Malta has been seeing an influx of Italian residence permit holders seeking employment, due a dearth of opportunities in Italy, police inspector Darren Buhagiar said in court.

Insp. Buhagiar was prosecuting a case involving a 22-year-old Ecuadorian woman who altered her nationality to Italian, on her Italian residence permit in a bid to obtain a police conduct certificate and start working.

Despite living in Italy since the age of 13, Joselyn Katherine Sanchez Roman had not yet been awarded Italian citizenship.

Magistrate Anthony Vella heard that, together with her Italian partner, the accused left Italy for Malta to seek work. However, only EU citizens can work in Malta without a work permit.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti told the court that the accused’s decision to present a false ‘identity card’ at the police headquarters showed there was no malice in her actions, adding that it was more “a question of stupidity”. The accused had ample opportunity to work in the black market but she eschewed this in favour of a legitimate job to pay taxes, Dr Filletti said, describing the “rash” decision as “the desperate act of a person who just wants to work to earn a living”.

Insp. Buhagiar concurred with Dr Filletti, adding that the situation was symptomatic of the many Italian residence permit holders who were travelling to Malta in search of a job due to the dire labour situation in Italy.

The accused did not cooperate immediately, he told the court, adding that she later took responsibility. Her police conduct record was clean, Insp. Bugagiar continued, advising against a custodial sentence but recommending a suspended sentence.

Dr Filletti strongly objected to a suspended sentence, arguing that it would tarnish her criminal record and prejudice her for life.

In view of her admission, the court conditionally discharged her for three years.