British High Commissioner Stuart Gill is at pains to reassure British citizens that, deal or no-deal, they will be protected, although they need to have their own houses in order.

The first thing you see when you step off the elevator onto the fifth floor of the British High Commission office in Ta’ Xbiex is a large promotional sign saying, ‘Get Ready For Brexit’.

“What it should really say is, ‘Get Ready For A No-Deal Brexit’,” says British High Commissioner to Malta Stuart Gill, referring to the campaign. 

He and his team – like the thousands of other civil servants and diplomats in the UK and across Europe – are now holding their breath to see what life after Brexit will mean. But despite the chaos and uncertainty of the past three years, the message he wants to get across is one of reassurance.

“It ought to be straightforward, we don’t have cause to panic,” he tells Times of Malta.

“I think we are in a good place ahead of the deadline. We spoke to the Maltese government months and months ago about all this. Of course, nobody wants no-deal but if it happens, the British government says it will protect the rights of its citizens whatever the outcome.”

Having said that, there is an onus on the 13,000 British passport holders living in Malta to have their ducks in a row.

Registration

“There are four things that people need to have in order. Firstly, they need to make sure they are registered with Identity Malta. There are people living here who are not registered. That means that when they go to apply for their new status, they may have difficulty. But I suspect the number is quite small,” Mr Gill said.

“Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has repeatedly said that he wants Malta to be the most Brit-friendly member state in the European Union and I think he has been true to his word. He has put in place the new 10-year residency scheme so that anyone who is legally resident here now, can apply to stay.

“It’s free and pretty straightforward.

“That’s not to say that people don’t have questions, because it might be slightly different on the day, but we are confident that everything is in place.”

Healthcare 

“The second thing is to make sure is that your healthcare policy is up to date.

“There will be no change to access healthcare. However, people need to check their healthcare entitlement papers and it’s always sensible to carry your residency papers with you when you are abroad.”

It ought to be straightforward, we don’t have cause to panic

Travel

As it stands, many European countries – such as Spain and Greece – don’t enforce the rule that a person’s passport must have at least six months validity left when they travel.

However, this may change if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

“People need to make sure their passport is valid for at least six months, but other than that there will be no change,” adds Mr Gill.

“We will also recognise pet passports. However, there are changes coming surrounding bringing pets into the EU from outside and checks and quarantine are expected to take longer, so make sure you are up to date on any changes and leave extra time before you travel.”

Driving licences

“And finally, people will need to change their driving licences. Any British national operating on a British driving licence will need to swap it for a Maltese driving licence. But they will have one year to do this.”

When it comes to pensions, Mr Gill is again seeking to calm the estimated 8,000 people who have retired to Malta.

“If you are a British person living here who once worked in the UK, then your pension is protected,” he continues.

“The British government recently wrote to every pensioner living in the EU reassuring them that their pensions will be OK. They have also said they will maintain the uprating with inflation.”

Many of those people also own holiday homes or full-time accommodation in Malta, something that Mr Gill says they will need to speak to the Maltese government about.

“When it comes to questions about owning property in Malta in the event of a no-deal, we’ve tended to deflect those as it’s really a question of local Maltese law.

“Because I don’t want to give advice on the property sector, and have tended to steer clear of that. Similarly, when it comes to questions about tax, we’ve asked people to deal with the Maltese government as these are non-Brexit issues.”

From a personal point of view Mr Gill – who took up the role as British High Commissioner to Malta three months after the Brexit referendum in 2016 – insists he’s enjoyed the last three years despite the extra workload.

“Yes, we’ve been undoubtedly busier and my job is different to what it might have been if the referendum result went another way. But we’ve risen to that and we’ve got some more resources here.

“So, I feel we have adapted well.

“On a personal level it’s been professionally interesting and challenging. It’s an important thing to do and an important thing to get right. And it’s important that post-Brexit we get the bilateral relationship correct and it has been very much been to the front of our minds.

“The UK may be leaving the EU, but we’re not leaving Malta. And somewhere like here, where our historic relationship is so close, you don’t unravel that because of Brexit.”

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