Visa Information

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Do I require a Schengen visa to travel to Malta?

If you are an EU citizen (including citizens of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway & Switzerland) you do not need a Visa to travel to Malta.

Citizens of many Central & South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Panama, Chile, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela, Honduras & Nicaragua do not require a Visa to travel to Malta and can stay in Malta without a Visa up to 90 days (3 months), after which they can apply for a Student Visa (which allows you to reside in Malta for the duration of your study) and can stay in Malta to further their studies or travel to other European countries (in the Schengen area) while registered as students with Gateway School of English GSE.

Japanese, South Korean & Malaysian students do not require a Visa to travel to Malta and can stay in Malta without a Visa up to 90 days, after which they can apply for a Student Visa (which allows you to reside in Malta for the duration of your study) and can stay in Malta to further their studies or travel to other European countries (in the Schengen area) while registered as students with Gateway School of English GSE.

Citizens of many Central & South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Panama, Chile, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela, Honduras & Nicaragua, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia can also apply for a Visa from their home country or the nearest VFS centre for stays of 105+ days (meaning stays for 15 weeks or longer). Please check the link below to access the link of the Malta VFS office in your country:

Central Visa Unit – Visa Extended Service Branches

 

PLEASE NOTE: Students can still apply for a Visa extension while they are in Malta i.e. students staying for longer than 90 days can still apply for a Schengen Visa while they are in Malta.

How do I apply for a Visa if i want to come to Malta for more than 15 weeks:

You can either contact us on [email protected] and we can apply for the appointment for you. You will need to pay the Euro 150 Visa appointment fee + Euro 30 transaction fee, total Euro 180 or you can apply for the appointment yourself. Below is a step by step guide on how to apply for the VFS appointment:

How to apply for a VFS appointment – step by step guide – Gateway School of English GSE

Documents required to present to VFS on the day of your appointment:

Gateway School of English GSE List of Required Documents – Student National Visa Malta

Students coming from countries who require a Schengen Visa to travel to Malta from day one such as Turkey, China, African countries, Thailand etc.

If you’re travelling to Malta to study English with us for less than 15 weeks (105 days) then you need to apply at the Maltese embassy in your country or if there isn’t a Maltese embassy please check the list to see the corresponding embassy of the country which is responsible for processing Visas on behalf of Malta in your country:

https://identita.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/VISA-Representation-Agreements.pdf

If you are travelling to Malta and wish to study for more than 15 weeks then you need to apply at one of the VFS centres https://identita.gov.mt/central-visa-unit-visa-extended-service-branches/ for Malta – please follow the procedure here:

How to apply for a VFS appointment – step by step guide – Gateway School of English GSE

If there isn’t a VFS centre in your country you will need to apply either at the nearest VFS centre in a neighbouring country or at the Embassy which is responsible for issuing Visas on behalf of Malta.

You can contact us [email protected] if you wish to know which Embassy in your country is responsible for issuing Schengen Visas for Malta.

There are two types of Visas which you can apply for:

Either:

a Short-stay “C” visa (Schengen)

This is the Visa which is available in countries where Malta has no consular post or Embassy.

These visas allow the holder to remain in the territory of Malta and all other Schengen Member States for a maximum period of three months (90 days) , after which you will have to apply for an extension of your Student Visa (see ‘how to apply for a Student Visa’ below).

Or:

a National Long-stay “D” visa This Visa will allow the holder to stay in Malta for longer than three months (90 days) and will cover the full duration of your stay. Students on a type D visa cannot extend their stay once in Malta. This Visa is only available in countries where Malta has diplomatic missions (Embassies) and consular posts.

How do I apply for a Student Visa (Schengen Visa) which allows me to continue studying with Gateway School of English after 90 days?

You will need to apply for a  Schengen student visa that is granted for a maximum of 365 days and will cover the entire duration of your language stay in Malta.

Should you need to stay longer than 365 days you will need to first apply for an extension of your student visa, then at least 8 weeks before the expiry of your Visa you have to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit to cover the remaining days/weeks.

How to apply for a Schengen Visa while you are in Malta:

Step 1:

When you arrive in Malta please advise our Admin office about your Visa application and send us your email address, biodata page of your passport and mobile phone number so we can obtain your reference number to be able to submit your online application.

Step 2:

All documents need to be sent by email to [email protected] (the school’s department responsible for Visa extension for students attending courses in Malta) . Please include your name + surname Visa Application in the subject line. There is a Visa admin fee of Euro 50 which needs to be paid at the school if the student wishes that he/she will be assisted throughout the process.

Step 3:

The documents need to be submitted online and once done students will receive an email from Identita (the Central Visa Unit in Malta) requesting the Euro 100 government fee payment.

Step 4:

You will receive another email from Identita requesting that you take in your passport and 2 passport photos.

When your Visa is ready you can pick up your passport from the address below:

Central Visa Unit, Identity Malta Agency Head Office
Valley Road, Msida, MSD 9020
Malta

Opening Hours for Students: 

Mon – Fri:

08:00 to 14:00

Contact Phone Number: +356 2590 4550

If you’re going by public transport you may use the following buses: 48,44,49,41,45

It is advised that you will apply for the Visa as soon as you start the course.  Please note that we do accept last minute Visa applications as well.

Which documents do I need to apply for a Schengen Visa?

Click the link here for a list of documents you will need when applying for a Visa in Malta: 

Documents required to apply for a Visa in Malta Checklist – Gateway School of English GSE

Which documents do I need to apply for a  residence permit on the basis of study after receiving a Visa for 1 year?

Third-country nationals who are following a course of study in Malta beyond the expiry of their
authorisation of stay (that means they can no longer apply for a Visa as they would have spent more than 365 days in Malta) must have their immigration position covered by a residence permit for STUDY purposes.

Kindly note that Non-EU Applications for the purpose of Study now have to submit their application online by accessing this website:

https://expatriates.identita.gov.mt

Information on how to use this online application portal can be found here:

https://expatriates.identita.gov.mt/Res/OnlineApplication_Expatriates_Manual.pdf

Checklist here:

FORM N.01 – New 1 Study Permit Malta – Gateway School of English GSE

How can I get to the Identity Malta offices?

Google Maps link (Identity Malta / Central Visa Unit): https://goo.gl/maps/Q7mhZ9UFysk4dGeW9

If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us: [email protected]