First Year Immigrating from Shanghai, China to Malta, Europe

Hi everyone, I’m Peter, from Shanghai, China. My mother, my wife, my daughter, and I, a family of four, have been living in Malta for more than one year. It is very honored for me to have this opportunity today to tell my family’s story of emigrating from Shanghai, China to Malta, Europe. Many people may believe that immigrants need to be very rich or talented. It's not. Our family is just ordinary people, without any special skills, or great wealth. And when we went abroad, we are now living a normal life in Malta. Why immigrate? I worked in a foreign company in Shanghai, mainly in tourism management, which is also well-known in Europe. And I have visited a lot of European countries, and interested in the natural and human environment. In addition, the competitive atmosphere and social environment of the domestic have become tenser in recent years. My wife and I are looking forward to the relaxed life atmosphere and education in Europe. My mother is also getting older, so I am considering providing her with more secure medical care and a new care environment. Why Malta? Many people may not be familiar with the country of Malta, but for me, Malta is a more inclusive country in Europe, probably because of its geographical location. Most people in Southern Europe are more welcoming. And for all people in Malta speak English, there is no gap between me and the locals in language. There are also a lot of foreigners in Malta, so the Maltese people are not surprised to see “foreigners” and I don’t feel excluded. At that time, there were different countries and immigration methods, and we also made our decision by considering the family's needs and consulted some agencies to get more professional information and solutions. Among those, Globevisa is formal and large in scale, and the consultant who received me is very detailed and professional. Since my family is settling abroad, I would be careful in consulting. The information and introduction given to me by the Globevisa consultant were professional and detailed, which also made me more confident in choosing Malta. Successfully approved during the epidemic I got the final approval letter in early 2021, during the epidemic control period in China, and in May my family was ready to start a new life in Malta. Departing from Shanghai, Pudong on May, 26th, with Lufthansa transferring to Frankfurt and finally arriving. Although it was not convenient to leave the country during the epidemic, we had a regular immigration status, a Maltese national identity paper, a rental lease, and a series of other documents, from Globevisa, everything went as planned for our family and went quite smoothly. First Arrival in Malta Although I used to travel to Europe for work, this is my first time in Malta. The first impression Malta has on me is kindness, a familiar European pace of life, unhurried and methodical. Malta is also doing better in epidemic prevention policy. Previously, everyone was responding to the government’s call to wear a mask. The government fined 300 euros for people without the mask. Therefore, Malta has always been the best in Europe in terms of data. Some people may think Malta is a small land. While I think new immigrants to Malta are not for sightseeing but for living a life in a different place. The first thing to consider is whether the place is safe and secure and whether my family can settle down. How do I live at home, how do I live in Malta? Indeed, Malta is not a big country, but because it is not big, the country is very safe, because if you do something bad today, you might be in the headlines tomorrow. On the other side, Malta is rich in natural and historical sites, and after getting your permanent residence card, it is easy to go to other parts of Europe such as Italy, Germany, France, etc. Though indeed, there are not as many options as in China, life is not particularly boring and inconvenient. Renting Before landing, Globevisa had a dedicated ground team that helped me find an agent to rent the house in advance. The agent also cleaned the house before I left, and the landlord matched the keys. When I arrived at the place, I could move in directly. It was very convenient. I only needed to go to the appointment time with the receptionist and a lawyer, and I got the card soon. A few months later my mother came to Malta alone from Shanghai and GlobeVisa arranged the reception accordingly everything went smoothly and the family was reunited in Malta. Looking back, from the time I made up my mind to immigrate to Malta, my family unexpectedly experienced a global epidemic in the middle of the process, so it was inevitable that I would have various worries about whether the progress of the process would be affected. The Globevisa team was very considerate and meticulous and provided me with a lot of useful information that helped a lot. I think this is also the importance of choosing a professional organization. Applying to schools for children Once we got settled in Malta, we started arranging for our kid to attend school. We discussed and decided in advance that we would go local as always, so we applied for a public school. It’s very easy to apply: we emailed the Education Department and they assigned us to the nearest school. All schools in Malta are managed by the ten study districts under the Education Department. In other words, all schools, managed by the ten study districts, are consistent in terms of the allocation of teaching resources, dormitory construction, curriculum, and so