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Long-Stay, Type DVerified 12 May 2026Malta Long-Stay D Visa for Indian salaried employees taking up employment in Malta. APPROVAL IN PRINCIPLE (AIP) from Identità Malta mandatory before VFS appointment. Skills Pass for tourism/hospitality. €150 Standard / €250 Extended.
What it costs
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Guide last reviewed 2026-05-12. Fees, documents and appointment rules can change.
Malta — Schengen member · High Commission New Delhi · AIP from Identità rules everything
All India applications are decided by the High Commission of Malta, New Delhi (NOT Embassy — Malta is Commonwealth) through VFS Malta centres. The High Commission also handles Nepal + Maldives. Bangladesh applicants route Short-Stay (C) through the Embassy of Italy in Dhaka. For Long-Stay D Visas (Employment / Study / Family Reunification), the substantive decision is made by Identità in Malta (Valley Road, Msida) — Employment requires an Approval in Principle (AIP) letter before VFS, FR requires an Identità certificate, Study requires MFHEA-accredited enrolment.
(1) Birth / marriage certificates must be apostilled by India's Ministry of External Affairs — not just notarised. (2) The “Declaration of Proof”-accommodation cases must be witnessed by a Maltese Public Notary (inside Malta) — Indian notarisation doesn't qualify. (3) 5-day rule: VFS gives a 5-day window for missing documents; after that the file is refused.
Note: SureshotVisa handles the 9 Schengen Short-Stay (Type C) categories — Tourist, Business, Visit Family/Friends, Cultural/Sport/Film Crew, Family of EU/EEA, Official Delegation, Student/Religious C, Medical, and Seamen (informational) — plus 3 Long-Stay D Visas (Employment, Study, Family Reunification) end-to-end through VFS. The substantive Identità step inside Malta is initiated by your Maltese-side employer / institution / sponsor; we coordinate but the decision happens in Malta, not in India.
Indian professionals taking up paid employment in Malta require a Long-Stay Type D Employment Visa. The substantive decision — assessing the Maltese labour market, the employer's offer, and the applicant's qualifications — is made by Identità (the Maltese identity agency) via the Single Permit / Specific Residence Authorisation process. Identità issues an Approval in Principle (AIP) letter, which MUST be valid through the date of the VFS appointment (typically 60 days from issue). Without the AIP — and the ORIGINAL Identità work permit — VFS will refuse the file. For applicants working directly or indirectly in tourism / hospitality, the Skills Pass Part 1 + Part 2 completion certificates from the Institute of Tourism Studies are mandatory.
What it costs
Paid directly to Malta / VFS — these are not our service fee, and we never mark them up.
Figures per VFS Global, last verified 12 May 2026. Fees change without notice — the official page is final.
Visa fees are set by the High Commission of Malta in INR and tied to the EUR / INR exchange rate — they are revised periodically. All fees and VFS service charges are non-refundable in case of refusal. VFS service charges are inclusive of CGST 9% + SGST 9%. Optional VFS services: Courier ₹795, SMS ₹146, Premium Lounge ₹3,917, Courier + Assurance ₹1,040, Form Filling ₹3,182 — all non-refundable. From 1 January 2026, travel medical insurance must be issued by one of the 16 approved Indian insurance companies on the Malta-approved list — generic policies are not accepted.
Flights · Hotels · Insurance · Itinerary
Malta applies the Schengen rules, so travel insurance is not a nice-to-have — it is a legal condition of the visa.
2 of 4 are compulsory for Malta
Where people slip: Flying into one city and out of another with nothing showing how you travel between them. Officers read the whole route, and an unexplained gap reads as a plan that does not hold together.
Book for ₹708 (+₹472 per family member)Where people slip: Free-cancellation bookings are accepted, but if the entire file is free-cancellation the officer sees a trip nobody has committed to. Some of it should be real spend.
Confirmed hotel booking, ₹590 per hotel: message us firstWhere people slip: Buying cover for the adults and forgetting the children. Every traveller needs their own EUR 30,000, infants included — a real refusal we have seen on a family of four.
What a Schengen policy must showWhere people slip: Spending more nights in another Schengen country than in Malta. That gets a file rejected before it is even assessed.
The letter your itinerary attaches toWe can arrange the flight reservation, the hotel and the itinerary for your Malta file — each sold separately.
