Info

Hi Alemarti,

being Italian will make many things easier but will not give you free state health insurance in Malta.EU countries grant each others citizens the same health coverage only if there is an existing coverage in the homeland.That is , if you are covered by an health insurance in Italy this company will provide you with an EU health insurance card that can be presented in Malta for free treatment.

When you work in Malta and pay National insurance you will also be covered.

Car registration tax depends on the car.You can check the tax online at https://secure2.gov.mt/vehicleregistration/home
If you are bringing a car from the US check the cost first - it might not be worthwhile unless your employer is paying for the move.

Imported cars have to be registered within a week and can be driven for 6 months without paying registration tax.Then the problems start!From what I've heard it does not take very long and your car will be collected and confiscated if the tax hasn't been paid and you are driving with foreign plates.

Car insurance depends on your driving history and car.It will help if you have details of your previous insurance contracts from the US or Italy.

It should be a lot cheaper than in many other European countries.

Public schools in Malta teach in Maltese.I don't know if they offer special Maltese courses for foreign kids so it might be a bit difficult.

Regards
Ricky

Thank you very much for your reply, Ricky. Fortunately we are planning to buy a car in Malta and our driving records are immaculate, both in the US and in Italy. Our only problem now is the language for my daughter, but we were already aware of the fact that we must take classes to learn Maltese (we start as soon as we arrive). Fortunately we also have the European health insurance cards, but of course we will pay the national tax as soon as we start working. Thanks again.
alemarti

Hello again. I forgot to ask another important question: in which town would you move to in Malta if you had children? I mean the safest and with the best schools? Is it true that church schools are free and they teach in English? I am very confused about the school system, and which "private" schools are available without paying a lot of money.
thanks again

Hi,
Church schools are co-funded by the state and by the Church and are free of charge but are they really ? There was a recent article in the 'Maltatoday' asking....

“Are Church schools in Malta completely free? Ask any parent in Malta who sends his or her children to a Church school and they will give the correct answer. Children in Church schools have to pay for their books year-in, year-out. Parents are encouraged to give donations, as Church schools are to make sure their schools offer the best facilities including laboratories, etc. The children in Church schools have to pay hefty fees for transport. So, let's face it. Church schools are not exactly free of charge."

I will try and find out if all Church schools teach in English- private schools do.

You have to apply by filling out a form and then the placement goes by ballot,preference and a few other rules.So I'm not sure if you can really get the Church school you want.

You can choose a private school by appying directly to the school you want.They collect the children by bus(against a fee of course).

So with the school bus system in Malta you don't really have to live near the school.

Where to live with school children? That is a difficult one. Are you free to live anywhere in Malta yourself? How old are the children ? What are their interests? All towns are safe.

I'll find out if there is a 'ranking' of best schools.

Regards
Ricky

You are a great source of info. As per the Catholic schools, I have attended elementary schools at the Suore Orsoline (nuns), so I know how demanding they can be. Here in the US public schools are free of charge, but then they ask for volunteer hours, donations of any kind, and so on...so this does not sound new to me. I am glad to hear that all towns are pretty safe in Malta. My daughter will be 13 in August and she takes guitar lessons, my son turns five in ten days, and he wants to take tennis lessons (we will see how expensive they are) so I guess I should be closer to where these activities are taught. I am very excited about the move, and as long as my children are fine, safe and happy, I am very, very happy. Thanks again for your time and patience.
bye

Thanks for your kind words.

One of our best friends happens to be a private school teacher at San Andrea so I have a great source of info too.

She doesn't know of any ranking list of schools but considers her school the best in Malta! That might be biased a bit but it certainly is a very good school.There was also a recent survey published in a newspaper showing both Church schools and private schools producing much better results than public schools.

Regards
Ricky

Hello, re. car registration tax, have a look at the following article, re. possible exemptions for people importing their vehicle into Malta: http://anchor.com.mt/news/?article=migr … mport-duty

thanks guys. As for the school, since we are moving by the middle of June, I guess we have all summer to make a little research in person, while we take Maltese lessons. For the car, I have no intention to bring my car with me:too expensive and the drive is on the other side (that and the new language promise to be very funny). thanks and good night

FYI on Car Insurance - you need to prove so many years No Claims Discount (NCD), otherwise your premiums will be very expensive. We may have been unlucky, but we had a LOT of trouble getting proof of those no claims from our US Car Insurance company (Progressive). Progressive were hard to get hold of and I needed a Fax from them stating how many years NCD I had - but the US Insurance companies don't work in quite the same way and the best they could do was provide a Letter Of Experience (LOE), which details any claims...so it amounts to the same thing, but is a little different. Then the following happened:
Insurance company A wouldn't accept a fax or email of the LOE - they needed an original, which of course took time to receive by airmail;
Insurance Company B were haoppy with a scanned email or fax, but wouldn't give e full NCD because of a windshield claim - this was OK with Company A.

