S.L. 451.3 Art. 9Declarationonfirst provision or material change.

(1) Where the designated authority regulating a profession so requires, the service provider, when first moving from a Member

State to Malta in order to provide services, shall inform the designated authority concerned in a written declaration to be made in advance including the details of an insurance cover or other means of personal or collective protection with regard to professional liability. Such declaration shall be renewed once a year if the service provider intends to provide temporary or occasional services during that year. The service provider may communicate the declaration by any means.

(2) Moreover, for the first provision of services or if there is a material change in the situation substantiated by the documents, the designated authority may require that the declaration be accompanied by the following documents:

(a) proof of the nationality of the service provider;

(b) an attestation certifying that the holder is legally established in a Member State for the purpose of pursuing the activities concerned and that he is not prohibited from practising, even temporarily, at the moment of delivering the attestations;

(c) evidence of professional qualifications;

(d) for cases referred to before, any means of proof that the service provider has pursued the activity concerned for at least one year during the previous ten years;

(e) for professions in the security sector, in the health sector and professions related to the education of minors, including in childcare and early childhood education, where required for Maltese nationals, an attestation confirming the absence of temporary or final suspensions from exercising the profession or of criminal convictions;

(f) for professions that have patient safety implications, a declaration about the applicant’s knowledge of the language necessary for practising the profession in Malta;

(g) for professions covering the activities referred to in regulation 18 and which were notified to the European Commission in accordance with Directive 2005/36/ EC, a certificate concerning the nature and duration of the activity issued by the competent authority or body of the Member State where the service provider is established.

(3) (a) The service shall be provided under the professional title of the Member State of establishment, insofar as such a title exists in that Member State for that professional activity. The title shall be indicated in the official language or one of the official languages of the Member State of establishment in such a way as to avoid confusion with the professional title used in Malta.

(b) Where no such title exists in the Member State of establishment, the service provider shall indicate his formal qualification in the official language or one of the official languages of that Member State.

(c) By way of exception, in cases referred to in Section III of Part III, Freedom of Establishment shall be provided under the Maltese professional title.

(4) (a) For the first provision of services, in the case of regulated professions having public health or safety implications, and which do not benefit from automatic recognition under Part III, Section II and Section III, the designated authority may check the professional qualifications of the service provider prior to the first provision of services. Such a prior check shall be possible only where the purpose of the check is to avoid serious damage to the health or safety of the service recipient due to the a lack of professional qualifications of the service provider and where this is not beyond what is necessary for that purpose.

(b) No later than one month after receipt of the declaration and accompanying documents, the designated authority shall inform the service provider of its decision:

(i) not to check his professional qualifications; or

(ii) having checked his professional qualifications, to either require the service provider to take an aptitude test or allow the service provider to provide the services. Where there is a difficulty which would result in delay in taking a decision under sub-paragraph (ii), the designated authority shall notify the service provider of the reason for the delay within the same deadline. The difficulty shall be solved within one month of that notification and the decision finalised within two months of resolution of the difficulty.

(c) Where there is a substantial difference between the professional qualifications of the service provider and the training required in the Malta, to the extent that that difference is such as to be harmful to public health or safety, and that it cannot be compensated by the service provider’s professional experience or by knowledge, skills and competences acquired through lifelong learning formally validated to that end by a relevant body, the designated authority shall give that service provider the opportunity to show, by means of an aptitude test, that he has acquired the knowledge, skills or competence that were lacking. The designated authority shall take a decision on that basis on whether to allow the provision of services. In any case, it must be possible to provide the service within one month of the decision taken in accordance with paragraph (b)(ii).

(d) In the absence of a reaction of the designated authority within the deadlines set in the preceding paragraphs, the service may be provided.

(e) In cases where qualifications have been verified under this regulation, the service shall be provided under the relevant national professional title.

(5) Submission of a required declaration by the service provider in accordance with sub-regulation (1) shall entitle that service provider to have access to the service activity or to exercise that activity in the entire territory of Malta; provided that a designated authority may require additional information listed in sub-regulation (2) concerning the professional qualifications of the service provider if:

(a) the profession is regulated in parts of the territory of Malta in a different manner;

(b) such regulation is applicable also to all nationals of Malta;

(c) the differences in such regulation are justified by overriding reasons of general interest relating to public health or safety of service recipients; and

(d) the designated authority has no other means of obtaining such information.