We are a B2B travel agency as well as a visa consultancy, working with partners including Riya Travel — so the flight reservation and the confirmed hotel booking both come from us, and you deal with one team. Every booking is a real one under your own name. We do not sell travel insurance: buy the policy directly from an insurer.
None of them is part of our visa fee: each is bought on its own, at the price below, with or without our visa service.
Flight reservation ₹708 (+₹472 per extra family member) · Confirmed hotel booking ₹590 per hotel · Travel itinerary ₹1,499. GST included.
Delivery. Usually within 30 minutes during office hours, Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00 IST. Confirmed hotel bookings are not bought online: message us first on WhatsApp or email info@sureshotvisa.com with the city, dates and travellers.
Tell us your dates — we will say which of these you actually need
What to gather
Having a document isn't the same as presenting it right — that's the part we handle.
MANDATORY. Must remain valid through the date of the VFS appointment (~60-day validity). Without the AIP, VFS will refuse the file at counter. The Maltese employer applies for the AIP via the Single Permit / Specific Residence Authorisation process at identita.gov.mt.
VFS will not accept the application without the ORIGINAL Identità work permit.
Malta-specific: 8-month validity rule for Employment D. Max 10 years old, ≥3 blank pages.
Must include name, surname, passport number. Coverage NOT restricted to applicant's place of residence; must not restrict departure from country of policy issue. Table of benefits if not on certificate. From 1 Jan 2026, only the 16 approved Indian insurance companies accepted.
Declaration of proof by host signed/stamped by local lawyer or notary in Malta + copy of host's Maltese Identity Card + proof of host's link to residence (contract of sale / lease agreement / utility bill) — applicable if accommodated at secondary address.
Registered lease agreement signed by both parties stipulating duration, home address, applicant's name, and rent amount.
Minimum 14 consecutive nights from date of prospective arrival in Malta.
MANDATORY for persons working directly or indirectly in the tourism and hospitality sector. Without it, tourism-sector files are refused.
MANDATORY for tourism / hospitality sector applicants — pair with Part 1.
Download from visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/mlt/. For minors, BOTH parents must sign and parent ID proof attached.
ICAO standards, less than 6 months old, colour, face 70–80% of frame, PASTED (not stapled) on the form. Biometrics + a fresh photo are also captured at VFS.
Max 10 years old, valid ≥3 months beyond Schengen return (≥8 months for D / ≥10 months for Student D), ≥3 BLANK PAGES (Malta-specific — not 2). Handwritten / non-machine-readable Indian passports issued after 01.04.2010 not accepted.
Old passport mandatory for all nationalities under High Commission of Malta rules.
Mandatory across all Malta visa categories.
Strengthens travel history.
Required · optional / if applicable
8 steps from intake to approval — never as linear as government sites pretend.
Apply for the substantive Identità decision in Malta
Employment: Maltese employer applies for the Approval in Principle (AIP) from Identità via the Single Permit / Specific Residence Authorisation process. Family Reunification: sponsor applies for the Family Reunification certificate from Identità's Expatriates Unit. Study: student secures admission at an MFHEA-accredited institution. This step is SEPARATE from the D Visa — its own timeline runs from several weeks to several months.
Receive the original Identità authorisation document
Original AIP letter (Employment) / Family Reunification certificate / school enrolment letter (Study). Required at VFS — copies / scans are not accepted. AIP must still be valid through the date of the VFS appointment (~60-day validity).
Download + complete the Long-Stay D Visa application form
Get the form from visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/mlt/. Fully fill (in English), date, sign. Paste the 35×45mm photograph on the form.
Get supporting documents in order
Original Identità authorisation + passport (≥8 months validity for D / ≥10 months for Student D, ≥3 blank pages) + EUR 30,000 insurance (180 days for Employment / 91 days from Schengen entry for MQF L5+ Students / EUR 100,000 for Medical) + proof of accommodation (lease / Declaration of Proof / hotel booking ≥14 consecutive nights) + financial means + category-specific docs (Skills Pass for tourism, MFHEA enrolment for students, marriage certificate for Family Reunification).
