Moving to Malta

Oh, I forgot to add that my wife is an excellent cook and I am not bad so we are also thinking of opening a good Thai/Asian fusion restaurant.  Any feedback on what is currently available in that category on the island and the ease of navigating the required beaurocracy would be really kind...

Paul

Hi Paul,

welcome to the forum.

You will have to get information on what documents are required for your Thai wife to enter the Schengen zone with you. It is certainly easier when she is travelling with you but you will probably have to apply for a visa for her before you arrive! Check it out.

To reside in Malta you apply for your residency and that of your accompanying family members as soon as possible.

Required documents would be marriage certificate and birth certificates (in English , or a certified translation), proof of income and proof of health insurance for all family members and as many other certificates as possible -)))

Your treaty rights are that you can settle and work anywhere within the Union with your family. You need to comply with all the local regulations about income and health insurance to obtain residency.

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Ricky

Thank you for the welcome...

I understand that showing savings in the bank is a substitute for income as I do not have a regular income being semi-retired...

Do you have any tips on insurance?

You mention documents....  Do you really need to show birth certificates?  I have not been asked for years all the other places I lived and I ask as I think my wife has never had one and we have always used passports and the marriage certificate....

Thanks

Paul

Hi there again....

VERY IMPORTANT

How can we find out whether we will need my wife's Birth Certificate and exactly what documents are required for us (married couple, one child - EU and wife non-EU) to apply for residency?

We need to plan this right now so can someone please help....?

Thanks

Paul

here ye go

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

all the info is here

toonarmy9752 wrote:

here ye go

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

all the info is here

Hi toonarmy

Thanks for the link.  Sorry if  I am being blind but I see no mention of the documents required...

I am specifically wanting to know what I will need to show to support an application for residency when I arrive with my son and wife (we have British passports but she has a non-EU one) - I have

Passports x 3
Insurance x 3
Marriage certificate (with English certified translation)
Birth certificates for my son and I (my wife does not have one)
Bank statements showing capital (no regular income)

Question is ------ do I need anything else such as my wife's birth certificate or any other document?

Thanks in advance....!

Paul

one thing - a strange thing here - is if the woman has ever been divorced she needs to provide divorce papers - the man doesnt....?
ok let me see the site and will get back to you

the details of documents required are in the notes - explanatory leaflets per form

toonarmy9752 wrote:

one thing - a strange thing here - is if the woman has ever been divorced she needs to provide divorce papers - the man doesnt....?
ok let me see the site and will get back to you

the details of documents required are in the notes - explanatory leaflets per form

She has not and I have been divorced (ironically)....!

Yes, please do let me know.

If you come across the amount of savings to show too that would be good (in lieu of income)...

Thanks ...

i seem to recall it being about 23000 euros...or 95 euros a week in income.

and the details of documents required is in the expalantory notes per appropriate form...

I looked ;(.  Can you send the link to the one (s) relevant for a EU citizen with 3rd country spouse...?

Thanks so much.

not sure if this is the rigth one

you will need to read each form and asess which is the corretc one for you and your family....

but i always thought that if you were EU and you got your residency first then it was much easier to get your EU rights for the family.

not sure if this is the one
http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Library/PDF/CEA8-URP.pdf

Ok, I think I got it! 

Form F is the one and it says birth/marriage certificate showing dependence so based on that a wife shows the latter....

Lets hope!

Is that what you were referring to?

There is no mention there of the Police check which I know is required so let's how this is a comprehensive list...

YOU REALLY DO HAVE TO READ EACH FORM AND ITS LEAFLETS - it can be complicated but the info is there for you...

the forms and the leaflets are all at the bottom of the page at
http://www.foreign.gov.mt/default.aspx?MDIS=552

and are quite clear in my opinion - but you do have to read them.

Thanks for your help....

i do note that the income or self sufficiency figures seem to have been amended for 2012.... one things is for sure there will be lots of forms....to complete and documents to be supplied. only real advice is to take everything you have got - thats exactly what we had to do 4.5 yrs ago and am resisting doing it again....

Sound advice....  Did you see the new savings levels by any chance?

