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]
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).[4] In 2023, the EUAA carried out 476 registrations for temporary protection in Malta.[5]
In 2024, the EUAA carried out a total of 89 registrations, of which 91% related to the top 10 citizenships of applicants, mainly of nationals from Syria (44).[6]
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 their 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-applicants, yet a legal guardian is required to proceed with the lodging of the application and the personal interview. [8]
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.
[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, 26 February 2024.
[5] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024.
[6] Information provided by the EUAA, 14 March 2025.
[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.