New I.D. card rules

5:20pm 28 hours later I've still got nothing.

Nor did I

matm911 wrote:

Today I picked up my "Registration Certification" (or "Residence Documentation for a European Union National") from the Dept. for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs (in Melita Street) which I applied for beginning of December.

It says "Valid Until: ******"

I asked if I have to apply again in March because of the changed ID card matter and they negate that, only if I change my address I need to apply for an update.

Markus

I asked the same question but got a different reply, if I understand 'the negate that' to mean you don't have to apply for the new eResidence Card.

Mine was issued on 20/11, so maybe it is different, although the description seems the same.

Incidentally I sent the question at about 7.00pm and received the reply at 20.49.

All cultures are different and long may that remain so. For those that seem to do nothing but whinge about the Maltese way of doing things so, I would ask, "Why are you living here?" And if you really don't like it, IMO, you would be better off moving back to the UK.

Disgusted, Tonbridge Gharb

Incidentally, the e-mail I received also had the following, although I have added the highlight.

"In the case of EU nationals who are already registered with the Department and who were issued with a stand alone registration document according to the provisions of Subsidiary Legislation 460.17, a copy of the said document will be sufficient for the purpose of submitting an application for an e-residence document.


The ‘old’ ID card and stand alone residence document (in case of  registered EU nationals) have to be returned to this Department upon the submission of the application. If the card has been lost or stolen, the applicant needs to present a police report."

This may mean anyone with a residency document won't after all have to produce all the documents again - if so, this could be what I was hoping, namely that they would agree that under EU law they have no right to demand documents a 2nd time

response from the EU commission - a key figure -

      "I do not know in detail the specifics of the id card change. However, what I can tell you is that the only obligation which can be imposed on EU citizens in accordance with Directive 2004/38 is to apply for a registration certificate (see forms A, F, J, M or P available at  http://www.foreign.gov.mt/default.aspx?mdis=552 ).

In case these new card is additional to the registration certificate, an EU citizen may not be obliged to apply for it. Where this card constitutes the registration certificate, an EU citizen who has previously registered with the authorities and holds a registration certificate may not be obliged to re-apply.

In case you consider that the changes introduced by the Maltese authorities are contrary to EU law I would encourage you to submit a formal complaint with the European Commission."



and further - a response from the MFA

      "All ID cards issued to foreign nationals will expire on 31st March so this should be renewed

All we need is for the form to be filled up and a copy of your registration certificate (if you are already registered with us).

No enforcement measures are being contemplated"

"All cultures are different and long may that remain so. For those that seem to do nothing but whinge about the Maltese way of doing things so, I would ask, "Why are you living here?" And if you really don't like it, IMO, you would be better off moving back to the UK."

hmm sounds like a very typical local response....

sorry IMO

toonarmy9752 wrote:

All we need is for the form to be filled up and a copy of your registration certificate (if you are already registered with us).

No enforcement measures are being contemplated"

begs the question, does fill up include supporting documents ?

ps its fill in not up :-)

exactly - but thats they way it was sent (an exact quote) Gng

and to be honest am not inclined to do anything about it now....and potentially never

Hi, I'm new on here but been reading for quite a while....living in Gozo for the last year with my family.
I finally completed my application mid December (previous posted documents back in April/May but didn't include photos) the Department of Expat. phoned me I December requesting the photos so they could complete my application so we sent these off, then saw the notice on Boxing Day about the new E ID cards.

I have been trying to contact the office for the last few weeks with no joy about whether we need to submit all the documentation again as our file was being dealt with only a few weeks ago.
Yesterday I finally got to speak to someone and explained the situation. I did vent a bit of frustration at the poor woman on the phone as it seems that we have to submit all the information again. she said that there are thousands of files with documentation and they can't pull out each and everyone. So god knows what the filing system is like if they can't locate residency application files!!
I explained about being contacted in December and sending our photos therefore our file should be out already as the application was being dealt with about 5 weeks ago.
But she just repeated what she had said and actually declined to comment any further!

So I have now emailed to get an appointment and am still waiting for an appointment ASAP.

Just received an email with my appointment, will update when we have been.

I just got my reply 3 minutes ago, I have an appointment on Teus feb 19,   So not bad considering I requested the appointment Thursday.

"The ‘old’ ID card and stand alone residence document (in case of  registered EU nationals) have to be returned to this Department upon the submission of the application. If the card has been lost or stolen, the applicant needs to present a police report."


out of curiosity if we turn in the old one and don't have the new one how do we travel in and out of schengan?  Hell my schengan visa expired years ago.

Heard back last night, our appointment is for 12th feb.

Hi Chad,

you probably have yours stuck in your passport so you don't have to return that!

Can't help you if it expired but I'm not sure if it would matter and they give you a provisional document when you apply.

