Traveling with non eu spouse

Our eResidence cards took exactly 8 weeks so you may still get them in time.
If you don't it would not stop you travelling as it is not a travel document and you still need to use your passport when travelling outside Schengen area. Indeed, we have had to show our passport when leaving Malta when travelling within the area although not in Germany when returning.
Your wife's problem may arise when returning through the non Schengen arrivals hall on return but the blue receipt is meant to do everything the actual card can do.
Check with the staff in the Identity Malta office in Victoria to get advice and see if they can chase up your new cards.

Thank you!

I'm telling you as a non-eu person myself, she will need that ID card to re-enter the country. Identity Malta will inform you that the blue piece of paper is insufficient and clearly (at least used to) on it that "THIS IS NOT A TRAVEL DOCUMENT".

That being said, as you were only changing your address, you should get the ID in time, but that is not a guarantee.

JV321 wrote:

I'm telling you as a non-eu person myself, she will need that ID card to re-enter the country. Identity Malta will inform you that the blue piece of paper is insufficient and clearly (at least used to) on it that "THIS IS NOT A TRAVEL DOCUMENT".

That being said, as you were only changing your address, you should get the ID in time, but that is not a guarantee.

The eResidence card itself is not a travel document either and the blue receipt will do anything the card will do!  ( only the Maltese ID card acts as a travel document and that is only issued to those with Maltese Citizenship)
It is used on re entry to Malta as a means of confirming the reason you are entering the country, ie. that you live here as opposed to being a tourist or on business. Which I suggested might be the case in my previous reply!
I have renewed my card 4 times now and of the last two occasions the change of address took 9 weeks and the renewal upon expiry date took 8 weeks. Both in Victoria. Last one in October this year.

F0xgl0ve wrote:

The eResidence card itself is not a travel document either and the blue receipt will do anything the card will do!

The residency card IS a travel document. See https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/t … dex_en.htm

The receipt for the application for the card is NOT a travel document, as stated on the receipt and verbally instructed by staff at Identity Malta.

The residency card IS NOT A travel document, the Maltese ID card is.

Sorry but you are wrong, the eResidence card is not a travel document. The information stored on the chip is just your residency documentation and whilst it has an ID number on the back it is not a Maltese ID.
The Maltese ID card is different in that it has biometric information stored on it in order to enable it to be used in much the same way as a passport which also has  biometric info on it!

The site didn't display my official EU link, so here's the relevant quote:

Visa exemptions

Your non-EU spouse, (grand) children or (grand) parents do not need to get a visa from the country they are travelling to if:

    They have a residence card as an EU family member, issued under EU rules by any EU country (except the country you are a national of), and they are travelling together with you or travelling to join you in another EU country. The residence card should clearly state that the holder is a family member of an EU national.

or

    They have a national residence permit or visa from another country in the border-free Schengen area and the country they are travelling to also belongs to that area.


The residence card therefore appears to be a document required for re-entry to the Schengen zone.

The Maltese residency card is not a travel document.

You need 2 things. A travel document and a visa. Generally visas are stamped into your passport so it fulfils both roles

A eresidence card is a visa though proving you live and can travel in schengen area but it on its own is not a travel document. The combo of a valid travel document and eresidency card is needed.

We might have different definitions of travel document.

Another example from the Air Malta website: "if you hold a residence permit from a Schengen country, it is considered equivalent to a Visa document within the Schengen zone. However, to visit non-Schengen countries, you may need a Visa issued by that country. "

imom wrote:

We might have different definitions of travel document.

Another example from the Air Malta website: "if you hold a residence permit from a Schengen country, it is considered equivalent to a Visa document within the Schengen zone. However, to visit non-Schengen countries, you may need a Visa issued by that country. "

Yes. A Visa. Proving you can go there. It does not prove your eligibility for traveling like a passport. You need both.