Trying to Work in Malta

Expat Living in Malta

                    Bad Mood in Malta

               Foiled again by the ETC

 

Can you believe it?  A little thing like being rejected again by the ETC for a permit to teach in Malta--after being told it was possible by the Maltese Embassy in NYC, and after spending a lot of money being trained to teach here--has ruined my day.

 

I suppose not being able to find out the reason why--except for the obvious that I'm a non-EU person--is adding to my bad mood.  Suddenly I feel like a pariah now--people aren't returning my phone calls or emails. And EFL schools that were enthusiastic last week about applying for me (Plan B) are now having doubts because they don't want to go through all the paperwork if there isn't a good chance of the permit coming through.  And, I've been told--they really need me in the summer and it's already unlikely that the ETC will come through with a permit in time for the summer season--even if it does get approved. 

 

Right now the Susan Boyle video doesn't even help.

 

I think the name of this blog will soon be changed to: An-American-Out-of Malta.com. Not because I want to go--but the ETC won't let me stay. Without a work permit, I can't get residency,  And without residency, I have to leave Malta every three months and go to basically a non-EU nation (and also including England) and come back to renew the visa.

 

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive and keeping your fingers crossed for me that the permit would come through.

 

Any advice/comments are welcome. 

Comments

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Thanks, Mary. I'm not giving up. "They" will give up before I do.

[Mary Bartolotta]

Wish I had a helpful idea, but, of course, I don't. I just hope it works out for you. So inconvenient to have to leave every 3 months. In the US, one has to leave every 6 months unless guaranteed a job by someone. Keep plugging. Mary

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Lynda, I'm not going to leave Malta--only to get a new visa (which is every three months) and to see my kids and if there's an emergency with my family--G-d forbid. I really love it here. Thanks for wracking your brains. Sending you an email about something....xxxxx Ilene

[Lynda Adlington]

Hi Ilene, We are racking our brains and contacts to help in some way. How much time have you got before you have to make a decision on whether you have to leave Malta G-d forbid

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Ilene again here. I'd also like to add that I have only great admiration for the many Maltese people who have been--and are--trying to help me in this matter. No government cares about one foreign individual. And as we know, the US has not welcomed Europeans with open arms, such as with visas, etc. (They do seem to have taken a liking to illegal immigrants, though.) But from people I know, it is getting a little easier for Europeans to get a green card to work in the US. I even know a Maltese woman who has her own business back from the town I left--Dover, NH. So....

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hi Mr. S--thanks for your very frank and politically savvy comment. And, as always, thanks for being Mr. Support---Ilene

[Mr.S]

Hi Ilene ,
I, too, am very disappointed by this turn of events. Just the other day, I was reading the praise by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg for the United States for taking a few hundred immigrants from Malta as a humanitarian effort and gesture of friendship towards Malta. No other EU country has shown a similar action. This must be a slap-in-the face for every American in Malta expecting a bit of fair treatment from the Maltese authorities. Maybe it's too much to expect!

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hi Willy--thanks. But it doesn't matter what school it is in Malta--it has to do with the WORK permit that only the Maltese government can issue. The permit to teach English in Malta is a totally different thing and process--and that shouldn't be a problem--G-d Willing. I've already applied for that--and that should be coming....xxx Ilene

[Willy]

Hi Ilene,
Try to get a working permit from the EC in Cambridge, they have their Maltese school in Sliema, I told you about it. Have you already contacted the EC in Sliema?

Willy