NEWS | Wednesday, 29 October 2008

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THE GREAT ESCAPE

‘thousands' of asylum seekers have left malta

James Debono
The government claims to have no clue on how many irregular migrants are still in Malta, after their application for asylum was turned down by the Commissioner for Refugees.
A total of 3,241 requests for asylum were turned down in the past six years, but what happens to this category of immigrant afterwards remains a mystery.
When asked to state the number of failed asylum seekers who have been in Malta for more than a year, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs said that “this statistic is not available.”
Because while the government deported 5,192 immigrants from the 11,273 asylum seekers who came to Malta in the last six years, informed sources told this newspaper that thousands of asylum seekers have left the island – both legally, and illegally.
MaltaToday is reliably informed that asylum seekers, both rejected or those given temporary humanitarian (or subsidiary) protection, have been issued with travel documents by the government which gave them temporary leave from the island.
But once these asylum seekers arrive on mainland Europe, they seldom return back to Malta where they see no hope of making a living, or integrating into the community.
“Travel documents are given to asylum seekers for a temporary visit abroad, say to visit family members. They seldom come back,” a source privy to applications for these documents, said.
Other sources confirmed that failed asylum seekers and those given temporary protection also manage to ‘slip through the net’ by once again being smuggled out of Malta, and into Italy.
But experts who spoke to this newspaper said asylum seekers who do not wish to re-enter the trafficking cycle again have an official means of leaving the island.
They first ask for permission for short-time travel, for example one week, using a Convention Travel Document, to visit relatives in another EU state. This is especially possible for both refugees and persons with temporary humanitarian status as laid down in the Refugee Act.
NGOs or residential homes can also support their application in their wish to travel abroad, with contacts made with their relatives. The relatives may also have to issue an official invitation, if for example the person is under-18.
The authorities then issue a UNHCR travel document, valid for one week, after which the visa expires and the asylum seeker has to return.
This practice was especially established for under-18s who are under a government’s care order and are housed inside residential homes. A report sponsored by the EU’s Daphne II programme, seen by MaltaToday, established that up to 80% of minors do not return to Malta.
It is not know what follow-up action is taken by the authorities once the asylum seekers do not return, but sources said that most of them do not return. In other cases, those arriving in another EU member state with the travel document are sent back because their travel document is not accepted.
But the government has other ways of keeping tabs on asylum seekers, mainly because they have to renew their police ID card every year, or else they have to collect their allowances from the state.
Migrants whose asylum claim is rejected are entitled to a daily allowance of €3.49 – barely enough for a soft drink and a meal.
Those asylum seekers who are granted protection, are eligible for €4.66 a day.
Although asylum seekers are not automatically banned from seeking employment, they are advised to follow the Employment and Training Corporation’s procedures for third-country nationals, which however still makes their entry into the labour market difficult.
The ETC is willing to grant permits on the same conditions as third-country nationals, but employers must vouch that no Maltese or EU citizen can do the job
But sources say the work is often still carried out irregularly and intermittently, at wages that are not even enough for daily sustenance.
The ministry spokesperson acknowledged that the repatriation of failed asylum seekers is “not an easy task”, claiming they are “prone to resist such efforts at every stage.”
Repatriations can only take place if a failed asylum seeker is identified, or in possession of a travel document that is valid in the country where s/he will be sent back.
Since practically all such persons arrive in Malta without any form of identification or travel documents, this is a difficult process.
Travel documents for a particular individual can only be obtained through a diplomatic representation of the country to which that failed asylum seeker belongs.
But since the majority of these persons hail from countries which do not even have adequate diplomatic representation in Malta, this process is not easy. In these cases, assistance has to be sought through embassies or consulates of these African countries in neighbouring states.
But according to the ministry spokesperson, whenever such embassies cooperate by sending officials over to issue the required documents, the failed asylum seekers also refuse to collaborate.
The EU’s recently approved Pact for Immigration and Asylum includes a number of measures to facilitate repatriation through voluntary return and readmission agreements, at EU or bilateral level with third countries, as well as common arrangements between member states such as joint flights and biometric identification.

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