On the 12th of July 2018 Identity Malta have issued a statement whereby it has been advised that changes are being made to the single permit process, that is, the work and residence permit required for third country nationals to enable them to live and work in Malta.
It has been stated that Identity Malta will be cutting down weeks from the single permit process by allowing third country nationals to commence work as soon as the application containing their supporting documentation requested is submitted and their biometrics duly captured by the relevant departments. Upon submission of the application by the individuals, the employer must then effectively notify Jobsplus of the engagement of employment. It is important to note that the temporary permits which will issued by the department during the interim period until the permit is duly processed and issued will not be valid for travelling purposes.
Nevertheless, police checks and checks with Jobsplus will continue to be carried out once the application will be submitted with Identity Malta. In the event that an application fails to meet the prerequisites, the single permit process will be stopped immediately.
Ms Farrugia Portelli, Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms, Citizenship and Simplification of Administrative Processes, has advised that these measures will come into force as of the 16th of July 2018. Whilst these introduced changes, will take off the pressure off the labour market tests, they will also provide the possibility that third country nationals will start to work without being provided prior authorisation.
It is worth highlighting that this new measure is only available for still abroad applications whereby the individual comes to Malta once the application has been approved. Thus the said measure is not available for applicants that apply for a change of employment with Identity Malta whereby the applicant would be already in Malta.
Identity Malta will also be introducing an online application tool which will allow employers to apply for and on behalf of third country nationals to whom they have provided a job offer, before such individuals relocate to Malta to take up employment. The online application tool will also provide the user with information regarding the stage the processing of the permit has reached.
