FAMILY REUNIFICATION REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 217.06

FAMILY REUNIFICATION REGULATIONS

5th June, 2007

LEGAL NOTICE 150 of 2007, as amended by Legal Notice 148 of 2017

and 166 of 2018.

Part I

Preliminary

(1) The title of

these

regulations

is

the

Family

Reunification Regulations.

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to implement the

provisions of the European Union Directive 2003/86/EC on the

right to family reunification.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"average wage" means the average annual gross wage published

by the National Statistics Office in the Labour Force Survey;

"the Director" means the Director for Citizenship and Expatriate

Affairs;

"family reunification" means the entry into, and residence in,

Malta by family members of a third country national residing

lawfully in Malta in order to preserve the family unit, whether the

family relationship arose before or after the resident’s entry;

"minor" means a person who has not attained the age of eighteen

years;

"residence permit" means a permit issued under article 4A of the

Immigration Act, and in particular means an authorization of any

type giving the right of residence within the territory of Malta to a

third country national who is not dependent upon a citizen of the

Union;

"sponsor" means a third country national residing lawfully in

Malta who applies for the members of his family to join him for

family reunification purposes;

"third country national" means any person who is not a citizen of

the Union.

Part II

Application for Family Reunification

(1) The sponsor shall be entitled to apply for family

reunification subject to the following conditions

(a) if the members of his family are third country

nationals; and

(b) he is holding a residence permit valid for a minimum

period of one year; and

(c) he has reasonable prospects of obtaining the right of

permanent residence.

(2) The sponsor shall not be entitled to apply for family

reunification if he -

(a) has applied for recognition of refugee status and his

application has not yet been decided;

(b) is authorised to reside in Malta on the basis of

temporary protection or awaiting a decision thereon;

(c) is authorised to reside in Malta on the basis of a

subsidiary form of protection or awaiting a decision

thereon.

Part III

Family Members

(1) Subject to the provisions of Part V and of regulations

18, 19 and 20, the Director shall authorise the entry and residence

of the following family members

(a) the sponsor’s spouse who shall be twenty-one years of

age or over

Provided that in the event of a polygamous marriage,

where the sponsor already has a spouse living with him

in Malta, the Director shall not authorise the family

reunification of a further spouse;

(b) the unmarried minor children of the sponsor and of his

spouse, including children adopted in a manner

recognized by Maltese law;

(c) the unmarried minor children, including adopted

children, of the sponsor or of the spouse, as the case

may be, where the sponsor or the spouse has custody

and the children are dependent on him.

(2) In the case of children whose custody is shared between the

sponsor and his spouse, the Director may authorize their

reunification, provided that the other party sharing custody has

given his or her agreement.

Part IV

Submission and Examination of the Application

An application for entry and residence shall be submitted to

the Director by the sponsor.

The application for family reunification shall be

accompanied by documentary evidence of the family relationship

and of compliance with the conditions laid down in regulations 4,

11, 12 and 13, by certified copies of travel documents of the family

members and documentation regarding his reasonable prospects of

permanent residence.

In order to obtain evidence that a family relationship

exists, the Director may decide to carry out interviews with the

sponsor and his family members and conduct other investigations

that may be necessary.

The application shall be submitted by the sponsor and

examined by the Director when the family members are residing

outside Malta

Provided that in appropriate circumstances, the Director

may accept an application submitted whilst the family members are

already in Malta.

(1) The Director shall give the sponsor, who has submitted

the application for family reunification, written notification of the

decision as soon as possible and in any event no later than nine

months from the date on which the application was lodged

Provided that in exceptional circumstances linked to the

complexity of the examination of the application, the time limit

referred to in this subregulation may be extended.

(2) The Director shall give the reasons for his decision when

rejecting the application.

(3) In the event that the Director fails to give a decision within

the period specified in subregulation (1), the application shall

automatically be passed on for appeal to the Immigration Appeals

Board in terms of regulation 22.

When examining an application, the best interests of minor

children shall be taken into consideration.

Part V

Requirements for the Exercise of the Right to Family Reunification

(1) The Director may reject an application for entry and

residence, refuse to renew or withdraw a residence permit of family

members on grounds of public policy, public security or public

health.

(2) When taking the relevant decision in accordance with sub-

regulation (1), the Director shall consider, besides the provisions of

regulation 21, the severity or type of offence against public policy

or public security committed by the family member, or the dangers

that are emanating from such person.

(3) Renewal of the residence permit of a family member may

not be withheld, and removal from Malta may not be ordered by the

Director, on the sole ground of illness or disability suffered after

the issue of the residence permit.

