Working self employed in Malta

Hi,

I am moving to Malta in March 2015 and just have a couple of things I am unsure about, if anyone can please help me I would be very grateful!

I am from the UK and will be working as a self employed Personal Trainer, obviously it takes time to build up a client base and start earning a regular salary so I am unsure what to do regarding registering and applying for an ID card. I have read that to obtain an ID card you need proof of employment and to work self employed I would need to register with the ETC. I wouldn't want to register on day one as I would need to market my business and attract clients which could take a couple of months, I would however want to get an ID card. Is there a time limit on applying for an ID card and do you think waiting a couple of months before registering as self employed would be an issue?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Andrew