Moviment Graffitti has urged the government to close legal loopholes that leave children born and raised in Malta without a nationality, calling for reforms that would grant citizenship to stateless children and bring Malta's legal framework in line with international standards.

In a policy paper published on Tuesday, the NGO outlined a series of legislative and institutional reforms aimed at preventing and reducing statelessness, particularly among children. The proposals include the creation of a dedicated authority to deal with statelessness, changes to citizenship and naturalisation laws, and the introduction of a formal procedure to determine whether a person is stateless.

While official figures show there were 171 stateless people living in Malta in 2021, Graffitti argues the true number is likely to be much higher. Citing information gathered by civil society organisations, social service providers and affected communities, it said there are believed to be hundreds of stateless people in Malta, most of them children.

According to the NGO, children born in Malta to parents whose asylum applications have been rejected often inherit their parents' lack of legal documentation, leaving them without a recognised nationality or access to basic rights and services.

Without legal identity documents, stateless people face significant barriers throughout their lives, including difficulties accessing education, employment, healthcare and banking services, as well as getting married.

Graffitti said stateless children born and raised in Malta grow up in legal uncertainty and are denied a realistic opportunity to become fully integrated into the only country they have ever known.

The organisation argued that statelessness in Malta is not an unavoidable problem but the result of legal and institutional shortcomings that can be addressed through legislative reform.

"It continued existence, particularly among children born and raised in Malta, constitutes a persistent failure to give effect to Malta's obligations under international and European law and to uphold the principle of the best interests of the child," the NGO said.

It added that statelessness is more than a legal anomaly, describing it as a lived reality marked by insecurity, exclusion and long-term marginalisation.

The policy paper examines the impact of statelessness through available data and personal testimonies, while also highlighting measures adopted in other European countries. It points to Belgium, Finland and Spain, where children who would otherwise be stateless can automatically or almost automatically acquire nationality at birth. Other countries, including the Netherlands, Latvia and the United Kingdom, offer nationality pathways based on long-term residence, while Portugal facilitates citizenship through criteria linked to residence or educational integration.

Among its recommendations, Graffitti called on Malta to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and remove its reservations to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. It also urged the government to establish an independent statelessness authority under the International Protection Agency to identify stateless people, coordinate policy and collect reliable data.

The NGO also proposed introducing a dedicated protection status that would grant stateless people legal residence, the right to work and study, access to healthcare and social services, and protection from arbitrary detention.

Graffitti said every child born in Malta should be registered immediately after birth and that children who would otherwise be stateless should be granted Maltese nationality automatically or as soon as possible, with the best interests of the child guiding all decisions.

The organisation also called for wider reforms to citizenship and naturalisation laws, including easier access to citizenship for stateless people, appeal mechanisms for rejected applications, the ratification of the European Convention on Nationality, and a reduction in ministerial discretion over citizenship decisions.

The full document may be seen here