Author
The authority responsible for registering asylum applications in Malta is the International Protection Agency (IPA). The IPA is also the authority responsible for taking decisions at first instance on asylum applications as well as for granting Temporary Humanitarian Protection (see: Number of staff and nature of the determining authority).[1]
The law no longer establishes time limits for an asylum-seeker to apply for international protection, and it specifies that the Agency shall ensure that applications are neither rejected nor excluded from examination on the sole ground that they have not been made as soon as possible.[2] However, an application may be determined to be manifestly unfounded where “the applicant entered Malta unlawfully or prolonged his stay unlawfully and, without good reason, has either not presented himself to the authorities or has not made an application for international protection as soon as possible.”[3]
EUAA has been providing support to the IPA since 2019. In 2022, the EUAA carried out a total of 888 registrations, of which 77% related to the top 10 citizenships, mainly of nationals from Syria (242), Eritrea (91) and Bangladesh (73).[4] In 2023, the EUAA carried out a total of 405 registrations, of which 81% related to the top 10 citizenships of applicants, mainly of nationals from Bangladesh (105) and Syria (88).[5] In 2023, the EUAA carried out 476 registrations for temporary protection in Malta.[6]
In respect to people who arrive regularly but then may need to seek asylum due, for example, to a change in the circumstances in the country of origin, in some cases, they may experience difficulties in accessing information on the asylum procedure and their related rights and obligations.
Whilst practitioners note that persons indicating a protection need at the Malta International Airport are generally referred to the IPA, it is unclear whether formal protocols or guidelines exist.
Applications must be made at the IPA premises in Blata l-Bajda.[7] Any person approaching any other public entity, particularly the Malta Police Force, expressing his or her wish to seek asylum, will be referred to the IPA.
Unaccompanied children do not need a legal guardian to submit an asylum application and be duly registered as asylum-seekers, yet a legal guardian is required to proceed with the lodging of the application and the personal interview. [8] The 2020 Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act[9] replaced earlier legislation on the protection of children in need of care and support, including unaccompanied and/or separated children. It introduced a judicial procedure where the Juvenile Court is now in charge of appointing a legal guardian from AWAS. The Act was not fully implemented until the end of 2021 and the vast majority of minors were not appointed legal guardians in 2020 and 2021 resulting in asylum applications being put on hold. In 2023, where necessary, temporary care orders were issued either during the age assessment procedure or within hours or arrival, and unaccompanied minors have reportedly been able to lodge their asylum application throughout 2022 and 2023. Recent amendments to the International Protection Act and the Procedural Regulations[10] added specific provisions on the right of unaccompanied minors to apply for asylum and NGOs observed that unaccompanied minors were called for their asylum interview in the presence of their legal guardian. If they are found not to be in need of international protection, these applicants are granted Temporary Humanitarian Protection until they turn 18.
It is possible for a person to express a wish to file an asylum application when in prison, and the prison authorities regularly alert the IPA as to these cases. A small number per year do so, yet it is impossible to know if there were others who would have done so, had they had access to information and legal services.
[1] Article 4(3) International Protection Act.
[2] Regulation 8(1) Procedural Regulations.
[3] Article 2, International Protection Act.
[4] Information provided by the EUAA, 28 February 2023.
[5] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024.
[6] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024.
[7] See the International Protection Agency’s website, https://bit.ly/3ko82G0
[8] Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality, Feedback on the 2022 AIDA Country Report on Malta, shared with ECRE in January 2024.
[9] Article 21 of the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act, Chapter 602 of the Laws of Malta
[10] See Article 13(3) of International Protection Act, Chapter 420 of the Laws of Malta as amended by Act XIX of 2022, International Protection (Amendment Act), 20 December 2022 and Regulation 18 of Subsidiary Legislation 420.07 of the Laws of Malta as amended by Legal Notice 488 of 2021.