L.N. 156 of 2020, entitled the Malta Residency Visa Agency (Establishment) (Amendment) Order, 2020 has come into force with the scope of introducing a new system of distribution of applicationsamongthe ApprovalsBoard. This has been done primarily to help with ensuring that each Approvals Board is assigned an equal number of cases, with the said assignment to be carried out by theChief ExecutiveOfficer of the Agency. An Approval Board shall be composed of a Chairperson and four (4) other members all appointed by the Minister responsible for the public administratio...

The Malta Residency Visa Agency (MRVA) will be moving into new premises with its first day of operations from the new offices being Monday 4th May, 2020. The MRVA's new offices will be located at: Malta Residency Visa Agency Zentrum Business Centre Mdina Road, Qormi QRM 9010, Malta. This move is in keeping with the Agency's efforts to offer the best possible services to its Agents and applicants. Covid-19 measures remain in place and the same system of depositing files and documents will still stand. Naturally one must expect that some delays in communication and ...

On 22 April 2020, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (the "MCCAA") published a consultation regarding a Bill to amend the Consumer Affairs Act (Chapter 378 of the laws of Malta) and other Laws, and to make ancillary and consequential provisions thereto. The proposed Bill aims to implement Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, which lists the minimum investigation and enforcement powers of the competent authoritie...

It is evident that the current lockdown is having an unprecedented slowdown in the movement of persons between EU Member States. This is not due to a restriction which was imposed by the EU itself but because of the restrictions which the Member States themselves imposed through their respective Public Health officials. It is noticeable that the legal restrictions on immigration were driven by the Member States' individual rules rather than by a general guideline from the EU. Consequently, the European Commission issued a guideline on how to ensure that certain po...

Professor Andrew Muscat, who heads the Corporate Law Department at the Firm, has published a series of articles in the Times of Malta dealing with the duties and liabilities of directors of a company experiencing financial difficulties. This subject is particularly relevant these days when several companies are finding themselves in a difficult position as a result of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic. The first article in the series introduced the subject of directors' duties and the notion of insolvency ( https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/duties-and-liabiliti...