An EEA national does not necessarily have
to work while s/he is living in Malta. However
in order to reside here, s/he must be able to
support himself/herself and his/her family
members accompanying or wishing to join
him/her in Malta, without recourse to public
funds. The EEA national concerned must be
covered by sickness insurance* against all
risks whilst in Malta and have sufficient
resources not to become a burden on the
State.  In this respect the above-mentioned
Order [Article 11(5)] lays down that such
level of resources should be the minimum
means which determine the grant of social
assistance to Maltese nationals.  Currently
this should be a capital of at least €14,000
or a weekly income of €92.32 or, in the case
of a married couple, a capital of €23,300 or
a weekly income of €108.63. Moreover for
each other dependent an extra €8.15 should
be added.

see http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Library/PDF/CEA7-EEA.pdf

PaulBart1 wrote:

There is no mention there of the Police check which I know is required so let's how this is a comprehensive list...

police check not required for EU citizen or family members of EU citizen

you and your son fill in form J (assuming your son will apply using EU passport)
your wife form F
you all fill in ID 1A
you take originals and copies of every document for each person

make an appointment by email

PaulBart1 wrote:

Common sense tells me that with my being a UK citizena nd my son also, my wofe has some "rights" to remain with us but I am really not sure how strong these are.  Of course I want to go through the formalities and do things properly but would it be true to say that she has the "right" to remain with us as the mother of my child or are the authorities oblivious to that.

You (and your son) as EU citizens have an automatic right to live in Malta, as long as you won't be a burden on the state (hence the health cover and income/capital requirements). Once you have claimed your entitlement to live here, you wife has an automatic right to live here as a family member of an EU citizen (subject again to health cover and income/capital requirements)

I see that to complete the application for economic self-sufficency you need to already have a Maltese address, which is a bit ironic, as you aren't still allowed to live there for more than 3 months. You therefore need to be living meanwhile in a hotel or have a short term letting agreement.

I have seen that you need to have the official documents in English. Who can make an English translation that the Maltese government would accept? I doubt the Spanish authorities would do that.

Chaos Orb wrote:

I see that to complete the application for economic self-sufficency you need to already have a Maltese address, which is a bit ironic, as you aren't still allowed to live there for more than 3 months. You therefore need to be living meanwhile in a hotel or have a short term letting agreement.

a tourist can take out a long let

georgeingozo wrote:

Chaos Orb wrote:

I see that to complete the application for economic self-sufficency you need to already have a Maltese address, which is a bit ironic, as you aren't still allowed to live there for more than 3 months. You therefore need to be living meanwhile in a hotel or have a short term letting agreement.

a tourist can take out a long let

I suppose, but it's a bit absurd. What happens if he can't get a residence permit? He will have to return before the letting agreement finishes :S

"I suppose, but it's a bit absurd. What happens if he can't get a residence permit? He will have to return before the letting agreement finishes :S"

for an EU citizen, as long as you have health cover and sufficient income/capital, you will get residency - its a legal right - so there shouldn't be any doubt

georgeingozo wrote:

"I suppose, but it's a bit absurd. What happens if he can't get a residence permit? He will have to return before the letting agreement finishes :S"

for an EU citizen, as long as you have health cover and sufficient income/capital, you will get residency - its a legal right - so there shouldn't be any doubt

On the subject of legal rights....

It is also my legal right as an EU citizen to obtain a Schengen visa for my wife (unless she has any reasons why she cannot be granted one).

Unfortunately after a couple of days trying to arrange one here in Mexico it seems that news has not got to the beaurocrats in the Austrian Embassy.

Malta uses the Austrian Embassy to process these visas in Mexico and I have to say that with the exception of one kind lady in Mexico City the remainder seem to resist any attempt to obtain a visa by putting unnecessary obstacles in the way.  When I pointed this bout politely amd explained that I meeded correct informaiton and to make an appointment soon, I received rude replies suggesting.... Well, I will not translate them here on this forum.

Wow, I am glad I am leaving Mexico and really glad I discounted Austria to live in if that is how they run their diplomatic missions!

Paul, I just recently moved to Malta with my non-EU spouse,so let me give you some advice from experience. 

Get a birth certificate for your wife.  You will need it ... APOSTILLED.  If you don't know what that is (neither did I until I was told I needed it), Google it. In fact, all your documents will have to be apostilled, including your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, and your son's birth certificate, so just make up your mind that it needs to get done and do it. 

Your wife's birth certificate, if it is not in English, will have to be translated by an official translator.  You can ask the Austrian Embassy in Mexico (since there is no Maltese Embassy there) for a recommended list of translators.  Hint:  the translation must be done by an official recognized as officially certified to do translations.