So, in short - my advice is to get a letter from your US Car Insurance company detaliing your claim history and then shop around...good luck!

Schools - our kids, 13 (daughter) and 8 (son), moved here from the US School system, they are at San Anton (literally next door to San Andrea). They have both had quite a lot of adjustment to make. They have been there for just over a month now and there have been some issues...maybe peculiar to San Anton, but I think more to the differences between the US and the Malta education systems and culture.

Our choice came down to San Anton or Chiswick House/St Martin's...but everyone has their own views.

Malta is a small island so you could live anywhere and send your kids to any school, escpecially as all the private schools use busing services, but your kids may be on the bus for a long time. We chose not to use the bus sevice (cost and a bit scary!) so we live in Naxxar quite close to San Anton...again all personal choices.

There is a US style school too, Verdala International School - they didn't have an opening for our daughter in January anyway and are about 3 times as expensive as San Anton, but it may be an option for you...a co-workers kids both go there and they are all very happy with their choice.

There is a lot of money to spend on the private schools up-front...the application fees, the bond (returnable when your youngest child leaves the school at 16) and the uniform costs.

Tim

Thanks Tim. I already called my US insurance company and they are willing to help me:I just have to call them back about a month before we leave, so that they have several days to work on it.  I also called our two banks and both of them will provide a reference letter for any bank overseas. The only problem I have is the school for my daughter. I have no idea how much the private schools charge (I know Verdala charges at least 700,00 E. per month, which is tooooo expensive). I do not even know the budget we will be able to work with, but still we have the whole summer to figure things out. It is great to have many info ahead of time, so that the process is not that bad. Thanks again.

Hi,

you should consider setting up a Maltese bank account in advance of arriving in Malta , for example through HSBC International in the USA.It will make things a lot easier on arrival and you can start it online.

https://www.hsbc.com.mt/1/2/PERSONAL/in … d-services

See:
http://www.an-american-in-malta.com/ban … ances.html

for a personal report.

Ricky

I second the use of HSBC and getting it set-up ahead of time from your home coutnry, but I think you may need an HSBC Premier a/c in the USA first...which requires certain conditions to be met. I did it this way (actualy HSBC Premier in the UK), and it still took a couple of weeks for the account to actually be verified and opened once we arrived in Malta, despite what the HSBC Website makes you think! I can certainly recommend Sandie Pace at the HSBC Premier office in Valetta - she helped enormously, but HSBC Malta Head Office still needed to verify everything...hence the week or so lag.

FYI - we had a letter from our US Bank that we had banked with for years, US Bancorp, but that didn't help at all! HSBC Malta (and probably any Malta bank) have a certain protocol they follow when verifying status with other banks and it involves an official request from them to your bank and an official response from that bank...which works well for UK banks and maybe other European banks (except they charge a fee for the privilege of saying your a good customer!), but not at all for US banks, in our experience...as they simply don't follow the same protocols....hence why we went the HSBC Premier route.

Tim

Schools - we'd be happy to share our experiences...my wife, Chris, has most of the details, but she's not on this forum, so you can either ask specific questions on the forum or I can put you in touch with her...but I don't want to put her email in the forum area in case she ends up getting a lot of spam, so I sent you a message, don't know if you got it though.

San Anton is €1500 per family "contribution" to the Parents Foundation which you get back when your youngest child that you send there graduates - a long time in your case! There is a per year option of €400 for up to 3 years at which point you have to switch to the "contribution" - this amount is non-refundable, and is aimed at people like expats who may not be staying in Malta permanently...we chose this option for this year just to keep our options open.

Per term the Senior sector is about €1700 and the Junior sector is about €850.

Also, we spent about €400 (total for both kids) on uniforms.
Also, we spent about €300 (total for both kids) on books and supplies.
Also, the transportation (which we don't use) is something like €500 per term for 2 kids - this is not a San Anton fee, but directly to the transportation company and would apply whichever school you choose, if you want to use the transportation services.

Tim

Hi Tim,

another very good info !

Actually it does work very well from the US without having to take the Premier account! You can get the 'normal' account in advance too! My US friend Ilene did it that way.It takes a few months though.The difference is the amount of money you have to hold in the account !

It needs a bit of pushing and a few follow up phone calls to keep things going but you arrive in Malta with a debit card , a bank account and cheques.

Regards
Ricky

PS How about getting together for a beer or coffee sometime?

Hi guys, I just fineshed talking to an international rep at the HSBC here in the US, and he assured me that I can apply from here and it takes approx. 5 business days. If you do not request a premiere account, there is a $200.00 fee (which I am willing to pay).  The only problem is that they need an address in Malta, which I do not have so far. We will see.

