I refer to Jan Vleggaar’s letter (February 1) regarding the ‘e-residence card’ – a hybrid document combining an identity card and, in respect of non-Maltese EU citizens, a registration certificate.
The implementation of the ‘e-residence card’ scheme is illegal under European Union law on at least two counts:
Firstly, it is illegal to require non-Maltese EU citizens who already hold a registration certificate to not only re-apply for a residence document but to require them to resubmit (copies of) supporting personal documentation already held and/or issued by the authorities – even if the ‘e-residence card’ incorporates an identity card component.
Secondly, the failure by the authorities to provide non-Maltese EU applicants with residence documents immediately – that is, upon presentation of the requisite documents on their first and only personal visit to the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs – is illegal.
In this latter regard, I was categorical in my submission of October 19, 2012 to the European Commission Directorate General Justice, as follows:
“...The Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs – which issues registration certificates to non-Maltese EU citizens – customarily violates EU law by requiring non-Maltese EU applicants to personally attend their Valletta office at least twice – illegalities exhaustively detailed in Complaint no. CHAP (2011) 00735 concerning the discriminatory two-tier water and electricity consumption tariff scheme – currently pending before your unit.
“In this regard, the Commission will be aware of article 8 – administrative formalities for Union citizens – Directive 2004/38/EC which stipulates:
“2. ‘The deadline for registration may not be less than three months from the date of arrival.
“A registration certificate shall be issued immediately …’
“The practical consequences for a non-Maltese EU applicant who is resident on the sister island – Gozo – is a five-hour round trip each and every time he/she is required to personally attend the Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs laden with all manner of official documentation.”
Moreover, the legality of the Identity Card and other Identity Documents Act Order 2012 – from which the recently introduced ‘e-residence card’ derives – is already under EU institutional scrutiny.
Should non-Maltese EU citizens experience or perceive any instances of institutional discrimination, I recommend they file a petition with the European Parliament Committee on Petitions online by availing themselves of the following internet link: www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/petition.html.