Skip to main content
Malta Pre-Departure Guide

The Pre-Departure Course certificate, and what verification means from 1 March 2026

How the certificate is issued, what official sources say about its validity, and what changes when Identità begins formally verifying it as part of work-permit applications.

Last verified:

Advertisement

What you receive when you pass

Completing both parts of the course — the two online modules and the live interview — produces a digital certificate. Official sources describe it as issued electronically rather than as a printed document, and as having “no expiry” once the full process is complete, according to the official FAQ.

That certificate is the document Identità describes as a required part of a first-time Single Permit application — see how the certificate fits into your Single Permit application for more on that relationship.

A naming inconsistency worth knowing about

Two official Skills Pass sources name the certificate-issuing system differently:

  • One Skills Pass page describes certificates as managed “through Hyland, the official document and credential management system”.
  • The official FAQ instead says certificates “are issued digitally weekly through Blockcerts”.

This looks like the kind of inconsistency that arises when a platform changes or when different pages were written at different times — and, per AGENTS.md’s instruction on source disagreements, this guide states both names rather than guessing which is current. In practice, the name of the issuing platform shouldn’t matter for your application — what matters is that you receive a verifiable certificate and that it’s accepted when you submit it.

What changes on 1 March 2026

Identità has published an operational notice stating that, from 1 March 2026, it will begin formally verifying Pre-Departure Course certificates as part of the work-permit application process. Before that date, the certificate is described as a requirement to hold; from that date, Identità describes actively checking it as part of processing your application.

The practical takeaway from the official notice is straightforward: applicants and employers are encouraged to gather all required documentation — including the certificate — well before submitting, specifically to avoid the kind of processing delay that comes from a verification step finding something missing or inconsistent at the last minute.

If your planned application date is on or close to 1 March 2026, treat completing the course early as a way to remove a variable from your timeline, not as something you can leave until the last minute.

If something looks wrong with your certificate

Official materials describe the issuance process but don’t publish a dedicated troubleshooting page for certificate problems (a missing certificate, a name mismatch, a delay beyond the normal weekly cycle). If you encounter any of these, the right channel is Skills Pass support directly — not a guess, and not a third-party fix. Persistent issues that affect your Single Permit timeline are also worth flagging to Identità, since they are the body that will ultimately verify the certificate.

Frequently asked questions

Will my certificate expire before I get to use it?
The official FAQ describes the certificate as having "no expiry" once you've completed the whole process. That said, official materials don't address edge cases like long delays between completing the course and submitting your Single Permit application — if a long gap applies to your situation, it costs nothing to confirm with Identità that nothing has changed.
Which platform actually issues the certificate — Hyland or Blockcerts?
Official Skills Pass materials use both names in different places: one page describes certificates as managed "through Hyland, the official document and credential management system", while the FAQ says certificates "are issued digitally weekly through Blockcerts". This guide states both because that's what the official sources say — not because we can resolve which name is current. What should matter for your application is the certificate itself and its verifiability, not the name of the system behind it.
How quickly will I receive my certificate after finishing the course?
The official FAQ states that certificates "are issued digitally weekly" — implying a roughly weekly batch-issuance cycle rather than an instant one. If your timeline is tight, build in at least a week's buffer after your interview before expecting to have the certificate in hand, and confirm the current cycle with Skills Pass if your deadline is close.

Related guides

Official sources for this page

Advertisement