As per the school, the tuition at San Anton is very reasonable, but I supposed that the main language is Maltese, right? Are the children retained to allow them to catch up with the language, or are they placed in a special program to allow them to learn Maltese while they go? At this point, this is the only issue I am confused about. Thanks a lot again for your precious info. And yes, we can all meet for a coffee (I don't drink beer) as soon as we settle in Malta.
thank you!!

Good news on the HSBC front - I hope it works out for you...I would plan on a few hiccups at the Malta end though...just my experience.

San Anton - they teach in English...that's why my kids go there! They have Maltese as a subject, by law, but my 13 yo daughter is allowed to skip it because she would have been so far behind, but my 8 yo son takes it and seems to be getting on quite well even after only a month or so...at least he corrects my pronunciation of place names and signs all the time, so I assume he knows what he's talking about! He's in just the regular lesson, not a catch-up class or anything. All the private schools - San Anton, San Andrea, St Martin etc teach in English. It would be up to you to discuss with the school you choose whether or not your kids took Maltese lessons - we found the scools we were talking to (San Anton and St Martins was our shortlist) very accommodating about that, and I'm sure most of the others would be the same too.

Tim

We would be happy to go for a coffee when you're over.

Ricky, let's go out for a beer - when/where were you thinking? I don't want to hijack this thread with the details - you can email me tim_shipp @ h o t m a i l dot com or send me a PM I suppose.

Tim, you really made my day with the info about the language!! My son is almost five (next week) so he will be able to attend all the lessons, while my daughter would be in the same situation as yours. We are planning to take Maltese classes anyway, (if my old brains support me). Being Italian I am totally aware about problems with burocracy (it is terrible in Italy!!!), so we are prepared to many headaches. My husband and I will be very glad to meet you guys as soon as we get there, and he reminded me that he likes a beer every now and then.
Thanks again!!!

Tim, can I ask you what made you guys choose San Anton versus St. Martin's? They both seem very nice and everything. Looking at the web sites, I found out that St. Martins has a bilingual program for Italian students, which is exactly what I am aiming for. The last 4 four years have been tough for me, since I had to force my daughter to speak Italian at least at home, so that she did not forget it, and I had to teach it to my son, who was only 11 months old when we moved to the States. Thank you again. Ciao

Hi alemarti,

It was a tough choice, esp. as our daughter much preferred the uniform at St. Martins over San Anton - being raised in the US the whole concept of having to wear a uniform made her upset anyway, so we weren't very popular for a while when we chose San Anton!

The main reasons were:
1. At the time we were also looking for somewhere to live (rent) and we paired up schools with apartments, and the San Anton/Naxxar pairing was a bit more attractive to us than St Martins/Sliema. We were very new to the island at the time and we were working on a deadline, with more time/knowledge we may have chosen differently...though we are happy with our current choices.
2. The costs involved at Chiswick House/St Martins were higher if I recall correctly - perhaps not much spread over the year, but again we were on a deadline and a budget.
3. Serendipity - by pure chance the Headmistress at San Anton is the mother of a co-worker of mine, and the Head Counselor at San Anton is the only other person I knew in Malta - he is a fellow West Ham United football supporter (hence my "handle")and when I knew we were moving to Malta I introduced myself to him on a West Ham fan forum - he was incredibly helpful and made our move so much easier, even though we had never met other than through an online forum...now we have met we are firm friends too. Both he and San Anton headmistress have been very sympathetic to the difficulties our kids have faced entering a new school system/culture. The San Anton headmistress was raised in the US herself and so she is well attuned to the differences between the school systems and difficulties assimilating.

But, if St Martin's is your final choice, I think it will be great too - we were very impressed with the Registrar there who showed us around, and the whole set-up there.

Tim

Thanks, Tim. If the tuitions are not much higher than San Anton, I think we will go with St. Martins, even if the last decision will be made after we actually see the schools and talk with the registras. We are living in South West Florida and most of the schools here impose uniforms, so both my children are used to it (even if my daughter hates them!!). I am pro uniforms for various reasons, so I am very happy about it. People who have been to Malta keep telling us that everything is very close so can virtually live everywhere in the island and still be close to everything. But if it is true that it is very similar to Sicily (where we are originally from), than I see already a lot of traffic, therefore, I prefer living close to what is important to us.
thanks
Michela (pronounced Mekala)

Hi Michela,

Everywhere is close, but you are right the traffic can be bad at rush hour getting to/from anywhere near Valletta - it may factor a little into your decisions. Glad to hear the uniforms are not an issue - I am in favour of them too, but in Minnesota it was not the norm hence the my daughters OMG!

Good luck with your choice and move - let us know how you get on and when you're over we can all meet up for a coffee.

