# The booking terms, in plain words > The IH Malta booking terms in plain words: what you pay and when, how cancelling works, visas, attendance, where you stay and the rules that matter — in a few minutes, with a link to the full document. **Source page:** https://www.ihmalta.com/terms-and-conditions-explained.html **Language:** English Other languages: [Italiano](https://www.ihmalta.com/it/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) · [Français](https://www.ihmalta.com/fr/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) · [Português](https://www.ihmalta.com/pt/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) · [Español](https://www.ihmalta.com/es/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) · [Deutsch](https://www.ihmalta.com/de/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) · [Русский](https://www.ihmalta.com/ru/terms-and-conditions-explained.md) --- [Home](https://www.ihmalta.com/) · / · [About](https://www.ihmalta.com/about.html) · / · Terms explained About The parts that decide things — money, dates, attendance, the rules — said shortly and without legal language, so you know what you are agreeing to before you read the document itself. [Read the full Terms and Conditions](https://www.ihmalta.com/terms-and-conditions.html) ## This is a summary This page explains the Terms and Conditions in ordinary language. It is **not the agreement itself**: where this page and the signed document differ, the document governs. Read it before you book. [Read the full Terms and Conditions](https://www.ihmalta.com/terms-and-conditions.html) ## The signed document (PDF) The PDF is the governing text. Both this page and the full Terms page reproduce it; only the PDF is signed. [Open the signed PDF](https://www.ihmalta.com/assets/docs/terms-current.pdf) ## On this page 1. [Booking and paying](#booking-and-paying) 2. [Changing your mind, and things going wrong](#changing-your-mind-and-things-going-wrong) 3. [Your course](#your-course) 4. [Where you stay, and getting there](#where-you-stay-and-getting-there) 5. [Health, safety and students under 18](#health-safety-and-students-under-18) 6. [Behaviour, complaints and the legal part](#behaviour-complaints-and-the-legal-part) ## Booking and paying Your booking becomes real when the deposit arrives — 20% of the total, due within 7 days of the invoice. The balance is due 14 days before you arrive. Everything is in euros and you cover the bank charges. Wait for the written confirmation before you buy flights. Accommodation and transfer details normally follow about two weeks before arrival. The price agreed when you book normally holds, however far ahead you book. It can change only if government taxes or a supplier's costs rise, and then only by the difference, explained to you in writing. ## Changing your mind, and things going wrong Cancel in writing; a phone call does not count. More than 28 days before the start you lose €150. Between 28 and 14 days you get half back. Inside 14 days, and if you simply do not arrive, there is no refund. If your visa is refused you get everything back except €150 and bank charges, once you send the official refusal letter. Students from countries the school treats as high-risk must buy its cancellation insurance and claim from the insurer instead — and that insurance covers only a refusal genuinely outside your control, not a late application or missing papers. You can postpone once for free if you ask before the start date; each later change costs €50. The new date has to be within 12 months, a postponed booking can no longer be refunded, and moving into high season adds the supplement. Refunds are paid within 12 weeks, by the way you paid. ## Your course Courses run Monday to Friday in whole weeks, one lesson is 45 minutes, and the shortest booking is one week. Classes hold up to 15 and need at least 3 to run as a group; with fewer, you get two thirds of the hours as one-to-one or small-group teaching instead. Timetables may be morning or afternoon and cannot be guaranteed — work or other commitments do not entitle you to a particular one, and turning down the timetable you are given counts as an absence. More than 10 minutes late is marked absent. Missed lessons are never replaced, credited or refunded. Attendance decides what you leave with: 85% earns a Certificate of Attendance, below that a Student Report. If you are here on a study visa, that 85% is a visa condition too. Take the placement test at least two weeks before you arrive. Book long enough and you can take holiday — two weeks for every twelve booked, in full weeks, asked for in writing two weeks ahead. The school teaches through most Maltese public holidays; only Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday are closed. ## Where you stay, and getting there Belview Residence is self-catering and close to the school, with shared kitchens, laundry, Wi-Fi and air conditioning, and linen changed weekly. Quiet after 23:00, no outside guests in rooms. A refundable €50 damage deposit is taken on your first day. Check-in is Sunday from 15:00, check-out Saturday by 11:00 — arrive overnight and you need the previous night booked. Host families give you half board and their own house rules. Tell the school about allergies and dietary needs when you book, not when you land. If you want an airport transfer, send your flight details at least 7 days ahead. The driver waits up to an hour after landing; if you cannot find them, phone the emergency number rather than leaving the airport. For the way back, confirm at reception by the Wednesday of that week. ## Health, safety and students under 18 You must have travel and health insurance covering your whole stay. The school has first-aiders and will help you reach a doctor, but it is not liable for theft, loss, illness, accident or injury — which is why the insurance is not optional. Tell the school about medical conditions and allergies when you book. Under-18s are supervised in lessons, activities and school transfers, and housed apart from adult students. Parents give written consent for emergency treatment before arrival. Curfews are 23:00 on weeknights for 16-year-olds and midnight for 17-year-olds, an hour later at weekends. Serious breaches are reported home and can mean being sent home, at the family's expense and with no refund. ## Behaviour, complaints and the legal part Bullying, harassment, discrimination, vandalism, theft and drugs are prohibited outright, and can mean expulsion without a refund. Anything criminal goes to the police where the law requires it. If something is wrong, say so while you are still here — first to the person closest to it, then to the Director of Studies or reception. You get an acknowledgement within 2 working days. A complaint that arrives after you have flown home cannot be considered for a refund, because by then nothing can be put right. Your data is handled under the GDPR and you can ask to see, correct or delete it. Photos taken in lessons and activities may be used in the school's marketing, and you choose yes or no on the enrolment form. Maltese law governs the agreement and Maltese courts settle disputes. Events genuinely outside the school's control — the contract lists things like epidemics, strikes and government decisions — can change what it is able to deliver. [Read the full Terms and Conditions](https://www.ihmalta.com/terms-and-conditions.html) ### Something here you want to check? Ask us before you book. A question answered now is cheaper than a clause read later. [Contact us](https://www.ihmalta.com/contact.html)