Cheers
Ricky

Hey Ricky good morning, Unfortunately mines not one that's in the passport, Its a separate document that apparently needs to be turned in and in March I have some travelling I have to do.


Ill request the let me keep it and see what happens.

wont the temp document allow travel?

That question is the issue...

Even the last time I went to the UK, I got back to Maltese customs and even with my Valid residence card they didnt want to let me back in the country, It was a mess.  The guy had never seen a residence card before, and didn't want to let me pass.   Now without even that I'll have to give a form with no photo on it to customs...   Hows that going to work?

i guess that to do with whether you are Uk/eu citizen as theyre not part of schengen...

me3512 wrote:

That question is the issue...

Even the last time I went to the UK, I got back to Maltese customs and even with my Valid residence card they didnt want to let me back in the country, It was a mess.  The guy had never seen a residence card before, and didn't want to let me pass.   Now without even that I'll have to give a form with no photo on it to customs...   Hows that going to work?

the receipt they issue has your photo on it

too cool!   Thank you !

Just received this from a friend, I have the attachments if anyone wants them.

1)   If you hold a Maltese identity card, please be informed that the Maltese Electoral Commission recently published a press release, announcing that ‘the Identity Cards Office of the Electoral Office will no longer issue identity cards to non-Maltese persons (ie., identity cards bearing a number ending with the letter ‘A’) as from the 1st of January, 2013’.

Moreover, the Maltese authorities have confirmed that ‘all ID cards issued to foreign nationals will expire at the end of March 2013.’

As regards the new e-Residence Card, which will serve as both an identity and residency permit, ‘EU nationals may submit their applications to the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs as from Tuesday 15th January, 2013.’ 

Source: http://www.electoral.gov.mt/news.aspx?x … BAOA%3d%3d

To access the e-Residence Card application forms for differing categories of non-Maltese persons, please click on this Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs internet link:

http://www.foreign.gov.mt/default.aspx?MDIS=552

2)   According to EU law, non-Maltese EU citizens are entitled to identical treatment to that accorded to Maltese nationals in respect of these matters.

A Maltese national is required to personally attend the Identity Card Office only once to apply for an identity card which is issued to him on the same day.

Correspondingly, EU law stipulates that as regards non-Maltese EU citizens, ‘…the relevant national authority should issue you with a registration certificate - known as an e-Residence Card in Malta - stating your name and address and the date of registration, immediately after presentation of the required documents.’

Source: See page 18 of Freedom to move and live in Europe: A Guide to your rights as an EU citizen, published by the Directorate-General Justice European Commission: 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/ci … nt_low.pdf
3)   Upon application for an identity card, Maltese nationals are enrolled on all the electoral registers for which they are eligible.
Non-Maltese EU citizens are likewise entitled apply to enrol on the European Parliament electoral register under the same conditions as Maltese citizens.
The Maltese authorities have confirmed that with regards to non-Maltese EU Citizens applying for an e-Residence Card, arrangements have been made so that the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs will accept applications from non-Maltese EU Citizens to be registered as voters in Malta's European Parliament Elections.
Such application forms will then be passed on to be processed by the Electoral Office.

Out of the 24, 899 non-Maltese EU citizens enrolled on the local council electoral registers only 3,758 (15%) are likewise enrolled on the European Parliament one, so it is highly likely that you are presently disenfranchised for next year’s European Parliament elections in Malta.

Now is the time to enrol because unless non-Maltese EU citizens ensure that they are seen to assert themselves, politically, by voting in administrative committee, local council and European Parliament elections in Malta and Gozo, it is certain that systemic institutional discrimination will be a permanent feature of their daily lives in this place.

For this purpose, it is recommended you download, print and complete an Application Form to be registered in the European Union Electoral Register as a voter for the Election of Members of the European Parliament:

http://www.electoral.gov.mt/getresource.aspx?id=83

Your European Parliament voter enrolment form may be submitted to the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs at the same time you apply to them for your e-Residence Card.

4)   I am pleased to report that following the registration of a Judicial Protest in December, ARMS Ltd. has requested a meeting with the ARMS Class Action Group lawyer, Dr. Juliette Galea, with a view to reaching an out-of-court settlement in order to avoid further litigation.   

In this regard, please see the attached document, entitled, ARMSCA Letter Clients 1

If your water and electricity bills are in your name and you have been overcharged by ARMS Ltd. on the basis of illegally applied ‘domestic’ water and electricity consumption tariffs, you are still in time to register your interest in benefiting from the retroactive refunds - backdated 5 years with interest - that ARMS Class Action Group is claiming on behalf of its members.

Should that be the case, contact the ARMS Class Action Group co-ordinator, Patricia Graham, at: armsclassaction@gmail.com

5)   Should you experience or perceive any instances of institutional discrimination, I recommend you file a petition with The European Parliament Committee on Petitions online:   

https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/a … ition.html

6)  In addition, please find attached a (Microsoft Office Word 2003) document, which contains 754 MEPs' e-mail addresses listed by country.   

