Maternity Benefit

Hi,

Can anyone advise?

I moved from the UK in May and am pregnant and My husband works, I also have a 4 year old who is due to go to school soon .

We have ID cards and wondered if I am eligible to Maternity benefits as I am not working?


Look forward to your responses.

Hi Ruru,

interesting question.

You have ID cards but do you have Ordinary Residency? That is what counts .

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Ricky,

I am not sure what Ordinary residency means?

We are British Citizens.


Sorry I am unsure

Thanks

Ruru

Hi Ruru,

within 3 months of arriving in Malta you have to apply for Ordinary Residency.  Being a British citizen doesn't matter -)))

Without Ordinary Residency you will not be eligible for any benefits in Malta and you are actually illegal if you have been living in Malta for more than 3 months.

I hope you can sort things out.

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Ricky,

My husband obviously has a social security number which his company registered him for which is a certificate of registration and obviously I don't as I am not working. Is this what you are referring to?

My husbands company took care of everything as part of the transfer from London to Malta, we did the ID cards.

but if this is still not what you are referring to, then we need to investigate

Thanks

Ruru

Hi Ruru,

if your husband is paying National Insurance through his work then you should be covered health-wise too .

If you opt to go private at St. James then you will have to pay private.

Having a social security number does not mean that you have applied for Ordinary Residency. If you are looking for any perks like the cheap utility rates or maternal benefits you will definitly need to apply for O.Residency. In fact , it is legally required , even for EU citizens !

You should find out if the company applied for your residency but if you got your ID cards yourself I will presume that your husbands company did not apply for residency.

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Ricky,

My husband will definitely find out tomorrow about Ordinary Residency, but I am inclined to think like you that they haven't as why else did we do our own ID cards.

So my question is what happens in that case and we have been here nearly 4 months?

How do we apply?

Thanks a million

Ruru

Hi Ruru,

nothing will happen -)))

If it turns out that you havn't applied for ordinary residency yet just go along to the DCEA (Department for Citizenship and Expat Affairs) with the necessary documents (ID cards/passport,work contract as proof of income and proof of health insurance).

It is in Castille Place , Valletta (near Upper Barrakka Gardens).

Cheers
Ricky

Dont forget birth certs, marriage certs, plus if you have been divorced before then take your divorce papers too

Thanks so much.It appears that they haven't done this for us, so we are off to Valletta tomorrow to get it done.

Thanks so much for your help and advice


Ruru

Hi Ruru,

on your original question.

I asked a Maltese friend and mother about maternal benefits and she does no know of any if you are not working.

There is a child allowance that is most probably depending on income and gets capped if your income goes over the cap.

Cheers
Ricky

May I ask about birth certificates, marriage certificates - do they need to be translated into English and certified? I suppose so but I just need to be sure.

Should you not still be able to get Child Benefit from the UK ?