Identity, Citizenship and Immigration

"Public Wills A testamentary search may be ordered on any person (living or deceased) to find out whether that person registered a public will. The search will not reveal the contents of the will itself but simply a summary stating the date of the will and the Notary who published the same will. The contents of the will can only be seen by the person drawing up the will or by his/her heirs. Secret Wills This application may also be used to search for secret wills of deceased persons. Such wills are deposited in the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section). Applicant will be informed of the result of the search and if it is positive, an application may be filed in the Registry of the court by an advocate or notary for the publication of the secret will."

Civil Union Certificates may be requested in an extract format or in full. The extract includes the main details pertaining to the Act whilst the full version is a true copy of the Act.

A couple may enter a public deed wherein the parties declare themselves as being in a state of cohabitation. The public deed must be signed before a Notary Public and registered within the Public Registry’s Searches Unit. A Cohabitation Certificate may then be ordered online or collected from the Malta Public Registry, Marsa or the Gozo Public Registry, Victoria.

Three months to six weeks prior to the civil union, the spouses must declare on oath or solemnly affirm and sign the RZ2 forms individually (two forms of the RZ2 are to be presented – one signed by each party) in front of a Commissioner for Oaths confirming that there is no legal impediment or any other lawful cause why their civil union should not take place. The Commissioner for Oaths must sign, stamp and date both RZ2 forms. The RZ2 forms need to be submitted together with the RZ1 form

​A search may be ordered vis-à-vis any person or firm. There are two types of searches: (a) Transfers and (b) Liabilities. The scope of ordering the ‘Transfers’ searches is to find out what immovable property a firm owns. The search will only yield results if the property is acquired by a public deed and is enrolled by the Notary at the Public Registry. On the other hand the 'Liabilities' searches will reveal whether the firm has any hypothecs securing any obligations, such as for example loans and payment of ground-rents.

Free Status certificates certify that no act of marriage in relation to an applicant has been registered in the Public Registry of Malta between specific dates. Each certificate, ordered online or in person, costs €5.15.

Marriage Certificates may be requested in an extract format or in full. The extract includes the main details pertaining to the Act whilst the full version is a true copy of the Act.