Legalisation of documents from Malta for use in the Netherlands

Good to know

• Certain documents including birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates and death certificates do not have to be legalised for use in the Netherlands. 
• Malta has two official languages: English and Maltese. Documents in English do not have to be translated for use in the Netherlands. So you should request an English version of the document you need. 
• If this is not possible, ask the issuing authority to attach a multilingual standard form to the document. If no multilingual standard form is available, the document must be translated.
• Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.

What documents do not have to be legalised? 

The following documents do not have to be legalised for use in the Netherlands. 

Using documents freely within the EU

Civil status records are a type of public document. Public documents do not have to be legalised for use in another EU country. Sometimes you may need to ask for a multilingual standard form to be attached to your document. You can find more information about public documents on the European Justice website.

What documents have to be legalised?

The following documents must be legalised for use in the Netherlands. 

If you have another type of document, find out from the organisation in the Netherlands requesting the document whether it needs to be legalised.

Check whether you need a translation

If your document is in Maltese, check if it can also be issued in English. Or ask the issuing authority to attach a multilingual standard form to the document. In this case, the document does not need to be translated.

If you cannot get a multilingual version, you must have the document translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.

Where can you have your documents legalised?

Your document and, if applicable, the translation must be legalised with an apostille by the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. See the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website for contact details.

Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands. 

It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.

Don’t have the document you need?

Find out below where to obtain a document that you need but do not yet have.

If you need to obtain another type of document, find out from the local authorities where you can do that.