Foreign residents kept waiting for local ID card

Foreigners living in Malta have complained of a “chaotic” situation at the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs as they are kept waiting for months for an ID card. The Department is replacing the old-style ID cards for non-Maltese nationals with e-residence cards. When the system was launched in January, director Mariella Grech said applicants had to seek an appointment via e-mail. However, applicants who sent an e-mail in February have not received an acknowledgement. When they called the department, they found “permanently engaged lines” or the receiver was picked up but no one answered. Others went to the office in Valletta, waited for hours, and obtained an appointment – for June or July. However, one applicant said, no one seemed to know anything. Non-Maltese nationals’ ID cards expire at the end of this month. Full story in The Times.