Return - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

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MALTA
All irregular migrants who do not opt for return, do not apply for refugee status or are rejected,
are kept at the reception centres, which severely constrains the capacity of these facilities. Masters
of vessels are expected to detain on board any person arriving on that vessel, whether crew
member or passenger, to whom leave to land has been refused (also considered legal custody).
Illegal Entry
Any person contravening the Immigration Act or landing in Malta without leave from the Principal
Immigration Officer, is de facto a prohibited immigrant and can be taken into legal custody
without warrant by the Principal Immigration Officer or by any police officer.
Other situations leading to “prohibited immigrant” status, applicable also to those who may
initially have been granted leave to land, include:
The inability to support oneself and dependants;
Mental disorder;
Overstay under the prevention of disease ordinance;
An offence against ordinances on either White Slave Traffic Suppression, Dangerous Drugs
or Prostitution.
Irregular migrants are taken to reception (closed) centres controlled by the police and are given
the possibility to apply for refugee status within two weeks, or to return to their country of
origin.
Carrier Sanctions
According to the Immigration Act, at the request of the Principal Immigration Officer the carrier
shall return a person refused entry under the provisions of the same Act, either to the state from
which he/she was transported, or to the state which issued the travel document, or to any other
state to which entry is granted. A carrier bringing to Malta a person with no travel document,
visa or other special authorization, is liable to pay the Principal Immigration Officer a penalty
not exceeding Liri 5,000.
Smuggling and Trafficking
Anybody who aids and assists a foreigner to land, or attempt to land or reside in Malta, or who
employs him/her in contravention of the Immigration Act is liable, on conviction by the Court of
Magistrates, to a fine of up to liri 5,000, or imprisonment of up to two years, or both. Foreigners
found guilty by a criminal court of an offence against any of the provisions of the White Slave
Traffic suppression Ordinance will be treated as “prohibited immigrants”. Malta signed the
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Trafficking and Smuggling
Protocols on 14 December 2000, and ratified the Convention and two of the Protocols on
24 September 2003.