An Australian woman who has been living and working in Malta since January says her dream move to the island quickly turned sour after getting stranded in the UK as flights were halted amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking to Times of Malta from relatives’ home in the UK, Caroline Oh said she has not been allowed on any of the repatriation flights because she had yet to get all her Maltese documents.
“I was a finance manager back in Melbourne and wanted a change of scenery and brought my whole life over to Malta. I went through the process and landed myself a job with a gaming company on the island.
“I received a work permit letter through my company from Identity Malta and started working in February,” Oh said.
As her work permit is valid until June and her visa expires in April, Oh said she was still in the process of finalising all her documentation when the outbreak reached Malta on March 7.
“I had time and there was no obvious rush. I obviously never anticipated this global situation. My partner was already renting a place, which we were living in, and so we did not want to burden ourselves with another new lease. This old lease was to end in April, therefore our plans were to find an apartment by the end of March or early April,” she said.
I just want to get back, complete my mandatory isolation and get back to work. My life is in Malta
But her plans have gone astray after a quick trip to visit relatives in the UK left her stranded there for weeks.
The Australian national travelled to the UK only days before the government announced all flights would be halted as from mid-March.
While repatriation flights have been organised for residents, Oh said she has not been allowed on any of these trips back to Malta and has been stranded in the UK for over three weeks.
“I have tried everything under the sun to get back on a repatriation flight. I have e-mailed all appropriate embassies and situation centres to no avail. I am more than happy to pay my way back to Malta and do not expect the authorities and government to finance this flight for me. However, due to a blanket rule, as I am not a resident, they will not allow me in,” Oh said.
She said the Australian authorities are not repatriating any of its citizens, so going back to Australia is not an option.
And even if she could go back to Australia, Oh said her home is now in Malta and all her belongings, bar a small 8kg bag, are on the island.
“The authorities have acknowledged that my case is rather unique but so far I have not been able to get anywhere.
“I did not do this intentionally and I just want to get back, complete my mandatory isolation and get back to work. My life is in Malta.
“I have met many amazing people in Malta and it is a place where I want to stay.”
Maltese nationals and residents stranded abroad have been urged to contact the authorities while others have to go to their respective embassies for assistance.