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Studying English in Malta as a Non-EU Citizen: Do You Actually Need a Visa? (The 90-Day Line)
Japanese and other visa-exempt students: no visa for English courses of 90 days or less. See the exact 90/105-day line and what to pack before you book.
If you hold a Japanese passport (or another visa-exempt passport) and your English course in Malta lasts 90 days or less, you do not need a visa. You can book your course, pack a booking confirmation and a letter from your school, and simply fly in. The paperwork you do need is light, and the whole “do I need a student visa?” worry that fills the forums usually does not apply to short courses. This guide draws the exact line, so you know before you book.
There is one big trap to avoid. A lot of pages, including some school websites, tell non-EU students they “will need a Type D long-stay visa.” That advice is written for university degree students. For a short English course under 90 days, it is misleading. Here is what is actually true.
Key facts
- Visa-exempt passport (e.g. Japan) + course of 90 days or less → no visa needed. Enter with a booking confirmation and a school letter.
- Not visa-exempt + course of 90 days or less → you need a Schengen Short-Stay (C) Visa.
- 90-day limit is shared across the whole Schengen area: 90 days in any 180-day period.
- Visa-exempt + course of 105+ days (15 weeks) → you need a National Long-Stay (D) Visa before you travel, applied for through VFS Global. This rule has applied since 1 May 2024.
- From Q4 2026: ETIAS, a €20 online travel authorisation (not a visa), is scheduled to apply to visa-exempt travellers including Japanese nationals. Exact start date not yet confirmed.
The 90-day question in one line
Do you need a visa to study English in Malta? For most short-course students from visa-waiver countries, the answer is no. The dividing line is the length of your course and whether your passport is on the visa-waiver list. Get those two facts straight and everything else follows.
Is your passport visa-exempt?
Malta follows the Schengen visa-waiver list. Japanese passport holders can enter and stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without any visa. That covers a short English course comfortably.
“Third-country national” (TCN) is the phrase officials use for anyone who is not an EU/EEA citizen. Being a TCN does not automatically mean you need a visa — many TCN passports, including Japan’s, are visa-exempt for short stays. If you are an EU citizen (for example, Italian), none of this applies to you at all: you can study in Malta with no visa and no day limit.
Visa-exempt and under 90 days: what to pack
You do not apply for a visa, but you should still travel with proof of why you are coming. Official school-visa guidance confirms that visa-exempt students can book and pay for a course of less than 90 days and enter Malta “with a simple booking confirmation and school letter.” Bring:
- Your booking confirmation from the school.
- A letter from the school confirming your enrolment.
- Proof of accommodation for your stay.
- Travel medical insurance. The minimum coverage referenced across current Malta visa checklists is €30,000. Even though you are not applying for a visa, carrying insurance at this level keeps you aligned with Schengen norms.
That is genuinely it. There is no student-visa application to file for this category.
Not visa-exempt and under 90 days: the Schengen C-visa
If your passport is not on the visa-waiver list, a course of 90 days or less means you must be issued a Schengen Short-Stay (C) Visa before you travel. An approved C-visa is granted for the full duration of your course plus a 7-day grace period, capped at 90 days in total. So a 10-week course leaves you a short buffer on either side, but the hard ceiling is still 90 days.
The 91–104-day grey zone
Here is where you must be careful with exact course length. The two clearly documented tracks are “90 days or less” and “105 days or more” (15 weeks). What happens between 91 and 104 days is not covered by an explicit published procedure in the official sources. If your course lands in this window, do not guess: contact the school and Identità directly before booking, or adjust your course length so you sit cleanly inside one track. Our companion long-stay guide covers the 105+ day route in detail.
Once you cross 90/105 days: the D-visa route
For visa-exempt nationals including Japan, a course of 105+ days requires a National Long-Stay (D) Visa arranged before you arrive, through VFS Global. This has been the rule since 1 May 2024. A related benefit: students on courses longer than roughly three months may work up to 20 hours a week, once an employment licence is issued by JobsPlus. This work right does not apply to sub-90-day stays. If your plans are heading this way, hand yourself over to our dedicated long-stay (D) visa and residence permit guide.
One myth to retire
You may have seen an article headlined “Malta announces new student visa system.” Despite how it is shared, that piece was originally published in 2018, not fresh 2026 news. Its work-rights information is broadly still accurate, but do not treat it as a recent rule change. The genuinely current dates to keep in mind are the 2024 process changes and the Q4 2026 ETIAS rollout.
Quick-reference table
| Your situation | Course length | Visa needed? | What to arrange |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa-exempt passport (e.g. Japan) | 90 days or less | No | Booking confirmation + school letter + accommodation + insurance |
| Not visa-exempt | 90 days or less | Yes — Schengen C-visa | Apply before travel; valid for course + 7 days, max 90 |
| Visa-exempt (e.g. Japan) | 91–104 days | Unclear | Contact school + Identità before booking |
| Any non-EU passport | 105+ days (15 weeks) | Yes — National D-visa | Apply via VFS Global before arrival; work rights may apply |
| EU citizen (e.g. Italian) | Any | No | Nothing — full freedom of movement |
Official links worth bookmarking
- Identità Central Visa Unit — Student Visa (courses not exceeding 90 days)
- ELTC / Identità Students Guidelines PDF (updated 5 March 2025)
- GV Malta Student Visa page (with the visa-exempt country list)
Rules here have shifted before (dates changed in March and May 2024), and ETIAS is coming in late 2026. Check the official pages close to your travel date.
FAQ
Do Japanese citizens need a visa to study English in Malta? Not for a course of 90 days or less. Japanese passport holders are visa-exempt and can enter Malta for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You enter with a booking confirmation and a school letter — no visa application. For a course of 105+ days, you need a National Long-Stay (D) Visa arranged before you travel.
Can I convert my 90-day Schengen stay into a student visa while I’m in Malta? The official long-course route (105+ days) is a National Long-Stay (D) Visa that must be arranged before you arrive, through VFS Global. There is no documented in-country conversion path for short-stay entrants in the sources we rely on, so plan the correct track before booking.
Does a regular Schengen tourist entry allow me to attend an English course? For visa-exempt nationals on a course under 90 days, the guidance is clear: you enter with a booking confirmation and a school letter, no separate visa. You are not required to apply for a student visa for this length of course. Carry your enrolment paperwork so you can show the purpose of your stay.
How many days can I spend elsewhere in Europe before or after my Malta course without breaking the 90-day limit? The 90-day limit is shared across the entire Schengen area, counted as 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. Days spent in Italy, France or anywhere else in Schengen before or after your Malta course count toward the same 90. Add up every Schengen day in your trip, not just the Malta portion, and keep the total at 90 or under.