In 2024, aside from temporary protection cases, the International Protection Agency received 701 initial and repeat asylum applications - marking a 17.9 per cent decline compared to the previous year, the NSO said Thursday.

Boat arrivals and applications for international protection

In 2024, 6 boat landings were recorded in Malta, with 238 individuals arriving on its shores, including those airlifted at sea - representing a 37.4 per cent decrease compared to 2023. The majority of arrivals were citizens of Asian countries (80.7 per cent), while 19.3 per cent originated from African countries. December saw the highest number of persons brought to shore, with 83 individuals reaching Malta.

In 2024, 701 asylum applications were submitted, excluding requests for temporary protection and reviews of prior positive decisions by the International Protection Agency (IPA) - reflecting a 17.9 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.

Among EU Member States, Malta ranked fourteenth in asylum applications per million residents. Cyprus recorded the highest number of applications per capita, while Hungary had the lowest, the NSO said

In 2024, persons of Asian citizenship accounted for 43.8 per cent of all asylum applicants. When considering individual countries of citizenship, Syrian applicants made up 31.2 per cent of the total. More than half of the applicants were aged between 18 and 34 - accounting for 59.3 per cent of applicants.

Decisions on applications for international protection and appeals

In 2024, the IPA issued 229 first-instance decisions granting asylum protection, excluding temporary protection cases. Meanwhile, 298 applications were rejected. Among EU Member States, Malta ranked tenth lowest in terms of asylum approval rates. Estonia recorded the highest share of positive first-instance decisions at 95.7 per cent. In 2024, 64.6 per cent of individuals granted first-instance protection were Syrian nationals.

A total of 392 appeals against first-instance decisions were submitted to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), reflecting a 46.0 per cent decline compared to the previous year. The tribunal processed 388 appeals, with 91.8 per cent (356 cases) resulting in rejection.

Among EU Member States, Malta recorded the twelfth lowest positivity rate for final-instance appeal decisions. Portugal, Cyprus, Poland, Luxembourg and Slovenia rejected over 98.0 per cent of the appeals processed. Bulgaria, Slovakia and Italy reported having positively decided over 75.0 per cent of the appeals processed.

At the end of 2024, 1,497 asylum applications were awaiting either a first-instance or final decision, marking a 24.4 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. Of these, 591 cases were pending an initial ruling from the International Protection Agency, while 906 were awaiting a final decision on appeals before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (Table 11; Chart 4). Among those awaiting a decision, 16.0 per cent were Syrian nationals, 11.7 per cent were Libyan nationals and 11.4 per cent were nationals of Sudan.

Temporary protection

The European Council activated the Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine since 2022. This Directive enables EU Member States to provide immediate and temporary protection to residents fleeing conflict. Across the EU, approximately 780,320 temporary protection decisions were issued in 2024. Germany accounted for the largest share (29.4 per cent), followed by Poland (21.2 per cent). When measured per million residents, Czechia ranked highest, while France had the lowest number of temporary protection grants. At the end of 2024, approximately 4.3 million individuals across the EU were under temporary protection.

As of December 2024, Malta had 2,221 persons benefiting from temporary protection, with 99.3 per cent being Ukrainian nationals. The majority of beneficiaries were female (68.2 per cent), and 25.6 per cent were minors aged 0-17.

Open centres and resettlement, return and relocation programmes

By the end of 2024, 193 individuals were residing in open centres - a 13.1 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. The vast majority (90.7 per cent) were housed in Ħal Far, with male residents making up 81.9 per cent of the population residing in open centres. Sudanese citizens accounted for the largest share (14.5 per cent), followed by Somali nationals (12.4 per cent).

Throughout the year under review, 60 persons were relocated from Malta to another EU+ country, while 54 were resettled outside of the EU+ States. Additionally, 35 persons returned to their country of origin through Assisted Voluntary Return programmes.