On September 16th, Malta’s Ombudsman published a press release which highlights that Malta has not included the Department of Ombudsman in discussions/development of the Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM), reflecting broader trends of anti-immigration attitudes in Malta. The IMM is part of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum which was implemented last June to address concerns surrounding immigration and asylum. The IMM was included in this pact as a safeguard for the newly robust screening system for asylum seekers, and is to be independently developed by each country in the EU. 

 

Malta is a small EU country in the Mediterranean located south of Sicily, which has seen a rise in immigration over the past decade, with immigrants now occupying 31% of the country’s population. Most of these immigrants come from India, Nepal, and the Philippines. The Times of Malta reports that due to these growing numbers of immigrants, and the small geographic size of the country, Malta is the most densely populated country in the European Union, putting strain on the country’s infrastructure and economy. 

 

As explained by Katie Cordina, a nursing student at the University of Malta, immigrants are often looked down on and disrespected in Malta. Cordina is currently writing her thesis on the experiences of immigrant nurses at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta’s main hospital. When asked about the general view of immigrants in Malta, she explained, “Recently an immigrant choked a Maltese person, which broke headlines and everyone was complaining about the trouble that immigrants cause in the country.” 

 

Cordina clarifies that she does not hear many discussions about immigration policy in Malta within her University or hospital networks. However, she notes that she does notice more disrespect towards immigrants as there is a rise in laws restricting immigrants and refugees into the country. International Migrations professor Christopher Blair helps explain the link between legislative policies, and public opinion regarding immigration. “Some countries try to use policies to shape attitudes, and sometimes policies follow from attitudes,” he said.  

 

Princeton Professor Andrew Moravcsik, head of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination explained through an email response that there is nuance to Malta’s lack of action towards the IMM. Professor Moravsik explains that the lack of action may be a delay.  “The literature on EU compliance suggests that enormous cross-national differences exist in average speed of implementation driven by more or less efficient national bureaucracies,” he said. 

 

But this is not the only possibility, “A still more interesting possibility is that the countries (right now the four: Belgium, Italy, Malta, Hungary, for which this seems plausible) are engaged in willful non-compliance due to some internal conflict or particular political or economic cost to special interests of compliance accruing to that country, or specific opposition,” he said. 

 

Professor Blair explains that EU policy often provides an overarching framework, but leaves space for countries to delegate specific laws as demonstrated by the IMM. “Within the broad scope of EU rules, countries certainly implement different levels of policy liberality,” he said. In Malta’s case, the lack of the IMM reflects a trend of low liberality, as The European Council on Refugees and Exiles warns that the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will further prevent asylum seekers from receiving legal help in Malta. 

 

Despite these social and legislative trends towards immigrants and asylum seekers in Malta, human rights groups such as the Aditus foundation, Jesuit Refugee Service, and Malta Refugee Council continue to advocate for refugee and immigrant rights in Malta. “Us immigrants stick together,” said Cordina. 

 

Sources:

Aditus Foundation. Country Report: Malta; Update on 2025. European Council on Refugees and Exiles, June 2026. AIDA Country Report on Malta

European Commission. 2024 EMN-ESTAT Country Factsheet: Malta. European Migration Network and Eurostat, 2024. 2024 EMN-ESTAT Malta Country Factsheet

“The 31% of Malta’s Population Made Up of Foreigners, as Country Received over 32,000 Immigrants in 2025.” The Malta Independent, 9 July 2026. The Malta Independent article

“Malta Remains EU’s Most Densely Populated Country, Eurostat Finds.” Times of Malta, 2026. Times of Malta article