African immigrants helped a Somali woman into an ambulance yesterday morning following an altercation with a policeman outside the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs in Valletta.

After waiting for hours outside the department for an e-residence card, the woman tried to shove her way past the officer stationed at the entrance. According to the immigrants, the policeman pushed the woman, whom they claimed was pregnant.

However, the officer told The Times: “She grabbed me by my uniform and tried to force her way through. I pushed her back into the crowd. She wasn’t hurt though, so I don’t know why they called for an ambulance.”

An Ethiopian man said the police should not have handled the woman in that manner.

He added that she had spent the past year receiving treatment at the Karin Grech Hospital because she had experienced problems with her legs and back and could not walk properly.

Scores of immigrants voiced their grievances to The Times, complaining of the long, futile hours spent queuing outside Castille Place every Friday morning since January to obtain the new e-residence cards, only to be turned away when the limit of 60 people was reached. The immigrants said they were directed to the Police Immigration Office in Floriana and some were given appointment slips and instructed to go to Castille Place.

“My appointment was for February 15,” a migrant said, brandishing his card attached to a form. “I’ve been turning up for three weeks every Friday morning, but I never manage to get past the door.

“The queues are too long – people push and shove to get inside. Today I’ve been here since 3am in the cold. I’ve missed work three times – I don’t know how long my boss will put up with this.”

An Ethiopian migrant added that obtaining a new e-residence was of paramount importance since the Employment and Training Corporation was not issuing any work permits unless presented with a valid identification card.

The e-residence documents will also double as identification cards.

“Our identification cards have expired. I have my rent and bills to pay, I have children to feed. How can I earn money without a job?” the migrant said.

An immigrant from Congo described the situation as an “absolute disaster”.

“The Government told us to change our residence cards and we want to dutifully follow the Government’s instructions. But disorganisation is rampant. Malta is not a Third World country.”

When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been taking measures to cater for the increase in applications it had faced in the past few weeks.