Following the European Parliament’s endorsement of a new law giving long-term European Union residency rights to refugees and beneficiaries of other forms of international protection, such individuals residing in Malta are now a step closer to being able to move on to another EU member state of their choice.

So far, people who have been granted such status in Malta have been confined to remaining in the country and have, as such, been prevented from resettling in other EU member states, apart from the relatively rare exceptions when EU states have accepted the odd handful of refugees for resettlement.

The legislation is crucial for Malta in that once an individual is granted one form or another of international protection status, they will then be able to move on to reside in another European country after five years in Malta.

It is a known fact that the vast majority of irregular migrants rescued by or landing in Malta do so accidentally, and that most originally had and still have the intention of moving on to mainland Europe, but have been prevented from doing so by existing EU rules.

The entering into force of the new law will also provide a release valve for Malta as it deals with a disproportionate burden of the Africa-EU migratory phenomenon of recent years.

Commenting yesterday, Maltese European parliamentarian Simon Busuttil welcomed the EP vote, “Through this status refugees and other beneficiaries of international protection will, for the first time ever, acquire the right to resettle in other member states,” he said.

“This law will therefore enable refugees in Malta to move on and resettle in other EU countries.”

The new law - overwhelmingly passed at the end of April during a Strasbourg plenary session with 587 votes in favour, 42 against and with 32 abstentions - extends the scope of an existing EU law, Directive 2003/109/EC, which gives long-term EU residence to non-EU nationals legally residing in a member state for five years.

The new law extends the same right to refugees and others enjoying international protection status. As such, immigrants with protection status residing in Malta for a period of at least five years will acquire the right to long-term residency in the EU, as well as the right to move freely within the EU.

But while the EP has overwhelmingly endorsed the new law, there is still the significant hurdle in the form of a Council agreement to be had before the law becomes enshrined in EU legislation.

All 27 member states need to agree to the law at Council level, and a number of member states – including Spain, Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic – are reported to be unwilling to extend long-term residency rights to third country nationals with international protection status.

The new law prohibits, in line with the non-refoulement principle, a person with such status who has moved on to another EU member state from being repatriated to his or her country of origin. If a state decides to expel such a person, they would be sent back to the member state where international protection status had been granted and that member state “will immediately readmit without formalities the long-term resident and his/her family members”.

The time spent processing a international protection application will also be equated into the five-year period, while beneficiaries of international protection are to be exempted from the usual material conditions, such as stable resources and health insurance, needed to be met to be granted long-term resident status.