At least 2,308 foreign workers were working illegally in Malta in 2020, new parliamentary figures have revealed. 

Following a parliamentary question from MP Jason Azzopardi, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana revealed that authorities uncovered that 2,308 people were working without a valued license. 

The number could be much higher, given the number of undocumented migrants in Malta.

Malta currently has close to 70,000 foreign workers in the country, 38,406 people were third-country nationals, while 31,513 people were from the European Union.

The absolute majority of workers reside in Malta. Malta’s population is over 500,000, meaning that foreign workers make up close to 25% of the total population. 

According to a Central Bank report, the average length of stay of foreign workers is 3.5 years, and that remained relatively unchanged since 2012.

Caruana explained that Jobsplus employs several spot checks across a variety of industries, like hospitality, construction, and manufacturing, to ensure that illegalities and abuse are not occurring. 

When a person is found working without a Jobsplus permit, action is taken directly with the employer, who could end being sentenced with a crime if he fails to rectify the situation.

In January 2021, Caruana kicked off the process to introduce a new employment policy, asking stakeholders whether a quota on the number of foreign workers should be applied. 

Caruana was the mastermind in 2014 of the government’s employment policy, which saw a major influx of foreign workers in the country and a significant number of Maltese workers returning to the workforce.

It remains to be seen what changes will be introduced in the new policy.

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