Author
The Reception Regulations specify a time limit for the detention of asylum applicants, which is limited to nine months. According to the Regulations ‘any person detained in accordance with these regulations shall, on the lapse of nine months, be released from detention if he is still an applicant’.[1]
The PIO indicated that the average duration of detention for persons under a Detention Order was 48 days in 2024.[2] Data on 2025 was not made available as of early May 2026.
As noted above, detention duration for applicants is closely connected to their nationality: persons coming from countries with high international protection rates are generally detained for around two months. Others might be detained for the entirety of their asylum procedure and kept in detention on pre-removal grounds if a negative decision is issued.
[1] Regulation 6(7), Reception Regulations.
[2] Information provided by the Immigration Office of the Malta Police Force.