What was supposed to be a sizeable protest against Identity Malta’s delays in issuing residency and work permits, turned into a one-woman activity as other third-national citizens are “too scared to show their faces”.
Patricia Graham, founder of EU Nationals Advisory, was on Friday morning on a one-woman mission to make herself heard by authorities as “third country nationals have been waiting anything from six, seven, eight months, and longer to have their paperwork, work permits, their applications approved so they can go to work”.
There have been arrests made by immigration police arrests and people are being deported because they do not have their paperwork ready, she contended.
Graham said that when asked why this is happening, Identity Malta say that these nationals are allowed to stay within the EU for four months. However, only a few people are receiving their paperwork in that time frame, the woman said.
“Unless you’re in the first class lounge, which is the EU nationals lounge, then your paperwork might be quite quick, but we also get a lot of approach from there that it is also very slow.”
When the group was preparing for the protest, Graham said that members were very keen to attend but as the date got closer, participants started to get scared.
“They are scared to show their faces here, which is why I asked the newsrooms to be careful and taken backs of heads, not take faces”
Graham said that she feels concerned when she sees third nationals using their last few euros to get through a ‘back door’ to get their paperwork.
She said that amongst jobs filled up because of third country nationals, there are many nurses and carers and many other “jobs that Maltese don’t want to do”. She explained that some of these people have been working in Malta for a number of years, yet they still have to wait four to five months for their paperwork.
Some of these nationals have had help from their family and sold property, said the activist, whilst reminding that they come here with funds to survive for a few months.
EU Nationals Advisory is a local group, totally funded by Graham which was founded 12 years ago.