on. No matter where you live, you will be enrolled in the school nearby. It is not like in China, where the quality of education varies from district to district. The quality of education in Malta is very good and the distribution of teaching and educational resources is relatively equal. In terms of tuition fees, immigrants like us only charged an enrollment fee of 400 to 500 Euros per year. This year it was officially announced that this fee will be officially canceled. Of course, if you want to go to a private school, the quality of education in Malta is also very high, and the education system is the same as in the UK, so you can also consider it if you want your children to develop in the EU in the future. Tuition fees are also relatively cheap in European countries. My daughter became the only Chinese in the school Application in May, the Education Bureau has pre-education tested my daughter for English in June. And she passed, with no need for English learning class, and go straightly to the national public school nearby. Only a 3-minute way walking from home. School students are all Malta locals. And I've roughly seen that she is the only Chinese in the whole school. Teachers are also native, so she communicates in English with her Teacher and pupils every day. Public schools will teach Malta every day, and I think it's good for kids to have other languages, which is necessary for her long-term development and localization. At present, I learn that she has no problem communicating with her Teacher and pupils, and is making progress in learning Maltese through hard work. She starts the day around 8:30 and finished at 2:00 pm. They bring their drinking water and eat their snacks and fruit around 10 am. In Malta, both students and teachers bring their lunches. My daughter now takes fruit as a snack around 10 am and her lunch is always toast and bread + ham and other cold cuts + lettuce + cheese, which is easy to carry and nutritionally balanced. Every month, my child can receive a free milk voucher from the government, which she can exchange directly at the supermarket. Each class has a whole-subject teacher, that is, each course is attended by a class teacher, 2 safety teachers who only maintain classroom discipline and do not attend classes, and a total of 12 students in the class. The teacher teaches the class focusing on whether the students can accept and understand. The classroom mimeograph and other tests, if there is a mistake, never scolded only a variety of encouragement. Compared to China, the pace of classes is not too fast. We have time to play with our classmates every day. I can finish my homework in less than an hour at home. At least once a month, at least one extracurricular activity, maybe a museum or art gallery, maybe a student world, maybe a field day, this year the Maltese government has come up with a new policy, classic attractions, attractions museum, children plus two adults, ten years with a card, free unlimited access. This is also in light of my daughter's student status. By the way, the local extracurricular activities for children are particularly important, and the carnival period also dedicated three days off for children and parents to make traditional costumes and floats together. In the process of playing together, it enhanced the relationship between me and my daughter, and my daughter and her classmates. Education in Malta is really happy, and study from life. Compared with the work it demands at hard work, but I can feel her joy in learning, encouraged by the teacher, and innocent as a child.

I started looking for a job. After solving my daughter's education issues, it comes to my work. I encourage everyone to work and start their own business after arriving in Malta, after all, we are still very young, and we need to integrate with Malta. The overall salary in Malta is relatively high in Europe, with a white-collar income of around €2000. Then, in terms of jobs, there are many opportunities. After all, there is a small population. But every place inevitably has local protection policy just like native-only somewhere. The first generation of immigrants needs to have mental preparation, but as long as we work hard, still a lot of opportunities. For that I did travel management in Shanghai in a well-known Western company, and use English and Germany in my daily work, so that I find a job in local star hotels smoothly, after all, the travel industry is important for a tourist country like Malta, and to get started is relatively easy. The best part of working here is respect and equality. The interview session is very different from the domestic one. It is fast-responding, private, and straight. They know our immigrant status and have helped us apply for a work permit at Jobsplus. I went to the welfare department and the tax department to submit the document and got my social security number and tax number. Everything was done normally according to the process. Although my job is very basic, the cooperation between guests, leaders, and colleagues is very good and harmonious. There are 1600 colleagues all over the world, from England, Spain, Serbia, and Brazil. There is an Indian colleague who has dual Indian and Maltese citizenship. It is a truly international team. I never felt any unwarranted accusations from the guests, I only received tips, gifts, and letters of praise from time to time. I once had the opportunity of hosting the Italian men's national water polo team at work. The Olympic champions didn't have any attitude at all and even missed several elevators