Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1206972
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS UK Nationals' Residence Status Application Process Identity Malta Agency will be reaching out to all potential beneficiaries who hold a valid residence document. The application process to apply for the beneficiary status will be staggered and there will be no processing fees when applying for the new document. Applicants will be required to personally submit their application by calling at the Expatriates Unit in Valley Road, Msida on the dates indicated in the letter they will be receiving. i. Applicants would need to fill in the form attached to the letter and submit the relevant supporting documents; ii. Once the status established by law has been confirmed, applicants will be issued with the new residence document. UK nationals settling in Malta during the transition period may apply for their new residence status after three (3) months of their arrival in the country and before 30 th June 2021 (unless further extended). 1 2 3 4 I am a UK national residing in Malta. What are my residency rights following the UK's withdrawal from the EU? UK nationals and their family members residing in Malta shall continue to enjoy the right to reside in Malta and move freely in and out of the country, as well as other associated rights, as specified in the Withdrawal Agreement and the applicable Maltese legislation. What happens during the transition period? During the transition period UK nationals shall continue to enjoy the rights associated with free movement in the EU as if the UK was still a member of the EU. The transition period lasts from 1 st February 2020 to 31 st December 2020, unless the UK and the EU agree to extend this further. Can I be joined by my family members in Malta? Close family members of UK beneficiaries who will not be residing in Malta on the last day of the transition period may still join the beneficiaries in Malta. However, family members, other than children, will only be covered by the provision of the Withdrawal Agreement if their relationship would have commenced before the end of the transition period. In the case of a spouse, s/he may join the beneficiary after the end of the transition period if the couple is still married, and the beneficiary has obtained the new residence status. Will my existing residence document be valid until I am issued with a new one? The existing residence document shall remain valid until a new document is issued. The new residence document will be valid for 10 years and is automatically renewed on application, provided that the relative conditions remain satisfied. T: +356 2590 4000 W: www.identitymalta.com E: brexit.ima@gov.mt T: +356 2590 4000 W: www.identitymalta.com E: brexit.ima@govmt MATTHEW VELLA TEACHERS are being forgot- ten in the raft of 'student-cen- tred' reforms undertaken by the government, union boss Marco Bonnici has warned ahead of a joint-study carried out by the government and the union on the state of Maltese education. As the education portfo- lio passes out of the hands of veteran minister Evarist Bar- tolo, who also held the post in 1996 and shadowed it right up to 2013, the MUT boss said teachers had been left breath- less by the scale of reforms. "The student-centred ap- proach, promoted for years as the way forward to ensure that all children succeed, went be- yond the meaning of the coined catchphrase. The great empha- sis on the rights and needs of the student all the time has led to a system that is now effec- tively bypassing the educator," Bonnici told MaltaToday. The union boss even said he had experienced various in- stances from ministry officers and employers who are "put- ting on their blinkers" when it comes to the needs of edu- cators. "The excuse is always that they are there to serve students. In doing so, however, they are disserving and sidelin- ing educators." Bonnici places the blame at the feet of what he calls "a re- forms rat-race". "Instead of just talking about the current reforms race, we need to act fast and stop it. Schools are becoming a rat race of one reform after an- other, while feedback from previous reforms is indicating that the changes did not bring about the expected outcomes," Bonnici said. "And still we go ahead with more of this charade, which obviously includes changes that are supposedly introduced to modify previous changes which were proved unsuccess- ful. This must stop. Our appeal to the new minister of educa- tion is to stop the changes and analyse the educational sys- tem." Bonnici said teachers are al- ready making up for many Union boss says study analysing effect of student- centred reforms will show teachers are fatigued by pace of reform Teachers left breathless by reforms 'rat race'