Asylum applications and boat arrivals drop sharply ahead of World Refugee Day

Malta recorded a significant drop in asylum requests, boat arrivals and pending migration cases last year, according to new figures released by the National Statistics Office on the eve of World Refugee Day.

The NSO said the International Protection Agency received 701 initial and repeat applications for asylum in 2024, excluding temporary protection requests. This marks a 17.9% decrease from the previous year.

At sea, the trend was similar. There were just six boat landings throughout the year, bringing 238 people to Maltese shores, including those rescued or airlifted. The figure represents a 37.4% drop compared to 2023.

The majority of arrivals (80.7%) were citizens of Asian countries, while 19.3% came from African nations. The busiest month was December, when 83 individuals arrived.

Out of the 701 asylum applicants, 229 were granted some form of protection, while 298 were rejected. By the end of the year, 1,497 applications were still pending, down by nearly a quarter compared to the year before.

Temporary protection—primarily for Ukrainian nationals fleeing war—remains the most common status in Malta. As of December, 2,221 people were living in the country under such protection.

In terms of accommodation, 193 individuals were housed in open centres, with the vast majority residing in Ħal Far. Most of the residents were Sudanese and Somali nationals.

Migration movements out of Malta also continued. In 2024 so far, 60 people have been relocated to other EU member states, 54 were resettled to countries outside the EU, and 35 returned to their countries of origin through assisted voluntary return programmes.