The Path to Malta

 

I'm working on two major things now to get to Malta--the health insurance issue and getting a bank account established in Malta. 

 

Regarding the health insurance: The forms for the private Maltese health insurance (I'm going with a European one called Atlas) are like writing college essays.  You don't have a list where you check off whether or not you have this or that.  You have to write about five different essays on why you've been to any doctor in the past five years.  And then you have to get references from the doctors you've seen.  (Imagine how easy that is).  And in the end, this is so Atlas makes sure that it doesn't cover you for any pre-existing conditions.  Several times you are warned in the application that if you lie about any pre-existing conditions, you will lose your coverage.  That's if you get it in the first place.

OK, now for the hard part of getting to Malta--the bank account.  I'm going for HSBC--Malta.   When I was in Malta investigating the bank situation, a bank manager in the Bank of Valletta (the first Maltese person I saw in a full suit), said that in order for a foreigner to open a bank account in Malta, you needed--more than anything--a reference letter on the bank's letterhead from your personal banker in America (or wherever you're coming from), vouching for you that you're a decent person and customer of the bank. 

 

So today I requested such a voucher from my personal banker in the Bank of America.  Guess what?  I don't have a personal banker in the BOA--even though there is a woman who has known me for the past five years.

 

In fact, no one from the BOA will personally vouch for you.  The only thing you get--after paying a fee of $10 per account--is a printed out computerized letter from your personal customer service department, stating your accounts, when you opened them and the average balance.  That's it.  Nothing about you as a person or a customer.

 

So now I'm thinking of asking one of my doctors--who has to write a letter anyway for the health insurance--to write a reference letter to the bank in Malta.

 

So what do you think?