How Divorce Actually Works in Malta: 2026 Step-by-Step

A decade ago, most people in Malta could not simply file for divorce — they had to be already separated for four years. That changed with Act XXV of 2021: today the wait is six months if you file jointly, or one year if you file alone. Here is what actually happens between deciding to divorce and the court granting it.

Separation, divorce and why the distinction still matters

Malta only introduced divorce in 2011, following a national referendum, and it remains legally distinct from separation. A couple who separates remains married — they live apart under a separation contract or court judgement, but neither can remarry, since Maltese law prohibits bigamy. Divorce, by contrast, terminates the marriage entirely and restores the right to remarry. Divorce is regulated under Title IV of Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, Articles 66A to 66N of the Civil Code.

Culturally, it remains common in Malta for couples to file for separation first and convert to divorce later, rather than filing for divorce from the outset, even though going straight to divorce is legally permitted. Whichever route a couple takes, the Civil Court, Family Section, is the competent court for both types of proceedings.

The conditions the court checks under Article 66B

Divorce can be demanded either jointly by both spouses or by one spouse against the other. Article 66B sets out what the court checks before granting it. It is no longer a requirement that the spouses be formally separated by contract or judgement before applying for divorce — that requirement was removed by Act XXV of 2021. What matters instead is how long the spouses have actually lived apart:

Proving the living-apart date is not always as simple as it sounds. Where a couple separated informally, without a contract or court judgement marking the date, the court needs to be satisfied on the actual facts of when cohabitation genuinely ended — which can matter considerably if the two spouses disagree about the timeline, or if one spouse argues that periods of living under the same roof for practical or financial reasons should not count against the required period. Keeping basic evidence of the separation date, such as a change of address, correspondence, or witness accounts, can materially simplify this part of the case.

Why almost everyone goes through mediation first

If the spouses are not already separated by contract or court judgement, they must first appear before a mediator, under Article 66I of the Civil Code. This applies whether the application is joint or made by one spouse alone. The mediator’s role is twofold: first, to attempt reconciliation between the spouses; second, if reconciliation is not possible, to help them reach agreement on the practical terms of the divorce.

Those terms typically cover the care and custody of any children, access arrangements, maintenance for the spouses and children, who remains in the matrimonial home, and how the community of acquests — the property acquired during the marriage — will be divided. Under Subsidiary Legislation 12.20, once the parties have either reached agreement or confirmed they cannot, the mediator reports this to the Family Court, which then allows the matter to proceed. If mediation is skipped where required, the divorce application itself is not properly before the court.

It is worth noting that mediation in Malta is not a purely symbolic step before an already-decided divorce. The mediator genuinely explores whether reconciliation is possible before shifting focus to negotiating terms, and the Minister responsible for the process maintains a register of persons qualified to act as mediators, appointed either by mutual consent of the spouses or by the court itself. For couples who enter mediation still uncertain whether divorce is the right outcome, this stage can function as a structured, professionally guided space to test that question — not merely a procedural box to tick before the paperwork moves forward.

The court may also appoint a children’s advocate during this stage, either on its own initiative or at the request of the mediator or a spouse, specifically to represent the interests of any minor children and, where appropriate, to hear directly from them.

The realistic timeline, step by step

1. Spouses who are not already legally separated attend mandatory mediation under Article 66I, aimed first at reconciliation.
2. If reconciliation fails, the mediator helps the spouses negotiate terms covering children, maintenance, the home and property division.
3. The mediator reports the outcome to the Family Court, whether or not full agreement was reached.
4. The court verifies the living-apart requirement is met — six months for a joint application, one year for a sole application.
5. Where the spouses agree on all terms, the court can proceed relatively quickly to formalise the divorce; where they do not, the matter proceeds as a contested case with evidence and hearings.
6. The court pronounces the divorce; the spouses regain the right to remarry and the obligation of cohabitation ceases.

Already separated? The process is shorter

If the spouses are already separated by a notarial contract or a court judgement at the time the divorce application is filed, the process is considerably more direct. The applying spouse simply appends a certified copy of the separation contract or judgement to the divorce application, and — depending on the circumstances — mediation may not need to be repeated, since the reconciliation attempt and the agreement on terms will typically already have taken place during the separation process. Where a separation case is already before the court and one spouse asks to convert it into a divorce case, the evidence and documents already filed automatically carry over, though either spouse may still present further evidence specific to the divorce.

Children, maintenance and the community of acquests

Divorce in Malta does not automatically resolve custody, maintenance or property division on its own — these are negotiated during mediation or decided by the court as part of the same proceedings, and any agreement between the spouses still requires the Family Court’s approval before it becomes binding. Maintenance obligations toward children continue until the age of 18, and extend to 23 if the child remains in full-time education. The community of acquests — broadly, property and assets built up jointly during the marriage — is divided as part of the settlement, separately from any property either spouse owned before marrying.

Can you divorce in Malta if you live abroad?

Maltese courts can hear a divorce petition if, at the time the petition is filed, at least one spouse is domiciled in Malta, or has been habitually resident in Malta for at least one year immediately before filing. For couples with connections to more than one EU country, jurisdiction questions are also affected by EU rules on recognition of judgments in matrimonial matters, so cross-border cases often need a jurisdiction check before filing rather than after.

This matters in practice for Malta’s sizeable population of foreign residents and expatriates. A couple who married abroad, moved to Malta for work, and later separated may assume their marriage has to be dissolved in their country of origin. In many cases that is not correct — if either spouse meets Malta’s domicile or one-year residence test, Maltese courts can hear the case, which can be significantly faster and more accessible than pursuing divorce in a country the couple no longer lives in. Conversely, a Maltese court’s decree still needs to be recognised in the couple’s other country of connection for certain purposes, such as updating civil status records there, so international couples should confirm recognition requirements in both jurisdictions before assuming a Maltese divorce alone resolves every practical consequence of the split.

A worked example

Consider a couple in Birkirkara who separated informally eight months ago — no contract, no court judgement, simply moved into different homes. Both now want a clean, amicable divorce. Because they were never formally separated, they must attend mediation together under Article 66I. At mediation, they agree on custody of their two children, a maintenance figure, and how to split the sale proceeds of the matrimonial home. The mediator reports the agreement to the Family Court.

Because they are filing jointly and living apart, the six-month threshold applies — and since eight months have already passed, that condition is met. With mediation concluded and the practical terms already agreed, the court can move to formalise the divorce without the delay a contested case would involve. Had only one spouse wanted the divorce, with the other opposed to some of the terms, the same case could easily take a year or more, since the one-year living-apart threshold would apply and the disputed terms would need to be argued and decided rather than simply confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

The headline number people search for — “how long does divorce take in Malta” — has a different answer depending on one thing most guides skip: whether both spouses actually agree. The law sets a floor of six months or a year before you can even file, but mediation, not the court hearing itself, is usually what determines how much longer it takes after that. Two spouses who use mediation to genuinely settle custody, maintenance and property before reaching court will often finish faster than the statutory minimum implies; two spouses who arrive at mediation still fighting over the same issues will find that the real timeline is set by how long it takes to resolve those disputes, not by any date on the calendar.

For anyone approaching this process for the first time, the most practical preparation is not legal research but documentation: a clear record of when the couple actually started living apart, since that date — not the date either spouse “decided” to divorce — is what the six-month or one-year clock is measured against.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Family law outcomes depend heavily on individual circumstances; consult a licensed lawyer before making decisions based on this content.