Book your VFS appointment online (Student appointments booked by the institution)
Schedule at visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/mlt/. For Student Visas, the appointment is booked by the educational institution — contact your point of contact at the Maltese institution. For Employment / Family Reunification, the applicant books directly. Submit at least 9 weeks before course start (Student) or before intended start of employment (Employment).
Submit at VFS + biometrics + visa fees
Visa fee paid online at appointment booking + VFS service charge at the centre (cash / Visa / Mastercard / RuPay). Original Identità authorisation handed over at counter. Biometrics captured. Optional: Courier service for passport return.
Wait 6–8 weeks for the Long-Stay D decision (Central Visa Unit, Identità)
All Long-Stay D applications take MINIMUM 6 to 8 weeks at the Central Visa Unit within Identità, Malta. For status: identita.gov.mt/central-visa-unit-national-visa-long-stay-visa or visa.identita@gov.mt.
Travel to Malta within the D Visa validity + register with Identità on arrival
Once the D Visa is issued, travel to Malta. On arrival, register with Identità at Valley Road, Msida, and apply for the eResidence card (titolu ta' residenza) on the basis of the Identità authorisation. The D Visa is the entry vehicle; the eResidence card is the substantive residence document.
Biometrics and the visit to the visa centre are yours to attend in person — no consultancy can do those for you. How we work
What works
6 levers that flip a borderline case.
What kills cases
Top 3 refusal triggers we see.
Each link opens the official page that issues the form (we never host third-party forms) — download or fill the current version there.
We're actively building per-visa quizzes. For now, the best way to assess your eligibility for Employment Visa (Long-Stay, Type D) is a 1-on-1 consultation with our team.
A consultant at our licensed firm replies today
Frequently asked
The AIP is a formal letter issued by Identità (Malta's identity agency) confirming that the Maltese authorities have approved your right to take up employment in Malta — based on labour-market position, the employer's offer, and your qualifications. The Maltese employer files the AIP application via the Single Permit / Specific Residence Authorisation process at identita.gov.mt. Once issued, the AIP is valid 60 days and MUST remain valid through your VFS appointment date. Without the AIP + ORIGINAL Identità work permit, VFS will refuse the file at counter. This is the #1 cause of Employment D refusals.
Malta requires all workers directly or indirectly in the tourism and hospitality sector to complete Skills Pass Part 1 + Part 2 certifications at the Institute of Tourism Studies — a quality-assurance measure for the sector. Without both certificates, tourism-sector Employment D files are refused. Other sectors don't need Skills Pass.
Yes for the India-side VFS submission, biometrics, and document-pack preparation once you have the AIP + original work permit. The AIP process inside Malta is initiated by your Maltese employer with Identità — we can advise on documentation, but the substantive case decision happens in Malta. ₹499 consultation to start.
Malta's Long-Stay D Visas (Employment / Study / Family Reunification + the 16+ 'Other' sub-categories like Adoption, Citizenship/Residence Programmes, Researcher, Religious, Sports Trials, Working Holiday, Temporary Employment, Seasonal Worker, Humanitarian) require a substantive decision from Identità's Central Visa Unit (Valley Road, Msida, MSD 9020). For Employment, that's the Approval in Principle (AIP) letter; for Family Reunification, the Family Reunification certificate from the Expatriates Unit; for Study, MFHEA-accredited enrolment + Identità authorisation. The applicant (or the Maltese-side employer / institution / family member) needs to obtain the substantive document first — the D Visa at VFS is only the entry vehicle. SureshotVisa handles the India-side VFS submission and document-pack preparation end-to-end. The substantive Identità step happens inside Malta; we can advise on documentation and timeline, but the substantive decision is made by Identità, not in India.
A consultant at our licensed firm replies today
Reviewed by Sherbir Singh Grewal, SureshotVisa — a government-licensed consultancy (Licence 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024). Verify us.
Before you file
Filed on a guessed checklist, the government fee is gone on a refusal and the refusal follows every future application. Filed after a consultant at our licensed firm has read the papers against each other, the file answers the officer's questions before they are asked. Same Malta rules, different outcome. How we do that is written once, in full, on the method page rather than repeated here.
A consultant at our licensed firm replies today
Source & Disclaimer
Data on this page is sourced from the official VFS Global Malta website and Embassy of Malta. Last verified 2026-05-12. Always verify with the official embassy before applying — fees and requirements change without notice.
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