Trying to Get My Work Permit Again in Malta

                  It’s My Permit and I can

                         Cry if I Want to..

                                                                                                  

 

Wow, and I thought it was bad the first time.

I actually laid my head down on the desk of an ETC representative and started to cry today.

The Order of Events:

1. Good news: my EFL school wants to hire me again to teach in March.

2. I call up the ETC (the Employment and Training Corporation of Malta) that determines who does and doesn’t work in Malta.  And for a non-EU, such as myself, that means who stays and doesn’t stay in Malta.  Someone at the ETC tells me that my employer—and I—have to fill out the 20 or so forms for an extension of employment—since I already worked at the school before.

3. I download the forms the person has sent me—and literally, the only difference between the original permit application and the extension for a permit—is the word Extension on the application.  Everything else is the same. And that in itself is ridiculous because it’s filling the exact same info as before—which is already in the file at the ETC.

4. I bring the whole load of crap to my boss, and she and I spend almost an hour redoing a whole application procedure that differs in only one word.

5. I bring it to the ETC this morning (Thursday).  It takes an hour to get there (Mr. S. comes with me) on two buses which are so bumpy that I almost have a miscarriage—and I’m too old to even be pregnant.

5. We get to the ETC building and everything has changed from before—”new” waiting room and  procedure; new director (my man Tony who knew me is no longer there); a sign that says that the charge for only non-EU’s had doubled now up to 150 Euros for the non-refundable application fee and 80 Euros for the permit pick-up fee.

5. And, believe it or not, the toilet situation has changed.  This time there’s no light in the bathroom—which is actually a good thing because the toilet doesn’t flush and this way you can’t see the deposits of about 30 former visits to the toilet.  

6. We wait for about an hour for our turn. Everyone is angry in the waiting room. Well, everyone except for Mr. S. who gets to enjoy his latest obsession—tracking and killing flies.  He says if Obama can do it—so can he.

7. I’m called in. The ETC person takes a look at my application and all my supporting materials—and says it’s all wrong because I need to file a NEW application—not an extension.  I have to go back to my boss and have all the papers redone, retyped, re-signed.  And—I need additional copies of things that I didn’t need the first time.  All this means that I have to get up, leave, go back on the killer bus, go back to my boss, redo everything and get up tomorrow morning and start the whole procedure again.

8. I protest and ask if we can cross out the word extension on the application since this is the only thing that’s really different.

9. She says no.

10. I ask why.

11. She says because those are the new rules.

12. This is the part where I put my head down on the desk and start to cry.  The ETC person asks me to stop or she’ll have to call over the manager. Mr. S. tries to calm me down by telling me to calm down.

13. It doesn’t work.

14. Mr. S. ignores a fly sitting in front of him and manages to get me out of the ETC and back onto the bus.  On that bus there are people swearing in about 10 languages about the ETC.

15. We rush to a meeting where there are two new expats I’m meeting (via the blog) who are all excited about living and working in Malta.

16. My boss feels sorry for me and doesn’t complain about redoing the application for the ETC.

The End.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the ETC adventure which starts, and hopefully, ends tomorrow.

P.S. I would like to say how much I enjoyed meeting new expats W and H today, and I hope I didn’t kill your dreams with my bad ETC mood. 

And H—thanks so much for the 10 Kit Kats. That was so sweet of you. I ate them all tonight. Please bring more the next time we meet.

 

Comments

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hi Eagle--no, the falcons are for me. And you know I dont drink. Tomorrow Mr. S. (who is leaving for three weeks for England and Germany on an afternoon flight) and I are headed for the third time to the ETC to try to get my permit. Each time they request more documents. Tomorrow I have to bring in a DNA sample to prove I have the XX chromosomes xxx Ilene

[Eagle]

Buy them a couple of falcons to smooth things over :))
I know you will get through this hang in there!!!

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Thanks, Willy. Youre making me laugh.  Ill get through this employment thing somehow.  Holland sounds like its having some problems, too!  Love, Ilene  BTW, Im still going to have a choc bar a day.

[Willy]

Oh dear,

Isn't there an (unemployed) Malteser friend who can help you with all those paperworks?
perhaps you can pay him or her with the chocolat bars you aren't allowed to eat any more...? Please Ilene, take good care of yourself!!! High cholesterol and stress don't mix very well. If you need a brake, come to Holland, our parliament broke down yesterday, the Dutch are leaving Afghanistan and the people who are supposed to rule our country are busy street fighting.The weather is very nice at the moment, snow and sun and the toilets are flushing!

Love, Willy

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Believe me, Mary, I wish I didnt have to talk about the toilets all the time! xxx Ilene

[Mary Bartolotta]

You and the toilets!! I can't believe there isn't another more inviting country with great weather and nice people plus better toilets. I don't think you could pay me enough to go through all that BS. Almost everything here now is done online-license renewals included. Be well and stay calm. Ask Mr. S. to help with that :-0.

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hi Sebastian--Im staying in Malta, inshallah.  I like the climate, the people (when theyre not driving), the water and the architecture.  I guess I have to pay with lots of paperwork. In fact, the only place where there isnt enough or any paperwork is in the toilets--Ilene

[sebastian]

If you want clear, easy to be followed and consistent rules come to Germany. I guess also the Nordic countries are the same. Of course you will have to pay with not that nice weather and less worm people. But you have the sun studios and alcohol as replacement. For "natural stuff" you should choose countries where bureaucracy is high. I guess the friendly people invented the paperwork just to see other people.

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Thanks so much, Lynda. So good to hear from you and hope youre all OK.  What happened to going to the UK?  Now I heard that my cholesterol is too high.  So now Ill have to cut down to one chocolate bar a day!  xxx Ilene

[Lynda]

Oh dear Ilene, this all sounds so unfair. What is the matter with these people, do they enjoy paper work or something. I thought the Spanish were bad. I hope you can keep yourself going with lots of chocolate for energy. Nice to hear Mr S has found a hobby :-) We are still dealing with floods here in Spain.
Lots of love and positive vibes x