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Matthew Vella
The Home Affairs and Justice Ministry has confirmed that asylum seekers will eventually be allowed access to the labour market, in accordance with an EU Directive on minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers, within a year of their application for refugee status.
The one-year period is the maximum timeframe in which asylum seekers can be prohibited from seeking employment, according to the directive, which has a deadline for transposition that expires on 6 February 2005.
Currently, the government’s policy on irregular immigration stipulates a maximum detention period of 16 months for asylum seekers.
However, the directive has not yet been fully implemented in Malta, the Ministry confirmed. A minister spokesperson said it “will be implemented” and that “Malta is in the same position like other Member States.”
The European Commission for Justice and Home Affairs has told MaltaToday it has not yet received any notification of the transposition of the directive from Malta after it sent a letter of formal notice to the Maltese authorities on 22 March 2004.
Most significantly, EU Member States now have to determine a period of time starting from the date an application for asylum is lodged, during which an asylum seeker will not have access to the labour market.
The regulation means that asylum seekers will have access to the labour market even if their application for asylum has not yet been decided.
The regulation stipulates that if a decision at first instance of the application for asylum has not been taken within one year of the application, Member States will have to decide the conditions for granting access to the labour market for the applicant.
The ministry has confirmed that it will stick to the maximum time period for asylum seekers to be prohibited from seeking employment, namely one year.
Access to the labour market cannot be withdrawn during appeals procedures if asylum seekers are first rejected refugee status and appeal the decision.
Friso Roscam Abbing, the spokesperson for Justice and Home Affairs Commission Franco Frattini, said the Commission has organised a meeting with Member States experts, including Malta, who are responsible for implementing the Directive at the national level.
“During the meeting, participants could share their experiences and questions concerning implementation of the act. The Commission services are now examining the measures taken by the Member States aiming at the introduction of the provisions of the act into their legal orders,” Roscam Abbing said.
The Regulation also states that Member States may allow asylum seekers access to vocational training irrespective of whether they have access to the labour market or not.
Roscam Abbing however said there is yet no data on how many asylum seekers have been offered access to training, given the relatively recent date Member States had to implement the Directive.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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