The Campaign

This campaign, which started in response to the government’s decision to review the rules regulating the renewal of THPN, brings together NGOs and individuals who are committed to work for a society where all are able to live with dignity.

All of the organizations and individuals supporting this campaign believe that creating in our midst a community of people with less rights, who are vulnerable to abuse and forced to live in poverty and insecurity, is not only morally wrong,  but also undermines the common good of our society.

Further, we believe that migrants who have lived and worked among us for 5 years or more, even if they are supposedly awaiting return, belong to our community – they have become part of us and are contributing to our country in so many different ways, not just by paying taxes. They are our neighbours, our friends, our co-workers, our students, our schoolmates.

We believe that it is unjust to leave them in limbo forever, or to forcibly uproot them from the country which has become their home.

Malta gains nothing by deporting them to their country; if anything we risk losing – not just a member of our community, but also our humanity.

The law should recognize the fact that these people now belong in Malta and give them a status that will allow them to live in freedom, security and dignity.

Through this campaign we are calling on the government to:

Establish a legal pathway to regularisation for all rejected asylum seekers who have lived in Malta for 5 years or more and have not been returned to their country through no fault of their own.

Ensure that the criteria for qualification for regularisation are clear and public and not based only on proof of employment and self-sufficiency, but take all an individual’s integration efforts and links to Malta into account.

Draw up legal rules to regulate both the application and the decision-making procedure, which provide adequate guarantees of fairness, independence and impartiality.

Grant clear legal rights to those who qualify for regularisation, as well as to those who today benefit from THPN, which will allow them to live with dignity and to work towards more permanent forms of status, such as long-term residence, in Malta.

Make sure that, whatever the changes to the procedure for renewal, there is no reduction in the rights and benefits of those who today enjoy THPN.