د . إAEDSRر . س

Maltese Expats Should Be Exempt From New Travel Rules, PN’s Peter Agius Urges

Article Featured Image

PN politician and former MEP candidate Peter Agius has urged the government to exempt Maltese expats from the upcoming travel ban on non-vaccinated people.

Three days before the new rules kick in, Agius urged the government to apply the concept of ‘family reunions’ to distinguish between tourists and people travelling to Malta to visit their families.

This will essentially mean that people who prove that they have relatives in Malta or are in an established relationship with a Maltese resident will be exempt from the new rules and will be able to travel to the island by presenting a negative PCR test.

“This way, we can reduce the pandemic risk and allow Maltese people who live overseas and who have non-vaccinated children or a non-recognised vaccine to enter Malta with a negative PCR test,” he said. 

As of 14th July, Malta will only accept travellers who have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised by the European Medicines Agency – ie. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson and Johnson. Moreover, only vaccines that were administered by an EU member state or the United Kingdom will be deemed valid. 

Exceptions will be given to people who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons and are granted an exemption by the Superintendence of Public Health, Maltese residents who travelled overseas before the new rules were announced and children aged between 5 and 12, who can’t yet get vaccinated in Malta. 

The PN has described the restriction as “extreme” and has proposed an alternative system whereby vaccinated people will have to present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival as well as a vaccine certificate. The party said non-vaccinated travellers should be allowed so long as they present a negative PCR test and are tested again at the airport.

Do you agree with this proposal?  

READ NEXT: Man Jailed For Acting As Policeman And Charging Maskless Tourists €50

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All