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Julian Manduca
Hundreds of non-EU foreign residents who have been paying tax in Malta for years, will continue to have to pay for their education and that of their children, MaltaToday has learned.
Several hundred non-EU foreign citizens live in Malta and have been paying the same rates of tax and national insurance contributions as their Maltese counterparts for years, but have never benefited from free education and will continue to suffer discrimination.
When Malta joins the EU, foreign residents, even if not from EU member states, will continue to be entitled to the same health benefits of other Maltese, but Education Minister Louis Galea told MaltaToday that free education will be offered only to nationals from EU countries.
Asked whether he felt this was just, Minister Galea restricted himself to telling MaltaToday: “The situation come May 1 will remain the same as it is today with respect to non-EU Nationals and their children. This is the same treatment many Maltese nationals receive when they travel and work in other non-EU countries with their children.”
A spokesperson from Galea’s ministry said: “it is in the discretion of the country how to treat nationals from countries outside the EU. This means that the law with regards to the treatment of non-Maltese citizens will remain the same as it is to date.
“Non-EU citizens, even if they do pay taxes in Malta, still have to pay for education until they become Maltese or EU citizens.”
Many non-EU foreigners have given birth to children since arriving in Malta, or brought their children from abroad, and these too are not entitled to free education irrespective of how much their parents pay in tax and national insurance contributions.
julian@newsworksltd.com
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