Commission accepts an urgent case.
- Far ahead: EU law and Malta's FAQ allow 6 months, but VFS India's page sets 15 days to 3 months before departure for submission, so 3 months is the practical limit.
- Comfortable: 4 weeks or more before departure, as the High Commission strongly recommends.
For a family visit, count backwards from the slow documents, not from the appointment: the notary appointment in Malta, the courier to Punjab and the MEA apostille all have to be done before your file is complete. Do not pay for tickets first; VFS advises applicants not to confirm travel arrangements until they have the visa.
Why do Malta family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Malta explains a refusal by ticking numbered reasons on the EU's standard form. For family visits, these are the reasons to plan against.
The host's side does not hold up (reasons 2 and 10)
The purpose and conditions of the stay were not justified, or the information was not reliable. An invitation without an address or dates, no proof of the host's legal residence, or a Declaration of Proof that was not witnessed by a Maltese notary all lead here. Check the host's half against the checklist before it is couriered.
A relationship you have not proved (reason 12)
The officer had doubts about the reliability or authenticity of the documents. Malta asks for the birth or marriage certificate apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs. Make sure names and dates of birth match across the certificate, both passports and the invitation; a spelling difference needs a short explanation.
Funds that raise questions (reason 3)
The officer could not see enough means for the stay. If your host pays, Malta wants the bank statements of both of you, stamped and signed, for three months. A large deposit days before filing, from either side, needs a document behind it.
Ties to India that look thin (reason 13)
The officer was not convinced you will leave before the visa ends. Parents visiting children settled abroad need to answer this one most carefully. Show what holds you in India: property, a pension, a spouse or other children staying behind, a business, earlier trips abroad with on-time returns, and a return booking that fits a sensible visit.
Insurance from an unlisted company (reason 16)
Malta only accepts policies from the 16 Schengen-recognised insurers in India, with cover of €30,000 for all Schengen countries, dated to include the arrival and departure days. If VFS later asks for a missing paper, the checklist allows 5 days, and missing that limit can mean outright refusal.
Every reason on the form is explained, with the documents that answer it, on our Schengen refusal reasons page.
Tips for a stronger file
- Start the host's half on day one. Ask your relative to book the notary as soon as the dates are agreed, and to send everything in one courier.
- One address everywhere. The invitation, the Declaration of Proof, the host's proof of residence and your cover letter should give the same address in Malta.
- Check the host's papers are current. The residence permit or ID copy should be valid, and the proof of income recent.
- A short cover letter. Name the person you are visiting and the reason for the timing, say a grandchild's birth or a convocation, then cover what the checklist requires: purpose, length of stay, who travels with you, transport and accommodation.
- Match every date. The form, cover letter, invitation, flight reservation and insurance should show the same arrival and departure dates.
- Insurance for parents. Check the insurer is on Malta's recognised list before paying, since a policy from anyone else fails the checklist however good the cover. Our Schengen travel insurance explainer covers the general rules.
- Paperwork habits Malta insists on. Print on one side only, pair each original you want back with an A4 copy, leave the photo unstapled, and carry old passports plus a copy of every page; the passport itself needs three blank pages.
Is there an easier route if my relative is a Maltese or EU citizen?
Often, yes. EU law gives family members of EU and EEA citizens covered by the Free Movement Directive a free and accelerated visa procedure, and Malta's own visa FAQ confirms that such family members still need a visa but benefit from a faster process. Malta files them under a separate category, Family Member of EU C visa.
Its checklist differs from the ordinary one:
- Who qualifies: a spouse or registered partner, a direct descendant under 21 or one who is dependent, and dependent relatives in the ascending line, such as a parent.
- Proof of the link: a marriage certificate, partnership certificate or birth certificate registered in an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, with the EU citizen's identity document, and the certificate apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs.
- The invitation: endorsed by a Maltese public notary, a consular officer, or two Maltese, EU or EEA national witnesses.
- How to book: VFS's Malta page tells Maltese, EU and EEA family members who need a visa to write to the High Commission to set up an appointment. The checklist then asks for the High Commission's endorsement email allowing you to apply at the High Commission or at a VFS centre.
If your relative is an Indian national living in Malta, even with a long residence permit, this route does not apply; use the ordinary category above. For a holiday without a host, see the Malta tourist visa guide. If a visa is refused, you have 15 days to appeal to Malta's Immigration Appeals Board, at €120 per application.
Official sources
- Applying for a Schengen visa, European Commission
- Visa Code, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
- General Visa Questions, Malta missions
- Visa Appeals Procedure, Identità Central Visa Unit
- VFS Global Malta India: visa types
- VFS Global Malta India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Malta India: what happens at the centre
- VFS Global Malta India: delay in visa application processing
- European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indians, EU Delegation to India
