Status of Long-term Residents (Third Country Nationals)

L.N. 370 of 2010

IMMIGRATION ACT

(CAP. 217)

Status of Long-term Residents (Third Country Nationals)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2010

IN exercise of the powers conferred by articles 4A and 36 of the

Immigration Act, the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs has made

the following regulations:-

(1)

The title of these regulations is the Status of Long-

term Residents (Third Country Nationals) (Amendment) Regulations,

and they shall be read and construed as one with the Status of Long-

term Residents (Third Country Nationals) Regulations hereinafter

referred to as "the principal regulations".

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to amend the Status of

Long-term Residents (Third Country Nationals) Regulations so as to

further implement the provisions of the Council Directive 2003/109/

EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term

residents.

(3) These regulations shall come into force on the 1st August,

2010.

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a)

for sub-regulation (2) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

"(2) In calculating the period of five years provided for in sub-

regulation (1), periods of residence for the reasons stated in

regulation 3(2)(a), (e) and (f) shall not be taken into account."; and

(b)

for the proviso to sub-regulation (3) thereof, there

shall be substituted the following

"Provided that, the Director may consider a longer period

of absence than the total of ten months referred to in sub-

regulation (3), by a further period of twelve months when such

absence is due to

(i)

health reasons;

(ii) secondment by the employer of the third

country national;

(iii) business travel; or

(iv) education or training purposes.

In such cases, the period of absence longer than the total of ten

months shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the period

referred to in regulation 4(1).".

Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 5 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(1) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation (2) thereof shall

be substituted by the following

"(a) stable and regular resources which

are sufficient to maintain himself and the

members of his family without recourse to

the social assistance system in Malta or to

any benefits or assistance of any type

payable under the Social Security Act, the

Housing Authority Act and any other law

providing any assistance of a social nature

and which would be equivalent to, at least,

the average wage in Malta with an addition

of another twenty percent of the average

gross wage for each member of the family;

(b) appropriate accommodation that is

not shared with any other person or persons

not being family members regarded as

normal for a comparable family in Malta and

which meets the standards, which shall be

published by notice in the Gazette on the date

of the coming into force of these regulations

and subsequently every five years, as defined

by the Ministry responsible for housing;".

(2) Immediately after sub-regulation (2) there shall be added

the following new sub-regulations

"(3)

In order to be eligible to apply for long-term

resident status, a third country national shall provide evidence

that he has complied with the following integration conditions,

namely

(a) in the last twelve months immediately prior to

the application for long term resident status he has

attended a course organised by the public employment

service or any other competent authority of at least one

hundred hours having as its subject matter the social,

economic, cultural and democratic history and

environment of Malta, and that he provides evidence

certifying that he has attended at least one hundred hours

of the lessons of these courses with satisfactory attention

and that he has achieved an examination pass mark of at

least seventy five percent;

(b) has obtained a pass mark of at least seventy

five percent after being assessed by the competent

authorities to have achieved the equivalent of Malta

Qualifications Framework Level 2 in either Maltese or

English; and

(c) provides evidence that the necessary fees

charged in relation to the courses, examinations and

certificates referred to above have been paid.".

In the Maltese version only, in sub-regulation (3) of

regulation 8 of the principal regulations, the words "resident li

joqgƫod gƫal Īmien twil - KE" shall be substituted by "resident fit-tul

Paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 11 of the

principal regulations shall substituted by the following

"(a)

access to employment and

self-employed activity, as long as such

activities do not entail even occasional

involvement in the exercise of public

authority and are not reserved by law for

Maltese nationals in terms of the Public

Administration Act and any regulations

issued thereunder;".

Regulation 14 of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(1) In paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (2) thereof, the word

"(e)" shall be substituted by the word "(d)".

(2) For paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (2) thereof, there shall

be substituted the following

"(b)

The third country national shall provide evidence

that he has stable and regular resources which are sufficient to

maintain himself and the members of his family without

recourse to the social assistance system in Malta and which

would be equivalent to the average gross wage in Malta with an

addition of another twenty percent of the average wage for each

member of the family;".

(3) For sub-regulation (2) thereof, there shall be added the

following new paragraph

"(c) When not constituted in the first

Member State, family members shall be

allowed to accompany the third country

national holding the long-term residence

permit if the applicable provisions of the

S.L. 217.06. Family

Reunification

Regulations

are

satisfied."

(4) For sub-regulation (3) thereof, there shall be substituted

the following

"(3)

The person mentioned in sub-regulation (1) shall

submit the evidence required in regulation 5(3)

Provided that if he has already complied with

integration measures in the first Member State, he shall submit

evidence of having complied with such measures as well as the

evidence referred to in regulation 5(3)(b).".

In the proviso to sub-regulation (1) of regulation 18 of the Amends

principal regulations, the words "regulations 13 and 14" shall be regulation

the principal

substituted by the words "regulations 13 and 14(2)(a) and (b).".

regulations.

Immediately after regulation 22 of the principal Adds a new

regulation to the

regulations there shall be added the following new regulation

principal

regulations.

These regulations, as amended,

" Transitory

Provisions.

shall not apply with regard to any application

for long term resident status submitted prior to

or after the date of the coming into force of

these amendments, as long as the applicant

was eligible to qualify for long-term resident

status prior to the coming into force of these

amendments.".

B

€0.47