In 2023, excluding temporary protection, the International Protection Agency received 854 first and repeat applications for asylum – a decrease of 35.2 per cent over the previous year, the NSO said.
Boat arrivals and applications for international protection
During 2023, 12 boat landings were recorded in Malta, with 380 persons being brought to Maltese shores (including persons airlifted at sea), a decrease of 14.6 per cent when compared to 2022. Most persons brought to shore were citizens of Asian countries (80 per cent), while a further 19.7 per cent were citizens of African countries. August saw the highest recorded number of persons being brought to shore, 94 individuals, closely followed by arrivals in April, at 91 individuals.
When excluding applications for temporary protection and reviews of positive decisions previously taken by the International Protection Agency (IPA), 854 applications for asylum were lodged during 2023 – a decrease of 35.2 per cent over the previous year.
When analysing asylum applications per million resident population across the Member States within the European Union (EU), Malta ranked sixteenth with respect to applications per capita, with Cyprus having the highest number of applications per capita and Hungary having the lowest.
Slightly over half of the applicants filing an application with the IPA were citizens of African countries (51.1 per cent). When assessing individual countries of citizenship however, 16.6 per cent of the total applicants in 2023 were Syrian. This was followed closely by Bangladeshi citizens, at 14.2 per cent. Over half of the applicants (58.7 per cent) were males aged between 18 and 34.
Decisions on applications for international protection and appeals
During 2023, the IPA took 327 decisions granting protection at first instance (excluding temporary protection) to asylum applicants. A further 787 applications were rejected. Other decisions taken by the IPA in the reference year are excluded. When compared to the other EU Member States, this ranks Malta joint third lowest with Cyprus with respect to positivity rate in 2023. Estonia had the highest share of positive first decisions at 97.1 per cent, with Romania having the lowest share of positive decisions at 15.6 per cent.
Among those granted protection at first instance during 2023, 64.5 per cent were of Syrian citizenship with a further 17.7 per cent being Eritrean citizens. A total of 726 appeals on first instance decisions were filed with the International Protection Appeals Tribunal in 2023, a decrease of 14.8 per cent compared to the previous year. During 2023, the International Protection Appeals Tribunal processed 451 appeals, of which 442 (98.0 per cent) were rejected. Within the EU, Malta had the fifth lowest positivity rate on final instance decisions taken on appeals in 2023. Three countries – Estonia, Slovenia and Portugal rejected all appeals processed in the reference year, while Bulgaria and Slovakia issued positive decisions for all appeals processed. Hungary reported 0 final instance decisions taken on appeals in 2023.
At the end of 2023, in Malta, there were 1,981 applications for asylum pending a first or final decision, a decrease of 33.4 per cent from the previous year. Of these pending decisions, 1,027 were pending a first decision from the IPA and 954 were pending a final decision on appeals filed with the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. Of the individuals awaiting a decision, 13.8 per cent were Syrian citizens.
Temporary protection
On 4 March 2022, the European Council triggered the Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC), in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The directive allows Member States to grant immediate and temporary protection to residents fleeing the Ukraine following the invasion on 24 February 2022. While in 2022, the IPA granted temporary protection to 1,629 persons, in 2023 this decreased to 566.
In 2023, approximately 1.06 million decisions granting temporary protection were issued within the EU. The highest share was in Germany, accounting for 31.8 per cent of all decisions. This was followed by Poland, at 22.5 per cent. When considering the number of persons granted temporary protection per million resident population, Czechia ranked highest while France ranked lowest.
At the end of December 2023, there were 1,963 persons benefiting from temporary protection in Malta, with 99.3 per cent being Ukrainian citizens. Most beneficiaries were female (69.7 per cent) and 26.8 per cent of all beneficiaries were minors aged between 0 and 17. Of the minors who were beneficiaries of temporary protection at end December 2023, 2.3 per cent were unaccompanied at the time they were granted protection.
At the end of December 2023, approximately 4.3 million persons were beneficiaries of temporary protection within the EU. The highest share was in Germany, accounting for 29.3 per cent of all beneficiaries, with a further 22.3 percent in Poland. When considering the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection per million resident population, Czechia ranked highest while France ranked lowest..
Open centres and resettlement, return and relocation programmes
A total of 375 persons were residents in open centres at the end of 2023, an increase of 45.3 per cent when compared to the preceding year. The majority were residing in Ħal Far (80.5 per cent). Most of the residents were male (85.3 per cent). Sudanese citizens made up the highest share of residents at 14.4 per cent, closely followed by Somalian citizens at 14.1 per cent (Table 18). During the year under review, 159 persons were relocated from Malta to another EU+ country, while 21 persons were resettled from Malta to a country outside of EU+ States. A further 10 persons benefitted from assisted voluntary return programmes and were returned to their country of origin. In 2023, one person was resettled to Malta from a country outside of the EU+ States.