Hi, sorry for the length of the this but I'm just trying to get a few things clear in my mind.
We have just moved to Malta. I am half-Maltese (born in the UK), husband is Italian.
We are renting at first, and have found a lovely landlord who pointed out to us the our utility bills would be less if we got properly registered with ARMS.
These are my questions:
1. I understand that to have the bills in our own name requires a deposit, and would also be a bit of a hassle for the landlord when we leave and he wants to change it back. Is it enough, to get the residency rate, if we just inform ARMS, with our landlord's backing (he said he will endorse this), that we are residents (when we get our residency cards)?
2. My husband is working in Malta. I have just returned to London to tie up loose ends. I will return to Malta in July. When my husband applies for his residency card, can he also do so for me and our son, or do we need to be there? Would it help if we sent over documents, or do we need to be there in person? I see that there are forms for families of people working in Malta, but can they be filled out on our behalf or do we need to wait until we are there?
3. I am entitled to Maltese citizenship and am considering applying for it - would it be quicker for me to do this, for residency/lower utility bills reasons than to apply for the residency/ID card? From what I understand the whole thing is a bit of a mess at the moment and could take months. Would it be quicker and easier for me to go to a lawyer and take advice on citizenship?
4. Our landlord told us that the more people we have registered as being residents the lower our bills will be. Can we get our son residency, even though he is only 2? Even if we could, would that still count, in terms of consumers on bills?
Any advice would be much appreciated