MALTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The number of asylum seekers brought to Malta were down by 46.9% in 2022 when compared to the previous year. The majority were citizens of Asian countries (90.6%), while the remaining 9.4% were citizens of African countries.
The National Statistics Office said that last year 10 boat disembarked in Malta, with 445 migrants being brought to Maltese shores, including persons air lifted at sea. September 2022 saw 176 migrants; the highest recorded, brought to Malta, followed by arrivals in November and August, at 116 and 84 individuals, respectively. So far this year only 92 people, including an unaccompanied child, were brought to Malta after being rescued at sea. Meanwhile in 2022, a total of 1,318 applications for asylum were submitted to the International Protection Agency (IPA), a decrease of 17.4% over the previous year. Slightly over half of the applicants were from African countries (54.5%), while the single largest country of origin by applications was Syria, with 21.2% of the total applicantions. This was followed by Eritrean and Sudanese citizens, at 8.5% and 7.9%, respectively. Slightly over half of the applicants (56%) were males aged between 18 and 34. At the end of 2022, there were 2,974 pending decisions on applications for asylum, a decrease of 25.9% from the previous year. During 2022, the International Protection Agency processed a total of 1,271 applications for international protection; with 15.1% granted a positive decision at first instance, while the remaining applications were rejected. Meanwhile, 258 persons were residing at open centres at the end of 2022, a decrease of 64.1% when compared to the preceding year. Syrian citizens made up the highest share of residents at 17.1%, followed by Eritrean citizens at 16.7%. As of December 2022, there were 1,516 persons benefiting from temporary protection in Malta, with 99.3% being Ukrainian citizens.

– photo agenziafotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews