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I plan to move to Malta in the summer with my non EU husband. He will arrive there on a visa as the spouse of an EU citizen. However, once there we both plan to apply for residence cards since we will stay more than 3 months. During the waiting period for these residence cards, does he have the right to work? Jobs often ask for a work permit but if he does not need a work permit then what documentation is to be provided?

** the Maltese immigration office said that when the application for a RC is accepted an 'interim receipt' will be given but what does this mean. Is it like a temporary card which gives permission for my non EU husband to work??

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    Are you a citizen of Malta? – phoog Jan 26 '16 at 21:47
  • The answer might depend whether you are a citizen of Malta, or whether you have a citizenship in an other EU country. – SztupY♦ Jan 27 '16 at 14:32
  • I am not a citizen of Malta. I am an EU citizen though. My husband is a non EU citizen. – Charmender Jan 29 '16 at 18:36
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Because you are an EU citizen, and not a citizen of Malta, your presence in Malta is governed by EU freedom of movement rights. Accordingly, your husband has a right to work as soon as he arrives with you (or joins you) in Malta.

Family members do not need a work permit to work, even if they are non-EU nationals.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=463&langId=en

(For citizens of Malta, EU freedom of movement doesn't necessarily apply, in which case the conditions for working are controlled by Maltese law. This is why the answer depends on whether you are a citizen of Malta.)

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  • Thanks for your reply. But the problem is that the immigration office said he will get an 'interim receipt'. Plus in practical terms how likely are jobs to hire him without the official residence card which can take up to 2 months to get. – Charmender Jan 30 '16 at 10:50
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    @Charmender the interim receipt should permit him to work. The practical question I cannot answer. In fact, it appears to be difficult to find work in Malta altogether, so the official residence card may be among the least of his problems. It will certainly be helpful if you can return and post an answer to your own question once you've been through it and have first-hand knowledge of the situation. – phoog Jan 30 '16 at 16:55
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Under EU law, your husband has a right to work from day one by virtue of being your husband (i.e. he does not need “permission” per se) and the receipt is supposed to document his claim to be covered by this rule while the paperwork is being processed. Even the actual residence card is called a card because formally it's not a “permit” that would be “granted” but simply an official recognition of a pre-existing right.

Typically an “interim receipt” would be an A4 printout or something like that (whereas residence permits are mostly plastic cards nowadays) so not really a temporary card nor a permit but a proof that he applied for a proper card as EU citizen. In some EU countries, you get something like that on the spot or possibly within a few days by post. That's how it should work in Malta too but I have no idea how well it works in practice.

Beyond that, YMMV. Even if everything goes well, I would not be surprised if some employers get cold feet when they don't see the residence card they are used to.

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