Residence permit for Canadian - need advice

You do not say what your work is.
If you work via internet from Malta then perhaps to them you are (obviously) employed?

redmik wrote:

You do not say what your work is.
If you work via internet from Malta then perhaps to them you are (obviously) employed?

redmik, I am working for a Canadian company but I have working arrangements that I can basically "work from home". My employer knows, of course, about my whereabouts but my presence in the office is not required. Plus, I travel a lot for work. Well, what I can not understand is - does my employer have to be Maltese company? There is nothing like that in the requirements. Moreover, if I am employed by local company, I would need a work permit and a whole set of different documents.

Well, I am employed and I supplied proof of employment in the application package - the clerk who accepted the documents first said "it was more than enough" to get the permit.

Others will probably be better placed to advise but I would suspect that if you do not provide details of a Maltese employer or evidence of SSI payments etc then they have to put you in another category. I would also think that this is regarding entitlement to health services etc. The Maltese authorities are not often very good at managing issues that do not 'fit' their boxes.
Ricky, could help with this. I suggest you pm him in case he doesn't see this.

redmik, thank you. Unfortunately, I don't have a Maltese employer and all the social insurance payments are made in Canada. Health services - I applied for local health insurance (private company), so technically, I am not claiming entitlement to health services. I am paying for everything myself.

You are actually right about putting me in another category - the same clerk who accepted to file told me that they phoned the Director and she said I have to apply under global residence scheme. The Global Residence does not apply to me at all and the income and property thresholds are for higher-income individuals. Plus they want a 6K application fee and once again a different set of documents, which takes time to prepare.

redmik wrote:

Ricky, could help with this. I suggest you pm him in case he doesn't see this.

I will send him a message, thanks a lot.

Hi Julia,

I'm sorry I'm a bit late responding as I'm moving from Sliema to St. Julians at the moment.

For me it looks as if you are mixing self-employment and self-sufficiency. To be self-sufficient you are not allowed to work , especially not in Malta. And you are working in Malta as you are working from home in Malta.

And a TCN (Third Country National) is not allowed to be self-employed in Malta.

The solution would have been to apply for temporary residency but now that they know that you work in Malta even if for a foreign employer this will probably also be turned down. The quote probably referred to your salary! Which would have been enough except that you are not allowed to earn it!

Or originally to apply as self-sufficient and shown them enough funds in your bank account but no hint of working from home.

As you have already been turned down the way forward would be to appeal the decision but if your visa is set to expire you would have to talk to them whether they could grant you temporary residency in the meantime.

All together a difficult situation for which I can really offer a solution.

I wish you luck.
Ricky

Ricky, thank you for the reply. I didn't realize that self-sufficiency would create so many problems. It's a bit tricky to say I am "working" in Malta. Because technically the employer is Canadian and all the payments, taxes, etc. are made in Canada. Does physical presence in Malta create proof that I "work" here?

I travel a lot for work and I do the same "work" using a computer and internet in a hotel room, for example, in France or London, UK - does it mean that I am working illegally there? I highly doubt.

The CEA8 - URP - I saw the link on this forum and I am looking through these. From, well, common expat experience - does the Department follow these regulations if you quote them? Because I do have enough arguments in my favour, but if the Department does not normally listen I wonder if I should appeal using the regulations.

P.S. Good luck with the move.

Hi Julia,

no, the physical presence does not say that you are working in Malta! But the way I understand it is that you  yourself already told them that you work in Malta and are using a salary from a Canadian company to show that you have enough funds.
I'm not sure if it will work if you now say that you are not working in Malta after all and just show the necessary funds to be economically self-sufficient.

From my experience the department follows the regulations 100 % which is why they are giving you the trouble.

The residency as self-sufficient  is  granted at the discretion of the Director CES ie the person you are dealing with.

Cheers
Ricky