Another installment from Ali, new arrival to Malta from the UK. Some frustrations along the way, but she’s getting there!:
I now have the Social Security number and I now have a Tax Code, but the next step is the ID card. You need it for virtually everything in Malta. For example, getting internet installed at our new apartment: if you don’t have an ID card you have to put down a 70 euro deposit, if you have one, no deposit necessary! Although Melita did say that once my ID card arrives I can present it at their shop and the 70 euros will then be credited to my bill. But still, it would be nice not to have to fork out the 70 to start off with. Anyway…
This time it’s a trip to Valletta proper, but the opposite end to the bus station – it’s quite a walk down to the Evans Building. And when you get there, opposite the Malta Experience, there is no sign, to say it’s the Evans building, but there is a sign pointing you around to the left for the ID card. So I walk around, and I can’t see another sign, or a door, but yet again there is a friendly old man sat on a stool in the shade. He points me further down the road and to the right and I see a sign saying Evans Building. So I head in the door, go down a flight of stairs and there is a small riot/queue. I join the back and realise that I could have come in the door I saw in the first place.
Anyway, join the middle queue for the desk right in front of you. I got there at just gone 8.30am and waited for 30 minutes to get to the front. I was given the paperwork to fill in. I had all the relevant photocopies EXCEPT the passport pictures. Grrr. So off I went, with my papers and found a place to get my passport picture taken. It was too hot, so I headed home again and decided to hand the papers in another day.
Take Two – I have everything and please note, the pictures do not need to be notarised to say they are you unless you’re asking someone else to put the application in for you. I was doing it myself, so no need to jump buy ativan canada that hurdle. Though I did need to find some glue to stick the picture to the form, as it states not to staple it. I don’t have any glue and certainly not a stapler, but I found glue, so it was all good.
This time I didn’t make it down to the Evans building until 9am and I waited for nearly an hour to get to the front of the queue. The lesson here folks is: get there early! They open at 7.30am. It’s nice and cool that time of day. It makes sense.
I get to the front, hand in the papers, they give me a slip to confirm I have all the papers and the lady tells me they will write to me in six weeks to ask me to come and collect it.
That was the 2nd July, I know this because it’s written on the slip. It’s now the 18th August and for the last week I have been checking the mailbox hoping it’ll arrive and finally yesterday, a letter did arrive. Now riddle me this…
The letter is dated 30th July and tells me that when I submitted my papers on the 24th July (!) I didn’t include my employment contract. No! I did, I’m sure I did, I question myself. I’m as certain that the sun will rise that I included it with my application. In the envelope are the documents I submitted. I check and lo and behold my employment contract IS in there. Seriously?!
The paperwork was checked when I handed it in. Everything was there. It’s taken 22 days to look at the papers and another eight days for them to write a response. And get this… it arrived yesterday, the 17th August. It took 18 days to even make it to the post box!
Frustrated doesn’t even come close. But I’ll be getting up early tomorrow and heading down there, again, and making darn sure they have everything they need. I don’t have glue, or a stapler, but I do have a highlighter pen, so I’ll highlight my name and the words “employment contract” this time to make sure it’s not sent back a second time.
I’ll update you, hopefully in October as to what happens next!
Check out the previous installment from Ali here.
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