Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has said that by the end of this August, 1,144 irregular immigrants have been deported from the Maltese islands. From this total, 416 were sent back to their country of origin while the other 728 were transferred to other EU Member States.

He was responding to a Parliamentary Queston posed by MP Davina Sammut Hili

Since the beginning of 2021, a total of 5,481 irregular immigrants have been deported from the country. Reasons for deportation typically vary between being rendered ineligible for asylum status, being found living in Malta irregularly, and others who were returned voluntarily, the information showed.

From the 416 people sent back to their countries of origin, 18 were assisted voluntary returns.

Since the beginning of 2021, the number of irregular immigrants sent back to the countries of origin totalled at 2,298. During this same period, 3,183 people were transferred to other European Union Member States.

This year is trending to mark a five-year high in deportations back to irregular immigrants' respective countries of origin. In 2021, there were 448 such returns, followed by 348 returns in 2022, 599 in 2023, and 487 in 2024.

If trends persist, a five-year high may also be reached for the annual number of irregular immigrants transferred to other EU countries. Only 121 of these returns to mainland Europe were recorded in 2021, followed by 618 in 2022, 778 in 2023, and 937 last year, the data shows.

The nationalities of the persons deported varied, according to Minister Camilleri. Among the most notable nationalities were people from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Albania, Egypt, Serbia, Mali, Gambia, Nigeria, Chad, and Senegal.