Cap. 464 чл. 42BNon-preclusion of applicant from completing an adaptation period.

(1) The provisions of the preceding article shall not preclude the relevant Council from requiring the applicant to complete an adaptation period of up to three years or to take an aptitude test if:

(a) the training he has received covers substantially different matters than those covered by the evidence of formal qualifications required by the relevant Council;

(b) the regulated profession in the Malta comprises one or more regulated professional activities which do not exist in the corresponding profession in the applicant’s home Member State, and the training required in Malta covers substantially different matters from those covered by the applicant’s attestation of competence or evidence of formal qualifications.

(2) (a) In order to permit this test to be carried out, the relevant Council shall draw up a list of subjects which, on the basis of a comparison of the education and training required in Malta and that received by the applicant, are not covered by the diploma or other evidence of formal qualifications possessed by the applicant.

(b) The aptitude test shall take account of the fact that the applicant is a qualified professional in the home Member State or the Member State from which he comes. It shall cover subjects to be selected from those on the list, knowledge of which is essential in order to be able to pursue the profession in the host Member State. The test may also include knowledge of the professional rules applicable to the activities in question in Malta.

(c) The detailed application of the aptitude test and the status, in Malta, of the applicant who wishes to prepare himself for the aptitude test in that State shall be determined by the relevant Council.

(3) (a) In the case of the adaptation period, this period of supervised practice shall be the subject of an assessment. The detailed rules governing the adaptation period and its assessment as well as the status of a migrant under supervision shall be laid down by the relevant Council.

(b) The status enjoyed in the host Member State by the person undergoing the period of supervised practice, in particular in the matter of right of residence as well as obligations, social rights and benefits, allowances and remuneration, shall be established by the competent authorities in Malta in accordance with applicable Community law.

(4) If the relevant Council invokes sub-article (1), then it must offer the applicant the choice between an adaptation period and an aptitude test.

(5) (a) If the relevant Council intends to require the applicant to complete an adaptation period or take an aptitude test, it must first ascertain whether the knowledge, skills and competences acquired by the applicant in the course of his professional experience or through lifelong learning, and formally validated to that end by a relevant body, in a Member State or in a third country, is of a nature to cover, in full or in part, the substantial difference referred to in the preceding sub-articles.

(b) For the purpose of this article "substantially different matters" means matters of which knowledge, skills and competences are essential for pursuing the profession and with regard to which the training received by the migrant shows important differences in terms of content from the training required in Malta.

(6) The decision by any relevant Council imposing an adaptation or an aptitude test period shall be duly justified and shall provide the applicant with information on the level of the professional qualification required in Malta and the level of professional qualification held by the applicant in accordance with article 42A(5), and the substantial differences referred to in sub-article (5) and the reasons for which those differences cannot be compensated by knowledge, skills and competences acquired in the course of professional experience or through lifelong learning formally validated to that end by a relevant body.

(7) The relevant Council shall ensure that an applicant has the possibility of taking the aptitude test referred to in this article not later than six months after the initial decision imposing an aptitude test on the applicant.