Appeal against a Decision by the Department of Social Security (DSS)

Overview

An appeal may be lodged by a Maltese or non-Maltese national against a decision by the Department of Social Security before the Social Security Umpire. One may lodge an appeal on a question of law or a principle of importance emerging from a decision by the Department of Social Security according to the Social Security Act (Cap. 318.). The appeal must to be lodged within thirty (30) days from when one is informed of the decision.

The online form provides an appellant with the option to choose their preferred mode of participation between attending an in-person hearing or opting for an online hearing, based on their convenience and comfort level. This flexibility allows appellants to have greater control over their hearing experience and ensures that their needs are accommodated. Whether attending in person or online, this online form aims to provide an accessible and efficient way to facilitate the hearing proceedings.

Once the details are vetted, a notification is sent to the appellant with the date, time and venue of the sitting in front of the umpire. If the appellant requested to join as an online hearing, a date, time and link to join the online hearing is sent by an email notification.

What you’ll get

An applicant or beneficiary will receive a letter of explanation whenever the Department of Social Security makes a decision regarding his/her eligibility for social security benefits or for an overpayment being a result of a benefit which a beneficiary is no longer eligible to. If in disagreement with the decision, the person has the right to appeal against that decision.

Application Requirements

Once you have carefully read the above overview, checked that you are eligible and have all supporting documentation available, you may wish to proceed to submit an appeal online.

A video tutorial is also available to guide you on how to submit an online appeal by clicking here.

An online appeal may also be lodged on behalf of the appellant by a person of trust or by visiting one of the servizz.gov hubs.

Eligibility

General eligibility criteria:

• An Appeal may be lodged against any decision except for decisions taken by a board of medical doctors. However, an application for Invalidity Pension that is rejected on medical grounds may be appealed.
• To submit an online appeal, the appellant or the person of trust needs to authenticate with their own e-ID.

If the appellant does not possess a Maltese Identity Card and therefore cannot authenticate using their own e-ID, they may submit the online application using the eIDAS option if they are coming from a European Union country.

If the appellant is a non-European country citizen and does not possess a Maltese Identity Card, they can use Self-Registration authentication to submit an appeal online.

Documentation required
General documentation:

• Letter issued by the Department of Social Security for which you are lodging an appeal.
• You may include additional relevant documentation to support your appeal through the online form.