It has been recently announced that Identity Malta would reduce the application time of a single work permit by weeks, by allowing foreign workers to start working (on a temporary basis) as soon as their application was approved.
The applicant will be allowed to work as soon as he or she has submitted all the required documents and has had the biometrics taken. It is important to note that this is applicable only to applicants that are still abroad and not to those that are present in Malta. Another important point is that the employer has to notify JobsPlus about the appointment. Behind the scenes, police checks and JobsPlus procedures have to be carried out before the applicant comes to Malta. In the event that the applicant fails to meet the requirements, then the process stops immediately. It is pertinent to point out that the temporary permits are not valid for travel.
This process is one of many which Identity Malta is seeking to introduce in order to expedite the single permit applications and make the procedure more seamless for the employers and employees. In the coming weeks, Identity Malta will also be introducing an online application tool which would allow employers to apply on behalf on third-country nationals prior to the applicant arriving in Malta. The tool would also inform the user what stage the permit has reached.
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