to take a photo with me. Leaders also do not mention all kinds of disrespectful demands or even point at me to scold, everything is negotiated, with mutual respect. Colleagues help each other and never laugh at each other. A local Maltese colleague who I am very close to has always helped me a lot in private. I can also use the hotel gym and other facilities after work, so sometimes I go to the hotel in the morning on my days off to work out, then go for a walk on the beach, find a bistro in Valletta for a meal, and pick up my daughter from school. Sometimes I also get together with my colleagues, a bottle of wine, and some local dishes, it doesn't matter what I eat, there is no messy online game here, people pay more attention to face-to-face communication. I also picked up chess again here. Life, diet In terms of daily life, my family, including my mother, adapted to Malta very well, where local food is the mainstay, mostly meat, and seafood. Of course, there are also local Asian supermarkets, so you can also do Chinese cuisine to adjust the taste. The more common ingredients such as Haidilao hot pot ingredients, Little Sheep, Lao Gan Ma, etc. can be bought in Asian supermarkets. I go to local supermarkets, like the Greens, Pavi and other large local supermarkets relatively more, because I can buy a lot of common and necessary daily necessities. Our family only buys local milk Benna, skim milk 0.92 Euro/liter, regular milk 0.94 Euro/liter, and high-fat milk, 0.96 Euro/liter. The supermarket brand Ricotta cheese that we always buy is 0.89€/box. For the steak, I buy about 3 slices at a time and the rib eye used to make steak is about 8-12 Euros. Local Maltese or imported wine from EU countries, 2-3 Euros. I have to say, when I and the local people in the choice of products, the first to see the price, that is, choose the cheapest, but also with high EU standard quality. So basically a brand is the cheapest or discount, this product will be sold out quickly, leaving more in the price of expensive.

First visit to a doctor in Malta The most important reason to immigrate is to give your family, including yourself, a better medical environment and a better growing-up environment for the next generation. As people eat grains, they will always get sick. And when you change your environment, your body functions and work habits need to be adjusted and you may need to seek medical help during the adjustment process. Me and my mum have experienced Saint James Hospital Sliema, a very good private hospital that is easily accessible and not far away when I was sick last year. The front desk informed the process of seeing a doctor first, the cost does not need to rush, because it is a different part, but the consultation is a general practitioner, and pay close attention to privacy, the whole process in barrier-free English communication, and then all the relevant treatment and examination are very detailed. The cost of seeing a doctor is 20 euros, with 6 euros for eye drops. The whole process is down to less than 2 hours. It is not an experience compared to China queueing for two hours to see the doctor within two minutes. The most important thing is medical expenses, including registration fees, can be fully reimbursed through the insurance purchased when immigration is done. The reimbursement is also very easy: apply online and fill out the form. The fee was sent directly to my home by check. The day I got the check, I took my daughter out for a big dinner. The second time was for a medical checkup when I applied for my work permit, and I chose this hospital again. While waiting for the chest X-ray report, I went to the hospital cafe to buy coffee and watched TV, and newspapers while waiting for the results. There was no smell of sterilization in the whole hospital, all I could smell was bread and coffee. If you don't say in the hospital, it feels the same as being outside in a cafe or restaurant. So many friends do not have to struggle with whether to go to the public medical, in terms of service private is better than public since our insurance can reimburse, so see a private hospital on the line. I always say that it is a pleasure to see a doctor in Malta. My mother's experience is also worth sharing. First of all, my mother did not have a Maltese identity, she was living with us on a family visit visa, but my mother also had her local vaccinations for free in Malta, with no identity required, just a registered passport. As we all know dental care is very expensive in China, my mother has always had periodontitis and the plan given by her doctor in China was to have her teeth cleaned and dentures fitted, which cost 20,000 RMB per tooth. When I came to Malta, I took her to the Saint James dental clinic and the appointment and consultation were free of charge. The appointment and consultation were free of charge. 45 Euros for the film and 50 Euros for the cleaning. The treatment was over and the doctor stressed several times that there was no need for tooth replacement or dentures. He also chatted and joked with us all the time during the treatment and there was no tension at all. I am sharing these two stories not to say that the medical conditions are good or bad, but that in Malta, because of the small population, the doctors have more energy to take care of each patient and give a more objective diagnosis. Climatically, Malta has a Mediterranean climate, with clean air and water, and a low-temperature difference all year round, which makes it more suitable for elderly people with chronic illnesses to settle.

