Reforms to visa system for foreign nationals to be announced in coming weeks - PM

The government is set to announce reforms to the visa system within the coming weeks, with the aim of providing a more efficient service to foreign nationals who have to apply for their visas overseas, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced during a speech at the London School of Commerce in Valletta.

The Prime Minister, answering questions from the media, said the government will most likely be employing a web-based platform on which foreign nationals will be able to apply for their visas, and to improve established overseas networks.

Muscat stressed that no final decisions had been made.

When asked by The Malta Independent whether he was yet to hold discussions with the European Council and Commission following last Thursday’s European Parliament debate on the rule of law in Malta, the Prime Minister said that while this had not taken place, his government remained committed to adopting a proactive approach with the EP.

“Some people may expect a strong, negative response, but I believe it is important to have a proactive approach; we need to sit down and discuss the points we agree and disagree on.”

LSC anniversary

The Prime Minister was attending a ceremony celebrating the three-year anniversary of the London School of Commerce in Floriana.

The school, which has already seen 1,000 students graduate, has a current student body of 450 stu- dents from over 60 countries.

Muscat praised the government’s vision of creating a “global centre for educational excellence” and its commitment to establishing different educational pathways for the population.

This, he said, would also begin to attract talented and skilled individuals to the country.

The chair of the LSC advisory board, John Tomlinson, who is also a life peer in the upper house of the British parliament, and a former MP and MEP, spoke highly of the school’s successes, praising its decision to set up an establishment in Malta.

Tomlinson also pointed to issues concerning foreign students’ access to visas and said that he had al- ready discussed these concerns with the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia.

“As it stands, a Vietnamese student would have to travel all the way to China to obtain a Maltese visa,” he said.

The PM agreed that the process was bureaucratic and the government was looking for ways to remedy the situation.