PASSPORTS ORDINANCE

PA S S P ORTS

CHAPTER 61

PASSPORTS ORDINANCE

To repeal and re-enact with amendments the law relating to passports.

(10th July, 1928) *

ORDINANCE III of 1928, as amended by Ordinance XLV of 1939; Legal

Notice 4 of 1963; Acts XXXIV of 1965, XXII of 1976 and XLIX of 1981; and

Legal Notice 426 of 2012.

This Ordinance may be cited as the Passports Ordinance.

In this Ordinance -

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the time being responsible

for matters relating to passports;

"passport" includes a certificate of identity, a legally valid

identification document or other official document issued for travel

purposes by a competent authority;

the expression "transfer" means the delivery of a passport by any

person, whether lawfully or unlawfully in possession thereof, to

any other person not entitled to use or have such passport, whether

such delivery takes place gratuitously or for money or other

valuable consideration.

Any person who -

(a) being in possession of a passport whether issued to

him by a competent authority or not, transfers such

passport to any other person; or

(b) receives a passport transferred to him by any other

person,

shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not

exceeding two years.

Any person who makes use, or attempts to make use of a

passport issued to any other person, shall, on conviction, be liable

to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

Any person who forges, alters or tampers with any passport

or uses or has in his possession any passport which he knows to be

forged, altered or tampered with, shall, on conviction, be liable to

imprisonment for a term from six months to two years.

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in

any application or recommendation in connection with the issue or

renewal of a passport, shall, on conviction, be liable to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

*See Proclamation No. VIII of the 10th July, 1928.

PASSPO RTS

Any person who, on being required by the Passport officer

or the Police to deliver any passport of which he is in possession,

shall refuse or fail to do so within the time fixed by such officer or

by the Police, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a

term not exceeding three months

Provided that the court may if satisfied, after full

investigation of all the circumstances, that the passport has been

lost, destroyed or otherwise mislaid, impose upon such person a

fine (ammenda).

(1) If any person loses a passport he shall, within seven

days after discovering the loss, report the same to the Passport

Office or at a Police Station either in person or in writing.

(2) If any person finds a passport he shall, within forty-eight

hours of finding it, deliver it either to the Passport Office or to the

Police.

(3) Any person who fails to report the loss of a passport or to

deliver up a passport found by him, shall be liable on conviction to

the punishments laid down for contraventions.

The Minister may, from time to time, make regulations

respecting the form, issue, possession, inspection and renewal of

passports in Malta and, in respect of passports issued to citizens of

Malta, outside Malta, and the visas of passports held by persons

landing in or leaving Malta.

(1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with

any regulation made by the Minister under the last preceding article

shall be liable on conviction to the punishments laid down or

contraventions.

(2) Where the offender under subarticle (1) is a person other

than a citizen of Malta, the court may also, on conviction, order

such offender to leave Malta and the provisions of the Immigration

Act, relative to a Removal Order under that Act, shall apply in such

case.

Where any of the offences referred to in articles 3, 4, 5, 6

and 10 is committed outside Malta in relation to a passport issued

to a citizen of Malta, the offender may in Malta be prosecuted, tried

and punished in the same manner and to the same extent as if the

offence had been committed in Malta.