Tim

Hi Tim,
I need to bother you again. The total school tuitions per year for both children at San Anton should be Euros 5.100,00, correct? What is the payment method? Do they allow installments? What about the "contribution"? Do they want the whole amount at registration, or what? I have sent a couple of emails to both schools, San Anton and St. Martins, but so far no word from them. Thanks for your patience.
Michela

I'll check with my wife and get back to you - she dealt with the schools situation mostly. I do know the schools are in the middle of exams and also today and tomorrow have a mid-term break, so maybe that's why they are not responding to emails.

Tim

Hi Michela,

Here's my wife's reply - some may be repetition from my earlier post:
----------------------------------------------------------

Here's the info I have on fees for San Anton:
€35/child non-refundable registration fee at time of registration

€1500 Parents Foundation contribution to be paid w/in one month of registration (this is per family and is a one time payment that you receive back after the last child has graduated or turned 16 if they leave San Anton b4 finishing at 16) OR

€400/year for 1st 3 years - non-refundable.  Good if you're not sure you're going to be there until the end of their school years OR to help defray all the costs in the beginning.  However, it does not get added toward the €1500 which you will have to pay in the 3rd year regardless.

Tuition is broken down by age.  We pay:
Junior Sector 7-10yr olds is €842/term
Senior Sector 11-16yr olds is €1145/term

The term fees must be paid within the first couple weeks of the term. 

Textbooks and uniforms are also extra and it depends on what you buy and for what grades and how many kids.  But, I can always break it down more if needed/wanted.

Transportation if used is €148/term for grades 2-7 and €117/term for grades 8-12.  You do NOT get a break for siblings so far as I can tell.

Don't know if you can pay in any more installments than that (like monthly for instance) but San Anton does seem to be flexible - it doesn't hurt to ask!!  It is a lot of money to have to pay out all at once when you start!

As far as getting in touch with the schools via e-mail, I too had problems with them responding after the first e-mail I sent.  I send a second one and addressed it to two individuals instead of one and made a point of saying it was my second attempt at contacting them.  That got their attention and from then on all was fine.  This was the same for St.Martins/Chiswick House.

Tm,thanks a lot to you and your wife. Your reply was very helpful. We are very confused because we do not really know where we will be working at, so it is difficult to figure out both school and housing. I read about St. Michael foundation I believe in Gzira and Newark college in Sliema. Any info about those two? What do your children do tipically? I mean, any park, anything to do for children, or only beaches in summer time? My almost 5 years old boy is VERY ACTIVE, so I really need to make him tired, otherwise I am in trouble. Thanks always for your precious help, we REALLY appreciate it.
bye
Michela

Hi Michela,

We went through the same emotions! We found it easier to think of the schools and housing in pairs - but maybe that was just us...we came over for a week before Christmas and gave ourselves that week to find accommodation and a school so that it was all set for the start of term and my job on Jan 4th, so we had school visits planned each morning and an Realtor driving us around each afternoon...it wasn't very relaxing!

St. Michael and Newark were also on our list. However, as much as I am happy to talk about San Anton and St. Martins/Chiswick because they made our shortlist, I don't want to talk much about the others that didn't because I don't want to influence you with our subjective opinion, esp. in a public forum....if you want to know more send me an email/PM.

As for the kids, we haven't really been here long enough to get them involved in many activities and it is still "winter" so there may not be as much going on right now anyway. However, our 13 yo daughter has been out with her new friends to Paceville - the entertainment/nightclub centre - not a late night though!, but that is where the teens go. Our 8 yo son has had a couple of "play dates" with new friends from school and is going to his first birthday party here next week. Also there are football (soccer!) teams and other after school activities like swimming, stagecoach (acting) etc. Others on the forum who have been here longer may have more to add...I'm going on too long anyway!

Hi
I do have question about ''term'':

''Tuition is broken down by age.  We pay:
Junior Sector 7-10yr olds is €842/term
Senior Sector 11-16yr olds is €1145/term''

Is a ''term'' a whole school year? - or just semester /half of the school year/ ?

Thx.

Hi,

a school year has 3 terms.
1 st term until Christmas
2nd term until beginning of April
3 rd term until the summer holidays

Ricky

Hi

I know that at Chiswick House is different /lower/ tuition for kids from EU - how about San Anton? or other schools?

Thx.

I was not aware that was the case with Chiswick House - we met with them before choosing a school for our kids and it didn't come up (as far as I recall).

San Anton - Not that I am aware of - there is an "expats" option regarding the Parents Foundation Contribution - rather than pay the full, refundable (when your last child leaves the school) amount, expats can opt to pay an annual (non-refundable) fee for up to 3 years...maybe that's what you are thinking about at Chiswick - that's not the Term Fees though.

Tim

I thought one term was a semester. How many months a school year lasts in Malta? How can they have 3 terms? When does Summer break start? Thanks.
Michela