Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547431
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 NOVEMBER 2026 NEWS foreigners may fall foul of EU directive In June 2017, the answer came back. This time, the al- lowance was social security, and single permit holders are entitled to the same social se- curity as nationals. What is a single permit? Most of our waiters, bus drivers and carers are very fa- miliar with the words "single permit". So is the lovely wom- an from the Philippines who painted my nails my favour- ite burgundy the other day. It was our chat in the salon that spurred me to write this. It is a single document, gov- erned by an EU directive, that allows someone from outside the EU to live and work in Malta. Identità is in charge of doling them out. The EU's single permit di- rective, in force since 2011, put these workers on the same footing as locals for a basic set of rights. The EU says that these rules were meant, among other things, to recognise that these workers "contribute to the EU economy through their work and tax payments". In his budget speech, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the foreign worker should "contribute to the country for what he receives in return, in- cluding the use of infrastruc- ture in its various forms". EU law, at least, appears to have answered that question back in 2011. They already contribute, and the law has for over 10 years been saying they are owed something in return. Malta misses the deadline It seems that while one end of the government table was hard at work thinking up new fees for foreign workers, the other has yet to get round to the new rights it owes them. Two years ago, the direc- tive was overhauled. Member states had until May 2026 to write the new version into na- tional law. Malta missed the deadline. In July, the European Commis- sion sent it, along with 16 oth- er countries, a letter of formal notice. It is the first step in in- fringement proceedings. It is a gentle knock on the door, but if a country keeps dragging its feet, it can end before the EU court with a request for fines. The recast leaves equal treat- ment untouched. What's new Most of the changes are con- cerned about the comings and goings of workers between employers. Until now, each single permit has been tied to one employer. Anyone who changed jobs had to start the application from scratch. Under the new rules, work- ers can change employer, job or sector through a much- thinned bureaucratic thicket. Countries may still require them to stay with their first employer for up to six months, but not if that employer has seriously breached the terms of the job. Losing a job will no longer send workers scrambling to find a job in a short window. They will have three months to find another, or six if they have held a permit for more than two years. None of this is Maltese law yet. Back to the budget Italy lost a case over a su- permarket discount card that happened to knock money off the bus, and that did not cost the taxpayer a cent. Malta is taking free buses and free childcare away from the very same category of work- ers. These are benefits funded by taxes that they, too, pay. By the government's own reckon- ing, the four eligibility changes will save or raise €46 million a year. The government will no doubt point out that, unlike the Italian card, Malta's free buses are paid for by the state. But the European Court of Justice did not dwell on who footed the bill. The bus pass looks rather ex- posed to a legal challenge. A bus service open to the pub- lic is about as textbook a case of "goods and services made available to the public" as you will find. And on those, TCNs and nationals are meant to be on an equal footing. A government may restrict access to goods and servic- es for third country nationals who are out of work. But most single permit holders, bussing it to work every morning, are by definition in a job. Nor do the rules allow a blan- ket cut-off based on how long someone has been in Malta. It- aly tried sparing its long-term residents in Genoa, and lost. So, for the workers affected, it is at least worth knowing that EU law may well be on their side. A spot of good news On a brighter note. Last Wednesday, while we were all busy discussing the budget, Judge Lawrence Mintoff threw a lifeline to a third country na- tional whom Identità consid- ered to be in Malta irregularly. He dismissed his appeal, but he did urge the authorities to show a little humanity. Dan Bahadur Khamcha had applied for a new residence card in good time. But his em- ployer's licence was not re- newed, and his application fell through with it. By the time he managed to land another job and apply again, he was, by Identità's reckoning, in Malta irregular- ly. His appeal was filed months after the 10-day deadline, and the judge said his hands were tied. On paper, Khamcha had no right to be here. But the judge noted that Khamcha had applied on time and that things had gone aw- ry "for reasons attributable to third parties". He recommended that Khamcha be allowed to regu- larise his position "without be- ing forced to leave Malta". It is not the first time Mintoff has ruled by the book and then nudged Identità to think of the person behind the file. That, I think, de- serves a column of its own. card. A card you'd swipe at the till for a few per the case From January, these people will have to fork out €33 a month for a bus they used to hop on for free like everyone else without so much as a disapproving harrumph—the odd elbow in the ribs notwithstanding Nor do the rules allow a blanket cut-off based on how long someone has been in Malta. Italy tried sparing its long-term residents in Genoa, and lost