For the first 3 months while you are in Malta, you don't need to do anything.  It is your right to be here with your family.  I got married to an asylum-seeker in Vienna (Austria), and I agree with you that in Austria they can be problematic.  Just so you know, I have British nationality as well. 

Even though my husband did not have a Shengen Visa, my husband and I were able to successfully board an Air Malta flight out of Vienna to Malta by showing our Viennese marriage certificate officially translated and apostilled, our passports, and translated, apostilled copies of our birth certificates.  A copy of Directive 204/38/EC (Google it and print a copy), as well as a copy of the judgment in the "Metok" case (also Google and print this) in hand helped with the persuasion.  (Hint:  Take copies of these 2 with you when next you go to the Viennese Embassy in Mexico to apply for your wife's Shengen Visa).

If you go to Airbnb.com or justlanded.com, you can easily book yourself and your family into a nice 2 or 3 bedroom flat for much less than the cost of a hotel.  You may have to share a house with others to get the cheapest flats, but hey, it's only temporary.  Once you get settled in, you will have enough time to look around and decide if you like it here or not.

You have 3 months during which you do not have to do anything but enjoy Malta.  You do not have to show proof of finances, health insurance, or any such thing. It is your right and there is no pressure to do anything for those 3 months.

Once you get to look around and decide that you like it here and would like to stay, message me and I'll point you to a copy of my new book that I'm writing, and which should be out on Kindle by next week, on the different ways you can apply for residency and what kind of paperwork each category requires.  It's not difficult.  You can do it yourself if you know where to look.

By the way, if you are moving to Malta as a conduit to later moving your family to the UK, filing as a self-sufficient is not the best way to apply.  For that, you would need to either be a worker or a self-employed (economically active).  Those are the only two that "transfer".  (Which is why I suggested you wait until you got here to apply for residency.  There is no rush, and you can take your time and make wise choices for your family.)

StrangerInMalta wrote:

.

For the first 3 months while you are in Malta, you don't need to do anything.  It is your right to be here with your family.

That is true. However, at the moment an appointment to apply for residency is given for 3 months time, so unless that improves you should make an appointment as soon as you arrive, or even before you arrive.no big deal for EU citizen but could be for an non-EU family member

The chances are that 3month wait for an appointment will be 6 months soon given the 30000 people needing residence docs

Agreed, georgeingozo, but there is no penalty for not filing for residency within 3 months, or let's just say, the penalty for not filing "in time" is at the worse, a small fine.  Unless Paul is in a rush to get his family out of Malta, he and his family can carry on normal life, including working (yes, his wife too) without the residence certificate / cards or even applying.  Only thing is, having the ID card does help with getting utilities set up, bank accounts opened, etc.  And certainly, the residence card will make travel within the EU for Paul's wife easier.  But in reality, there is no penalty for not doing it even 6 months after landing here, let's say.  To register is a control mechanism. The right to live and work is just that, an EU RIGHT derived from the treaties, not from registration - and it is given not just to EU citizens but also to their direct family members (spouse) who accompany them, whether the family member is EU or Non-EU.  It is not dependent on registration to become effective, it exists with or without registration, and no one can be expelled just for not registering.

"But in reality, there is no penalty for not doing it even 6 months after landing here, let's say"

The EU allows for a penalty no greater than local would suffer for non-compliance of a comparable offence. Reality is that it wouldn't be an issue unless for some reason the residency application failed (eg for income, health cover or criminal background reasons)

...given the 30000 people needing residence docs...

Is that a fairly accurate estimate of how many British expats now live in Malta?  I know Qawra where I live is VERY British.

StrangerInMalta wrote:

...given the 30000 people needing residence docs...

Is that a fairly accurate estimate of how many British expats now live in Malta?  I know Qawra where I live is VERY British.

"Malta has some 18,000 residents who are foreign citizens, just 4.4% of its 400,000 population. Of these, 8,200 are members of the EU-27 countries while some 9,900 are from outside the EU.

Source: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdet … population "

"In 2008 the biggest number of foreign residents in Malta consisted of Britons (4,100) followed by Indians (900), Serbs (800) and Bulgarians (800).

Source: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … ear.327005 "

30000 is  an estimate of how many foreigners really live in Malta, ie those already registered plus those living here without residence docs. I'd guess up to 10000 are brits

according to Mariella Grech the Director of the MFA - "no enforcement is contemplated"

toonarmy9752 wrote:

according to Mariella Grech the Director of the MFA - "no enforcement is contemplated"

although she, presumably, is talking about the immigration department and not the inland revenue

e-residency