The relocation of another 20 migrants who had arrived irregularly in Malta has been completed, the government said Saturday.

A government statement read that the operation was carried out by the Home Affairs Ministry in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

This follows the ongoing work over the past months and years to relocate immigrants who arrived irregularly in Malta to other Member States.

This relocation was made possible through the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism.

The Home Affairs Ministry for Home Affairs emphasized that relocation is the most efficient way for the European Union and its Member States to address the challenges posed by irregular migration, with particular attention to frontline countries, especially in the case of Malta.

While those immigrants entitled to protection will be assisted and granted all their rights according to law, those who are not entitled to protection or found living irregularly in Malta will be returned to their country of origin, the Ministry said.

The Immigration Police, the Detention Services Agency, and other departments within the Ministry will continue to work on this matter.

The relocation was co-funded by the European Union under the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF).