Malta's migration system is causing sustained harm to asylum seekers and refugees while failing to support meaningful integration, according to Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta.
In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, the organisation warned that detention, legal precarity and weak labour protections are leaving people vulnerable to exploitation, long-term poverty and social exclusion, despite many having lived and worked in Malta for years.
Katrine Camilleri, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta, said detention remains a defining feature of Malta's reception system, particularly for people arriving by boat, shaping their experience of the asylum process from the moment they reach Maltese shores. Asylum seekers are often detained immediately upon arrival, during a period when they are deprived of access to independent organisations and information that could assist them in understanding their rights and procedures they face.
Detention, Camilleri explained, is especially harmful given the circumstances in which many people arrive. Asylum seekers often reach Malta after fleeing war, persecution or extreme hardship, having already endured traumatic journeys. Being deprived of liberty at this stage exacerbates trauma and isolation, making it more difficult for people to engage meaningfully with the asylum process. While detention conditions have changed over the years and are not comparable to those of previous decades, Camilleri said detention has remained a constant feature of Malta's system.
She warned that detention is likely to become even more entrenched under new EU asylum and migration rules, which increasingly rely on containment and accelerated procedures. According to Camilleri, this trend risks undermining access to protection by limiting people's ability to obtain information, legal support and assistance from civil society. It also reduces the capacity of authorities to properly identify vulnerability, including international protection needs, health concerns, trafficking indicators or age related issues.
Camilleri questioned the assumption that detention is necessary to manage asylum seekers effectively. Historically, she noted, many asylum seekers lived in the community while awaiting decisions on their claims, remained in Malta and complied with proceudres without being detained. "It's not clear what obejctive benefit detention brings to the asylum process itself," she said, describing it instead as a migration management tool laregely oriented towards return rather than protection.
Serious concern was raised over the impact of detention on children, including unaccompanied minors, an issue highlighted in JRS Malta's Children in Limbo report. Although children are no longer routinely detained alongside adults, Camilleri stressed that detention in any form has significnt psychological and social consequences for children. Uncertainty surrounding age assessments, asylum outcomes and the duration of detention creates intense anxiety, particularly in the absence of consistent care or trusted adults.
According to Camilleri, many young people who experienced detention as minors continue to feel the effects well into adulthood. Feelings of fear, abandonment and instability are common, especially for those who spent extended period in detention without adequate support. She said such practices contradict Malta's obligations under international and European law, which require states to prioritise the best interests of the child and to use detention only as a measure of last resort.
Beyond detention, Camilleri pointed to widespread labour explotation as another structural failure within the migration system . Findings from the 2025 Forced to Hide report document severe exploitation linked to migrants' precarious legal status, including excessive working hours, non-payment of wages and unsafe conditions. She explained that this exploitation stems from the interaction between rigid, bureaucratic migration laws and insufficient enforcment of employment legislation.
While migrants must navigate complex documentaton requirements and short-term permits to maintain their legal status, employers face limited scrutiny over how workers are treated. Camilleri said this imbalance enables exploitation to occur openly, often without consequence. The situation is particularly acute for undocumented migrants and those with precarious or temporary residence permits, who fear that reporting abuse could lead to detention or deportation.
She also criticised enforcement practices that prioritise immigration control over labour rights. Over the years, JRS Malta has encountered several cases where individuals were detained following workplace inspections, despite being victims of labour exploitation or even human trafficking. When immigration enforcement takes precedence, camilleri said, violations of employment law are effectively sidelined, allowing abusive practices to persist.
Despite holding legal status and employment, many refugees remain trapped in poverty. Research has shown that around 80 percent of refugees in Malta live below the poverty line, reflecting the deep structural barriers to integration. Camilleri stressed that integration cannot be reduced to emplyment alone, particularly when work is unsecure, low-paid and offers little opportunity for advancement.
Many refugees, she said, remain confined to the same low-skilled jobs for years, regardless of experience or effort. Fear of losing employment- and with it the right to remain in Malta - discourages people from changing jobs or challenging poor conditions. Family seperation, limited recogntion of qualifications and restricted access to education further compound these challenges, leaving many refugees in a constant state of anxiety and instability.
Camilleri also highlighted the absence of clear and accessible pathways to long-term security and citizenship as a major barrier to integration. Citizenship in Malta remains highly restrictive, with lengthy and opaque application process. Applicants often receive rejections without explanation, making it difficult to understand how to improve future applications. As a result, even refugees who have lived in Malta for most of their lives can remain in legal limbo.
JRS Malta has repeatedly called for the reintroduction of a regularisation pathway for long-term undocumented migrants, similar to former Specific Residence Authorisation scheme had benefited not only migrants but also employers and Maltese society more broadly.
However, she noted that there is currently little political will to revive such pathways. Authorities often argue that regularisation could discourage cooperation with return procedures, but Camilleri said this argument overlooks the reality of people who have built lives in Malta over many years. Failing to recognise their contribution, she warned, harms individuals while undermining social cohesion.
Ultimately, Camilleri stressed that meaningful change requires both policy reform and a shift in public attitudes. Viewing migrants solely through the lens of deterrence, irregularity and return ignores the fact that many are already part of Maltese society, living, working and contributing alongside Maltese citizens.
According to Camilleri, prioritising human rights, enforcing labour law and creating clear pathways to full belonging would make the most tangible difference to the lives of asylum seekers and refugees. How the state treats its most vulnerable people, she concluded, reflects not only migration policy but the values of society as a whole.