How the Tourism & Hospitality Skills Pass works — the full process

The Tourism & Hospitality User Guidelines identify the Pre-Departure Portal as part of the Skills Pass portal administered by ITS. The Skills Pass “How to Register” page requests personal details, passport information, contact details and category-specific documents. See the registration page for this guide’s account-setup summary.

The Tourism & Hospitality “Obtaining the Skills Pass” page gives 42 days to complete Phase 1, but does not specify when that clock starts. The Tourism & Hospitality process page places this stage after successful Pre-Departure completion, and its Obtaining the Skills Pass page describes both phases for each programme part. The Tourism & Hospitality User Guidelines instead describe completing both online parts before Phase 2 and receiving both certificates afterward; the Tourism & Hospitality FAQ also places Phase 2 booking after both applicable online parts. These descriptions differ, so confirm your required sequence with Skills Pass. The tourism online work includes:

1. Basic Customer Care course — covering foundational service skills — followed by its assessment.
2. Basic Maltese Tourism Product course — covering baseline knowledge of Malta’s tourism offering — followed by its assessment.
3. Occupation selection and assessment — the Tourism & Hospitality “Obtaining the Skills Pass” page lists Luggage Porter, Receptionist, Bar Waiter, Commis Chef and Commis de Rang. For an unlisted occupation, its “Other” option directs you to contact Skills Pass for guidance.

Passing each assessment is required to advance. If you fail an assessment, official materials describe one free re-sit, with further re-sits at €100 each. The Tourism & Hospitality Obtaining the Skills Pass page says that, when the 42-day window expires, a 14-day extension can be purchased for €50.

After Phase 1 Confirmation, the Tourism & Hospitality “Obtaining the Skills Pass” page describes booking a 30-minute online interview with true-or-false and open-ended questions checking English conversation and occupational ability. It directs candidates requiring a visa to choose their nearest VFS centre and candidates not requiring a visa to select ITS Malta.

For the Pre-Departure interview, Identità and Home Affairs describe a 20-minute live online interview at ITS Malta or an authorised Global Assessment Centre, while the Skills Pass FAQ describes a 30-minute onsite VFS interview. The general “Obtaining the Skills Pass” page also describes in-person interview attendance. These descriptions differ; this guide does not combine them into one confirmed duration or format. Follow your booking instructions and ask Skills Pass about any discrepancy.

Identità’s 28 February 2026 notice and the Tourism & Hospitality User Guidelines describe two separate certificates after successful completion of the required process:

• A Pre-Departure Course Certificate
• A Certificate of Full Skillspass Achievement

The Skills Pass FAQ and Tourism & Hospitality certification page describe ITS-issued digital credentials through Blockcerts, which can be shared for employer verification. The general “Obtaining the Skills Pass” page instead names Hyland. This guide reports both platform descriptions without resolving the naming difference. See the certificate page for issuance, formats, validity and support guidance.