Malta 
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Migration ActivitiesPredictably for a central Mediterranean archipelago with an excellent deep-water harbour and a hinterland marked by a frugal aridity, the history of mobility to and from Malta is long and complex. Maltese history itself is often rendered, both in scholarly and popular circles, as a chronological sequence of interactions with outside rules - the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, southern European dynasties, the Knights Hospitallers, the French, and the British. The sub-text to this officializing history includes a variegated set of experiences of displacement and mobile entrepreneurship. For example, the Early Modern period saw the development of circum-Mediterranean maritime networks of merchants and adventurers. The military and socio-economic upheavals of the early nineteenth century and the eventual incorporation of Malta into a world economy underwritten by Pax Britannica, brought with them a significant migration of Maltese to North Africa among other places; they also meant that the island drew in groups like the Indian itinerant merchants whose businesses are still today part of the local commercial landscape. In the twentieth century, a rapid population growth coupled with periods of economic hardship resulted in the large-scale migration of Maltese to Australia, the United States (US), Canada, and so on. Although some of these eventually came back as retirement returnees in the 80s and 90s, the bulk and their descendants now form a vibrant worldwide Maltese diaspora. Skilled and qualified migration, both incoming and outgoing, became an important phenomenon in the last decades of the twentieth and the first years of the present century. Malta’s European Union (EU) membership during the latter period also brought with it influxes from Eastern Europe and elsewhere, as well as transnational networks of Maltese working in EU institutions. Finally recent years have been characterised by the onset and exponential increase of ‘boat’ migration of asylum seekers from sub-Saharan countries. Malta is the smallest EU Member State and the most densely populated. Within this context IOM has started to implement projects that support the Government of Malta in migration management. These include resettlement and relocation to the US and other EU Member States, assisted voluntary return and reintegration programmes, and also support and assistance to asylum seekers and migrants held in closed and open centres. IOM offers technical cooperation support to the Government of Malta also in the field of countering trafficking in human beings. DonorsThe United States Refugee Programme (USRP) entails the processing of refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The principal donor is the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). IOM deals with the preparation of cases and pre-departure procedures once refugees are accepted by the US. IOM has been also increasingly involved after the positive experience of the EUREMA project – a pilot project for intra EU relocation from Malta – in the relocation of a number of refugees within EU Member States as well as Norway and Switzerland. Also in these cases IOM was responsible for the pre-departure procedures, including often cultural orientation prior to departure. Projects
IOM Malta provides assisted voluntary return and reintegration for migrants so requesting through the project – Voluntary Return and Sustainable Reintegration in the Country of Origin, which is now in its third phase (the first one started in January 2009). The assistance of IOM consists of counseling, pre-departure and departure assistance and provision of a reintegration grant to start up a small business in the country of origin. In order to enhance the reintegration component, training activities prior to departure are also included and tailor-made reintegration packages envisaged. To strengthen the reintegration component in the countries of origin, a second project - Cooperation between Malta and African Countries to Enhance Migration Dialogue and Development (CoMAM) is also being implemented to foster the relations with those countries. IOM is also involved in the project “Launching Initiatives supporting Malta’s Efforts to Suppress trafficking - LIMES", to support the Maltese Government in the implementation of their National Action Plan against human trafficking. This will entail also training and awareness-raising activities. Projects
IOM has been working with the Maltese Government to provide migrants accommodated in closed and open centres with information on their rights and duties and what to expect in Malta and in Europe within a wider effort to support their integration and to address their needs. Project
The Migration Profile of Malta is being finalized, in cooperation with the University of Malta, with the aim of providing all those interested with reference data, policies and institutions related to mobility in the country.
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IOM Malta
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
191, Merchant Street
Valletta
Malta
| Tel: | +00.3 562 13 74 61 3 |
| Fax: | +00.3 562 21 22 51 68 3 |
Educational Toolkit
A toolkit teaching young people about migration and asylum in the European Union
