The waiting times at Identity Malta are out of control. I wasted almost an entire day there on March 13 just to file a change of address.

Without an updated residence card, I cannot change my address with Bank of Valletta. It had to cancel my debit card and dispatch a new one by mail after I was a victim of its recent hacking. I went to the Identity Malta office in Valletta one afternoon last week and was told they hadrun out of numbers and I would have to return another day and much earlier.

March 13 was my first opportunity to do so. I arrived at 8.45am to ensure I got a number. I was told I had just missed the “stampede” as people now line up starting at 5-6am. 

I got number 95. They were serving number 34. The numbers were called at a rate of about seven per hour. The rate increased in the afternoon as many were called without answer, their holders having apparently given up and left. Finally, after five hours my number was called. 

Many of the people waiting were professionals like myself who had much better things to do than wait for hours on end. I have taught at universities in five countries and I have never experienced the amount of bureaucracy as here, nor such inefficiency.

A simple change of address should be possible by submitting documentation online. I suggest that if Malta wishes to compete internationally then its procedures and efficiency must be improved.