The Government said that 175 irregular immigrants were returned or relocated in the first nine months of the year, this is “well over the a number of 103 irregular immigrants who entered Malta in the same period.”

According to the Home Affairs Ministry, an additional 16 immigrants have also been relocated to other EU countries.

Since beginning of the year, while 115 irregular immigrants were returned to their country of origin, another 60 were relocated to other countries of the European Union, the Ministry said.

The relocation work, through the Voluntary Mechanism of Solidarity, was carried out by the Home Affairs Ministry in collaboration with the International Organisation of Immigration (IOM) and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

The Ministry claimed that relocation is the most efficient way for EU States to reduce the challenges that come with irregular immigration, in particular for border countries, such as Malta.

“While those immigrants who deserve protection are assisted and given all their legal rights, those immigrants who do not deserve protection, or who are living in Malta irregularly, are relocated or returned to their country of origin,” the Home Affairs Ministry said.

File Photo: DOI

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