To register with us you need to use the online registration system called LOCATE.  Locate is designed to be a customer-friendly interactive system, which allows you to manage and maintain your own consular registration. The use of the information you enter is governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 and robust testing has been made to ensure Locate is as secure as possible. Unlike other occasions where personal data has been lost in the UK through discs/laptops being lost Locate cannot be stored on a disc or a laptop, but is held at a secure site, on the Foreign Office website.

Locate has two primary objectives:

(i) It is used by all British nationals and their families to register their presence in a country anywhere for a length of stay, whether short-term visitors or long-term residents.

(ii) Locate will help the Foreign Office to locate British nationals abroad in the event of a crisis.

You may ask the question "why should I register; what's the point?". The answer is simple - it's quicker to help you if we know where you are. We appreciate that any crisis happening in Malta is low, but that does not mean we need to be complacent - let's get registering now. Plus, you may go on holiday to a country where there is a risk of crisis happening and it's better to register before you go, rather than get caught up in the moment and you have no access to register your presence.

How do you register? The process is painless. You need to go to the main Foreign Office website and click on Locate. Just follow the instructions and you will be issued with a password - please keep it secure. Unlike the old card system where the data is out-of-date, under Locate we want you to access your information annually, to keep the information current, which is right and makes good sense.

What if I don't have access to a computer or not familiar with IT? We understand that not everyone has access to the e-highway, please ask your family or friends who do have access.

How would Locate work in a crisis? Firstly, Locate can be used by you to report online your concerns about friends and relatives who might be affected in a crisis anywhere in the world. For us, your information can be seen by the High Commission as well as by the Foreign Office in London. The whole team would be better prepared in a crisis, we would know that British nationals are affected, and our response would be appropriate and effective.