Bangladeshis Make Up Overwhelming Majority Of Sea Arrivals To Malta Throughout 2023
The majority of sea arrivals to Malta between January and August came from Bangladesh, continuing part of a demographic trend seen in 2022, new UNHCR figures reveal.
Sea Arrivals
Between 1st January and 13th August 2023, there were 231 sea arrivals in Malta (including two medical evacuations).
A breakdown of nationalities found that 65% (149) were Bangladeshi, 9% (21) were Syrian, 8% (19) were Guinean, 7% (17) were Cameroonian, 6% (13) were Egyptian, 2% (5) were Sudanese, and 1% (3) each were Palestinian and South Sudanese. The nationality of one person is unknown as it was not possible to register him due to his medical condition.
During the same period in 2022, 75 people arrived to Malta by sea and in 2021, Malta saw 485 sea arrivals. In 2021 this figure was 458 and in 2020, it was 2,045.
Demographics applying for asylum
The majority of arrivals so far in 2023 were adult males (84% (195), compared to 65% in 2021 and 80% in 2022).
Additionally, 7% (16) were adult women and 9% (20) were children, two of whom were accompanied, and 18 of whom were alleged unaccompanied minors at the time of disembarkation.
There were 282 applications for asylum in the first half of 2023.
Of these, 225 were first-time applications, 54 were subsequent applications, and three were re-opened/reviewed. Nationals from Bangladesh, Sudan and Syria were amongst the top three nationalities applying.
As of 30th June, the International Protection Agency had issued 1,160 decisions at first-instance.
The recognition rate (grants of Refugee Status or Subsidiary Protection) stood at 16% (178), whilst the rejection rate stood at 36% (421).
There was a high number of “closed” cases (48%; 555), referring to decisions comprising of administrative closures (72), Dublin closures (103), applications that are explicitly (51) or implicitly withdrawn (304), and those deemed inadmissible (25).
Temporary Humanitarian Protection (THP) was granted to six people.
An analysis found the average waiting time for a first instance decision (substantive, grant or rejection) issued in 2023 was 2.3 years.
International Protection was granted on average after 2.6 years for Syrians, 2.4 years for Eritreans, and 2.7 years for Somalis.
The average time for rejected cases stood at 2.9 years for Sudanese, 3.3 years for Syrians, 2.5 years for Somali, and almost 54 days for Bangladeshis.
Open Centres
As of 3rd July, 227 individuals were residing in open reception centres in Malta and an additional 210 were residing in the community and benefiting from social assistance.
Some 69% (156) of the population in the reception centres were adult males, 92% of those are living in Ħal-Far Tent Village alone.
The top three nationalities residing in the open centres were Somali (18%), Sudanese (17%) and Syrian (13%).
As regards beneficiaries of social assistance in the community, the top three nationalities are Syrians (33%), Libyans (17%) and Ukrainians/Somalis (9% each).
Ukraine Situation
Malta has granted 420 Temporary Protection Certificates up to 13 August 2023 to eligible persons fleeing the war in Ukraine.
In total, 2,055 certificates have been issued since February 2022.
Most of the applicants in 2023 are Ukrainian nationals, except three, one adult female and one adult male from Russia and one adult male from Georgia.
Women and children account for about 74% (310) of the TP certificates issued during 2023. Some 26% (110) of certificates are issued to adult men.
UNHCR said that is has been and will continue to visit open and closed centres to provide information on the asylum system, and will continue to monitor disembarkations and provide legal and psycho-social support to forcibly displaced and stateless people.
What do you make of the latest UNHCR figures?
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