Yours faithfully,

Oisin Jones-Dillon

Terry

Well, we had our appointment this morning. Upon entry your name is checked at the door against a list to see if you indeed have an appointment. That went smoothly. However after arriving on the 2nd floor another 30-40 people were waiting, also with an appointment. After some time your name is called and you go into an office were your documents are checked, a picture is taken and your ID is confiscated. In the same office an receipt with photo ID has to be produced. That took almost an hour. The poor girl trying to manage that was interrupted about a dozen times by people barging in. Including by a boss who dropped about 20 reject files on her desk. She was close to tears. However after arriving at 9.45 we were outside with our temporary residence/ID document at about 10 o'clock. The official cards will be produced in 3-8 weeks, depending on how fast the system is implemented. All in all, not too bad.

Thanks for the update :-)

Did it take an hour or 15 minutes?

so are you saying then the whole process is only taking 15 minutes

How many people do you think they're are handling a day?  When they started someone estimated 75, so interested if have speeded up now

Sorry, my mistake. Arrival 8.45!!! not 9.45. Out of the building 10.00. There are about 8 rooms doing the same thing. If the receipt producing side is improved I would say 8 rooms 4 an hour 8 hours a day would total 250 applications per day. Although at the moment there is still some chaos so these numbers will be lower now. Also I do now know if they take appointments for the whole working day.

i wonder how many staff are active on this

are they open 8hrs per day - i didnt think they were....

i dont understand your calculation at 4 per hr if yours took 1.25 hrs

And please check your receipt carefully. I noticed when I was at home that the flat number in my wife's printed receipt was wrong. I have emailed them about this as a mistake in the data base will mean a wrong ID card as well later on.

I think it's only 3 hours a day they are taking applications, 8:30 to 11:30, unless someone can report an appointment time outside these hours

toonarmy9752 wrote:

i dont understand your calculation at 4 per hr if yours took 1.25 hrs

I think the time taken by this particular girl producing the printed receipt was not "normal". She could have done the data entry in 5 minutes. However people waiting the the corridor were barging in numerous times with "questions". Also the internal office workings were chaotic. It looked like she was seeing the data entry screens for the very first time. My calculations assume that this will improve with time. My application was for myself and for my wife. By the way if you have documents for husband/wife combined, make extra copies. Files are handled strictly separate.

is the application handeld totally confidentially and in private

i suspect the timings will be affected by the type of application - and will dependant on the amount of forms and evidence documents required to be checked

toonarmy9752 wrote:

is the application handeld totally confidentially and in private

It is planned to be. But during the time we were waiting for the receipt others were handing in their documents and answering questions in the same room. But not about financial details. I have the impression that looking at that will be done higher up the hierarchy. Initially the only check is if all the requested documents are there.

popro wrote:

By the way if you have documents for husband/wife combined, make extra copies. Files are handled strictly separate.

very good point - obvious once you said it, but could easily be forgotten

Hi all,

i just got back from applying for the e-residence document for myself and my partner (family member) who is non-EU (US). We already had residence documents that were still valid until next year.

You only get processed if you have an appointment. They all have a form with the names for the day. Times are given from 8.30 until 12 at 4 names per 15 minute time slot. This accomodates for about 50 applications per day.

No exceptions are allowed! The British couple from Gozo and a young family with 2 kids were not allowed in ! But today people were let upstairs and could make an appointment in room 5 which caused lots of disruption as many of these just tried to get in without an appointment. There was constant arguing and discussions going on which in the end only led to delays. The later your appointment the larger the delay you can expect.

We had an appointment at 9 am but we got in at about 9.15 and were out by 10.15!

They do ask for new documentation ie proof of income and health insurance and open up a new file. Your picture is taken and you sign on an electronic pad.

They have your ID card data on screen and fill in the details that are asked for on the application forms. At the end they print out a receipt for the application with picture that doubles as an ID card as they keep your ID card. They did give me my old residence document back.

The process is free of charge for EU citizens. I'm not sure what it costs for non-EU citizens.

It is strange that they let everybody upstairs to request an appointment as this causes a lot of unnecessary commotion and disruption.

When you arrive on the second floor the applications with appointments are done in the two rooms on the left side.You wait outside until your name is called or you make it known that your name is on the list. The policeman on the groundfloor checks your name against the list before letting you in but he does let everybody else in too -)))

I wish you all luck with your applications and make sure you have all the right forms and supporting documents as requested !

Cheers
Ricky

thanks Ricky

"They do ask for new documentation ie proof of income and health insurance " I was informed by email that as I already have residence certificate the income/health docs weren't required, so maybe they've changed yet again ! Maybe if you said you didn't haver them they would have said it was OK, who knows

i got told the same GnG