[lg policy] Malta: New visa policy aims to give non-EU students access to labour market

[Harold Schiffman]

 New visa policy aims to give non-EU students access to labour market

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
28 March 2018, 8:00pm
[image: Stock photo (Source: Shutterstock)]
Stock photo (Source: Shutterstock)
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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.

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.

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.

The new policy will moreover give non-EU students access to the Maltese job
market, and will encourage them to start a career locally.

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.

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.

“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.

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.”

It would also improve Malta’s competitiveness as an education jurisdiction,
the ministry highlighted.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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