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<h1>New visa policy aims to give non-EU students access to labour market</h1>
<h2><p>Study visa policy will allow access to Maltese labour
market to students coming from outside the EU and to ensure only bona
fide students are issued a visa to come to Malta</p></h2>
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<span class="gmail-date">28 March 2018, 8:00pm</span>
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<p>A new student visa policy, aimed at making it easier
for third-country nationals to come to Malta to study, by, amongst other
measures, opening up the country’s labour market to them, has been
launched.
</p><p>The education ministry said that private operators in the
education have been finding it difficult to attract students from
non-European Union countries, due to Malta’s limited consular
representation, with the current consular agreement set-up not making it
convenient and efficient for TCNs - who are usually either higher
education students pursuing a course at Malta Qualifications Framework
Level 5, or English language students - to come to Malta to study.
</p><p>To solve this issue, the new policy will change the requirement
for non-EU English language students to obtain a residence permit,
replacing this with a national visa instead, which will be used to
extend the students’ original authorisation to stay in Malta. A
residence permit will only be required if their stay in Malta is going
to exceed a year.
</p><p>The new policy will moreover give non-EU students access to the
Maltese job market, and will encourage them to start a career locally.
</p><p>It will make it easier for students intending on coming to Malta,
who do not have a Maltese consular mission or visa office in their
country, by giving them the opportunity to submit a visa application
without needing to present themselves in person, and making more
efficient use of External Service Providers present in the TCNs’
countries.
</p><p>Through the policy, the government also intends to ensure that
only bona fide students are issued with a visa allowing them to travel
to Malta, by placing a requirement on the education ministry, Identity
Malta, and the police to keep a system of data sharing on students and
educational institutions.
</p><p>“TCNs pursuing a full-time course (exceeding 90 calendar days)
leading to a higher education qualification recognised by MQRIC may take
up employment for a maximum period of 20 hours per week, starting from
their first year of studies. Moreover, TCNs who obtain a higher
education qualification in Malta recognised by the MQRIC may extend
their stay in Malta by six months. The new arrangements will make it
possible for the country to retain the talent of highly skilled
third-country nationals,” the education ministry said.
</p><p>The ministry said the policy would address the current situation
which “may be harming Malta’s potential in the education sector and
prejudicing the significant investment of educational establishments in
the Maltese economy”, and “is also limiting the efforts of these
institutions to promote the country as a competitive education
jurisdiction within the EU.”
</p><p>It would also improve Malta’s competitiveness as an education jurisdiction, the ministry highlighted.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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