The 10 day period foreign workers have to find a new job before they are deported should be extended due to current circumstances, stakeholders told Times of Malta on Thursday.

Serbian Community leader Predrag Andrejevica said measures outlined in the government's aid package on Wednesday fell short of what foreign workers deserved.

Once a foreign worker loses their job they are allowed 10 working days in which to find work and prepare all the necessary documentation to stay in the country.

In such turbulent economic times this time period is too short, said Andrejevic, and should be extended to three months.

“This would ensure adequate time for TCNs to find employment, considering the current situation,” he said.

He also pointed out that the measures involving an increase in unemployment benefits and rent subsidies to support those who had lost their jobs, should also extend to TCNs, especially since they paid the same taxes and social contributions as locals.

An owner of an employment agency, Mark Sciriha, also said that the current strain on the health care system due to the coronavirus made it difficult for third-country nationals to get all the health checks and approvals needed in the 10-day period.

A minimum of 30 days from the day their permit expired would allow the process to be better managed, he said.

In addition to that, activist Patricia Graham said that given the swift changes at Identity Malta, to online processing of applications, it was necessary to allow some time for all parties involved to get used to the new system.

She also believed that a minimum of 30 days should be given to those foreign workers who lost their job to find a new one and apply for a new work permit.

"On top of the stress of not being deported they are also dealing with financial strain and fear of contracting the virus, like everyone else," said Graham.

"They have set up their lives here, its wrong for them to be given only 10 days to find a new job and get all the paperwork done before they are totally uprooted from their homes."