Malta MPRP police certificates: which countries must issue them?

A Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) application may require police certificates from several countries. Regulation 12 calls for originals for the main applicant and dependants older than 14 at application, covering the country of origin and countries where the person lived for more than six months during the previous ten years.[1]

The useful starting point is therefore a residence history for each person. A current residence card alone will not identify every country that needs attention.

Reconstruct the history before ordering certificates

Make a timeline showing countries, arrival and departure dates, the purpose of each stay and any name changes. This is an organisational suggestion, not a prescribed government form. Old passports, visas, school records and employment documents can help resolve uncertain dates before the agent reviews the history.

For example, an applicant now living in Singapore should still flag two years previously spent studying in the United Kingdom within the ten-year period. Leaving that country does not remove the earlier residence from consideration. The country-of-origin requirement must also be addressed.[1]

For repeated visits, fragmented residence or dates close to the six-month boundary, provide the full chronology rather than assuming that each short stay can be considered in isolation. An incomplete timeline can lead to an incomplete document request.

Confirm the person, language and document requirements

The legislation describes dependants as older than 14 at application. Families close to that boundary should have their licensed agent confirm the treatment against the intended submission date and the Agency’s document requirements. MPRP applications are submitted through licensed agents and undergo multiple levels of due diligence.[1][2]

The legal definition covers a certificate, report, clearance or statement from a national law-enforcement or other public authority. Non-English documents need an authenticated English translation by a recognised translator in the format determined by the Agency.[1]

Use a country-by-country document schedule to confirm the issuing authority, authentication route, acceptable issue date and submission format. A translation does not by itself settle whether an original or further authentication is needed. Confirm the requirements accepted for the particular issuing country before ordering documents.

An unavailable certificate needs an accepted solution

Regulation 12 permits an affidavit in exceptional cases where the Agency is satisfied that a certificate cannot be obtained. It may also allow a certificate to be submitted later for good cause, but before approval in principle. Neither route is an automatic applicant-selected exemption.[1]

Keep applications, official replies and evidence of any practical obstacle. Give these to the agent so the issue can be presented accurately. A requirement for personal attendance is a different problem from an authority refusing to issue the document; the evidence should make that distinction clear.

Before submission, reconcile names, countries and document status in one record. A clean certificate forms part of the evidence; it does not, by itself, establish that the wider suitability and background assessment has been passed.[2]

Official sources

1. Residency Malta: MPRP Regulations, including L.N. 146 of 2025, regulations 2 and 12
2. Residency Malta: MPRP legal framework and application process

General policy information; individual circumstances and the competent authority’s requirements govern each application.