Couples who get married will no longer have to go to the Social Security Department to submit the forms to get the government marriage grant.

The bureaucratic process has been simplified, placing the onus on the department to go to the married couple for information, Social Policy Minister Michael Farrugia  said this morning in a press conference.

Once a couple get married or goes into a same sex civil union, they will receive a request for information from the department asking for their IBAN number, their new address and whether the wife would change her surname.

This information can be sent in to the department through the mygov.mt website or handed in to the district Social Security Departments. Once this is received, then they will receive the grant.

Couples who both work receive €271.04 each. Dr Farrugia said it depended on the amount of contributions made by the person - one needed to have made a minimum of 26.

In 2012, 3,361 contributions were made amounting to €863,000 while last year there were 2,961 contributions amounting to €780,000.

This new system would help reduce paperwork, running around for the couple and make the department more efficient.

Dr Farrugia said there were further changes in the pipeline, including applying for children’s allowance online.

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