The new Maltese ePassport will start being rolled out this month spread over a number of years.

Amongst the new features introduced, the inner visa pages will depict intricate imagery of renowned Maltese landmarks, customs and traditions, which pay tribute to Malta’s rich history and cultural heritage. The images depicted include those of the Ċittadella in Gozo and the Manoel Theatre. 

The encrypted imagery, combined with a highly sophisticated layer of security features, is printed in secure ink and was primarily designed for security reasons. 

The new document will be issued to new applications or applications for the renewal of the said document, at no extra cost.

Passports in circulation will remain fit for travel and valid until their expiry date. These already conformed to international security standards but the new ones would make use of the latest technology to further prevent document forgery.

Citizenship Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli said the new ePassport will combine travel with culture. She said one’s personal details would be safely captured on a polycarbonate bio-data page, which would make it extremely difficult to forge or tamper with without leaving signs of attack.  

Identity Malta’s chief executive officer Anton Sevasta said the first batch of diplomatic and alien passports was expected to come into circulation on the second week of November. Unless technical difficulties were encountered, the issuance of the ordinary passports would follow.