Life, clothing purchases and travel For clothes and pants, you can buy casual pants/sweatpants/trousers of very good quality for 15 Euros at small stores specializing in clothes and pants shops or at the flea market in Valletta every morning. Shoes are actually of good quality at Decathlon or small stores that specialize in shoes, but the price starts from more than 10 Euros. Because I live in Valletta which is also more environmentally friendly, so travel is all by public transportation. We applied for a local transport card online a few working days before we came to Malta last year. And got the transport card a few weeks after coming over. Each bus ride is €0.75 for us adults, with free transfers within 2 hours, capped at €26 a month. For children, the child transport card is 0.25€ per bus ride. This year, Malta's welfare has been upgraded again and public transport will be free throughout the country, which means another saving for us. Last year the Maltese government also issued several vouchers, and as working people, my wife and I both received this benefit, each time for €100. After receiving the vouchers, I took the whole family on a horse-drawn carriage ride to a restaurant. I also took the kids to the museum. The family's monthly expenses here plus internet, phone, and utilities are about 800 to 1000 Euros, which is quite cheap compared to Shanghai. If the children go to a private school, then including tuition, extracurricular classes and two trips abroad a year, 1500 Euros a month is more than enough. From passport, I’m not Maltese, but from heart, I’m definitely Maltese Realistically speaking, to be stable in a place is to have a job and a school for our children. To put it simply, it means living somewhere else. What happened at home, what we did the same routine in Malta. We didn't come here with the mindset of travelers, to begin with, so unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the various Maltese landscapes, despite we have taken the time to visit Gozo, Comino, Three Sisters, Mudina, and so on in a family. We are also average new immigrants with no background, what we can only rely on is hard work and a little bit of luck, to slowly accumulate all kinds of experience, contacts, and other social resources to let our family stabilize here and make life better step by step. Personally, I love Malta very much, and feel lucky to have made the right choice. The policy and welfare give me a feeling of safety and belonging. A newspaper in the other day conveys my real thought: from passport, I’m not Maltese, but from heart, I’m definitely Maltese. Thanks Globevisa again, for analyzing the program options, help, and confidence before the start; during the immigration, team domestic and oversea has given much help and assistance, to make us get Malta's identity and realize the dream to live and develop in a new country, Malta. Hoping that my sharing can help people who have an interest in Malta immigration and that everyone can have a safe flight in their immigration journey. Statistics show that, since August 2015, Malta opened the channel for investment immigrants to obtain permanent residence, a total of 3581 applications have been received, of which Chinese applicants account for 87%, and the global share is far ahead. Malta permanent residence investment immigration is known for its low investment threshold, high success rate, and low supervision requirements and is the only one in Europe where four generations can immigrate, whether the investor is considering living abroad or identity backup is one of the very ideal choices. But worth noticing, as the tightening or even shutting down on golden visas in European countries, if the Malta permanent residence program will continue to open, we need to mark a question here. Changes review of investment immigration programs in other European countries: September 2022, the Prime Minister of Greece announced an increase in the investment amount for the purchase of a property in some areas of Greece from €250,000 to €500,000 from May 1, 2023. February 14, 2023 the Irish Minister of Justice announced a complete shutdown of Irish immigrant investors in 3 months. On February 16, 2023, the Prime Minister of Portugal announced the closure of the Portuguese Golden Visa, and specific details are expected to be available on March 24. Investors who are considering various projects in Europe need to make a quick judgment and decision.