Confusion about getting residency

Welcome on Expat-blog sla!

Hope you get answers to your queries very soon.

You can't work in Malta if you have PR status anyway.

I'm sending you a PM

Hi sla,

Welcome to the forum.

The Permanent Residence Scheme being referred to is a special program for wealthy potential foreign residents but it is suspended at the moment.

So the only other option to reside legally in Malta is ordinary residence which you can turn into long-term residence after 5 years legal residence in Malta.

Check out the regulations for TCN's ( third country nationals):

http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Library/Cit/CEA8-URP.pdf

Forget the self-employed option in your case as it is only granted in exceptional cases.

For details see the work permit guidelines under ' self employed ':

http://www.etc.gov.mt/docs/ELU%20Guidel … 101110.pdf

So that leaves either working in Malta which gets you residency or showing that you are economically self-sufficient with foreign income. Working online from Malta is technically also working so that would not be the best thing to mention.

The application process is not easy but if you have all the documents needed it is do-able.

Regards
Ricky

sla wrote:

I am coming from the US

what passport(s) do you hold ? Are you married ? If so, what passport(s) to they hold ?

Thanks for all the quick responses, I am very impressed with this site.

My wife and I both hold US passports.  I play poker on the internet for a living, and have for 9 years.  Recent legislation has made the future of my career in the states unreliable. 

I would have to continue my work wherever I ended up as well as open a bank account there as well.  Moving money through US banks is almost impossible at this point.

I'm still very confused after reading all of this. 

It sounds like I won't be able to get residency unless I can show that I have outside income that won't require doing any work while I am there?  But I can get a work permit and work for someone else?

I assume I would need a job offer before I applied then?  Would I be able to work something minimal and quietly do my real job on the side?

Are there any other countries (preferably EU) that this would be an easier process?

Hi sla,

Thanks for the praise.

You' ve got it right about residency and outside income.

You would have to find a company willing to offer you a job and apply for the work permit for you. Basically a position that can't be filled by a Maltese or EU citizen. That is the problem!
But there are many Igaming companies in Malta. With your expertise you should have good chances unless there is a collision of interest there!

The procedure is just about the same in all EU countries. I can't speak for non-EU countries.

Without residency you can't get an ID card and without an ID card you can't open a bank account and you can't stay in the EU for more than 3 months.

Another question would be taxes -)))

Maybe georgeingozo has a good suggestion.

Regards
Ricky

I've pm'd sla a link to another website that should help

Does anybody know when and how will the new PRP cases be starting?
We are a bunch of Iranians waiting desperately to come to Malta and start our retirement in this quiet environment.

I dont think there is a date set as of yet, the information comes out unexpectadly, in fact we and the locals were all surprised when the scheme was cancelled to begin with.

There was no warning at all that it was to be cancelled.

Thanks a lot.
I have heard through my lawyer that the people who have the residence permit request accepted are allowed to travel to Malta and get their passports stamped but we have to wait for the whole system to open again.

georgeingozo wrote:

I've pm'd sla a link to another website that should help

hi
i'm in a similar situation as Sla, as i was thinking of moving to Malta to continue playing poker... would you mind PMing the link?
thanks
asdf

sent

As an American who tried to live in Malta, with a husband who has a great income from an international offshore company source. I can just tell you...good luck. We are in Cyprus and it is much easier here. I would prefer Malta, but Cyprus is a good second choice. Malta is great but almost impossible to get residency because no one works from home and is free right and we are considered that dreaded "third country national" you know as if we come from the third world? Can't tax us, don't want us. We would even pay tax but, they still don't want us. Honestly I don't think they want anyone.
We are looking now to find other expats to share time in various locations, 3 months here, 3 months there to stay within all the Schengen (sp?) rules and be free from all the govt BS while at the same time having a decent place to land in each place. Cyprus will give you a retirement residency if you have a large enough bank account.They also don't care how long we stay without one. We have been here 5 months as tourists!You may not get that luxury in Malta because of the 3 month rule of Schengen

  Welcome to your new life offshore! We have been P.T's for over 2 years now so if you need any advice...It's  nice to see there are more of us wanting our freedom:o)

Health Insurance is MUCH cheaper over here by the way, don't buy it from the states.

from one expatriated american to another Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004 so you still fall under the dreaded Schlengan visa laws....   so be careful ofer there.

Wow Thanks for the info.
It looks like Malta will be the loser waiting for the change of rules, since people like me will not hold their breath and Money for too long.
I was thinking of Turkey or Seychelles but Cyprus is a great choice too.
Hope we get to make our own retired happy community.

Third country national means non-EU, not third world - anyway, whats wrong with being considered from the third world ?

Once the PR mess is sorted out, I'm sure you will be welcomed as a resident on that basis. Was PR the option you were considering, or were you wanting to work here ? I wasn't sure what you meant by "because no one works from home", whether that was your aim - as it happens, many people work from homw in Malta.

mgme wrote:

Cyprus will give you a retirement residency if you have a large enough bank account..

So did Malta until this year, and will again soon

Mgme...   I have to tell you that is teh stranges first posting I have seen since I have been on this site...  You arte the only one I know who opens with a rant.   It takes most of us at least a month before we do that. 

Also if you live in Cyprus why are you ranting on a malta site?

Just currious.

Chad

Hi mgme,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your interesting points concerning the differences in residency law. As it is highly unlikely that Cyprus will become part of the Schengen area while they still have their own internal border ,border regulations should not change in the near future.

How long can you stay in Cyprus with a tourist visa ?

Staying ' 3 months here and 3 months there ' in the Schengen area is not exactly what is allowed as the arrangement is '3 months out of every 6 months'.

I'm glad you found a nice place to live. Friends of ours moved from Malta to Cyprus too but for other reasons and seem to be very happy there.

Regards
Ricky

mgme wrote:

As an American who tried to live in Malta, with a husband

do either of you hold EU passports ?

RICKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Welcome back !

Hi Chad,

Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004 and has the Euro but it is not a member of the Schengen area and doesn't have to be.

Just like the UK is a member of the EU but is not part of the Schengen area.

How are you doing anyway? Lets get together soon as I'm back again and recovering from my imported flu-)))

Regards
Ricky

I have resided in Malta for just over 5 years, holding a british passport, Maltese i/d card and have a maltese bank account. as a pensioner, I am self sufficient. However, with the new e-Residence card coming into effect, I realise I have never obtained a temporary residence permit. Will this effect me when I apply for new car.

ref my last    meant to say when applying for new card

i doubt it - its a fresh application anyway so you should be ok... NB there are thousands of people in the same boat and i doubt they can or will do much about it...