When submitting the application for family reunification,

the sponsor shall provide evidence that he has -

(a) documents attesting the family relationship that exists

with the persons who are the subject of the application;

(b) accommodation regarded as normal for a comparable

family in Malta and which meets the general health

and safety standards in force in Malta;

(c) sickness insurance in respect of all risks for himself

and the members of his family;

(d) stable and regular resources which are sufficient to

maintain himself and the members of his family

without recourse to the social assistance system in

Malta and which would be equivalent to, at least, the

average wage in Malta with an addition of another

twenty percent income or resources for each member

of the family who will be the subject of the family

reunification application

Provided that benefits or assistance payable under the

Social Security Act or any other national legislation, which the

sponsor is entitled to claim as special assistance in order to meet

exceptional, individually determined essential living costs, tax

refunds granted on the basis of his income, or other income-support

measures, shall be considered as part of his stable resources

Provided further that where the conditions concerning

stable resources referred to in this sub-regulation, are not met by

the sponsor, the Director shall consider all relevant circumstances

and if there are justified reasons to do so, the Director shall accept

the relative amount declared by the said third country national as

satisfying the conditions stipulated therein.

The Director shall not allow the members of the family of

the sponsor to join him in Malta unless he has stayed lawfully in

Malta for a period not exceeding two years.

Part VI

Entry and Residence of Family Members

(1) As soon as the application for family reunification has

been accepted, the Director shall authorize the entry of the family

member or members who were the subject of the application, and

every facility for obtaining the required visas shall be given to the

persons concerned.

(2) The family members shall be granted a first residence

permit of at least one year’s duration which shall be renewable

Provided that the duration of the residence permits granted

to the members of the family of the sponsor shall, in principle, not

extend beyond the date of expiry of the residence permit held by

the sponsor.

(3) The sponsor and the family members may be required to

attend, and successfully complete, courses in the Maltese language.

The family members of the sponsor shall be entitled, in the

same way as the sponsor, to

(a) access to education;

(b) access to employment and self-employed activity

Provided that when the sponsor has access to

employment and self-employment without the need for

an assessment of the situation of the labour market, the

said family members shall not be entitled to access in

the same way as the sponsor for the first twelve

months following their arrival in Malta and for such

period of twelve months after their arrival, their access

to employment or self-employment shall be subject to

an assessment of the situation of the labour market in

Malta and the requirement of an employment licence;

(c) access to vocational guidance, initial and further

training and retraining.

(1) Upon the expiry of a period of five years’ residence in

Malta and provided that the family member has not been granted a

residence permit for reasons other than family reunification, the

spouse or the child who has reached majority shall be entitled, upon

application, to an autonomous residence permit

Provided that, in the case of the breakdown of the marriage,

the Director may limit the granting of such permit to the spouse

only.

(2) The autonomous residence permit is valid for a period of

one year and shall be renewable.

(3) During the period of five years referred to in subregulation

(1), a temporary absence from Malta shall not interrupt such period

and such absence shall not be taken into account in the compilation

of the said period when the periods of absence are shorter than six

consecutive months and do not exceed the total of ten months

within the five year period

Provided that, for exceptional reasons of a temporary

nature, the Director may consider a longer period of absence as not

interrupting the said period of five years.

(1) The Director shall issue an autonomous residence

permit to the widow/widower, to the minor child and to the child

who has reached the age of majority in the event of the death of the

sponsor after having obtained a residence permit for reasons of

family reunification.

(2) The Director shall issue an autonomous residence permit to

a person who, having entered Malta on the basis of a family

reunification permit, is subsequently found to be in particularly

difficult circumstances following a breakdown of the marriage and

other similar difficult circumstances such as domestic violence

against spouses and children, forced marriages and the forced

return by the sponsor of family members to the country of origin.

The Director may reject an application for entry and

residence for the purpose of family reunification, or withdraw or

refuse to renew a family member ’s residence permit, in the

following circumstances

(a) where the conditions laid down by these regulations

are not, or are no longer, satisfied

Provided that, when renewing the residence permit, the

contributions of the family members to the household

income shall be taken into account where the sponsor

fails to prove that he has the sufficient resources

referred to in regulation 12(d) without recourse to the

social assistance system;

(b) where the sponsor and his family members do not, or

no longer live, in a real marital or family relationship;

(c) where it is found that the sponsor is already married;

(d) where it is shown that the family reunification permit

was based on false or misleading information, false or

falsified documents, or otherwise fraudulently

obtained; and

(e) where it is shown that the marriage or adoption which

are the subject of the application for family

reunification was contracted solely for the purpose of

enabling the person concerned to enter or reside in

Malta.

The Director may withdraw or refuse to renew the

residence permit of a family member where the sponsor’s residence

comes to an end and the family member does not yet enjoy an

autonomous right of residence under regulations 16 and 17.

The Director may conduct specific checks and inspections

where there is reason to suspect that there is fraud or a marriage or

adoption of convenience as defined by regulation 18(d) and (e).

Specific checks may also be undertaken on the occasion of the

renewal of residence permits of family members.

Before rejecting an application, withdrawing or refusing to

renew a residence permit or deciding to order the removal of the

sponsor or members of his family, the Director shall take due

a c c o u n t o f t h e n a t u r e a n d s o l i d i t y o f t h e p e r s o n ’s f a m i l y

relationships and the duration of his residence in Malta and of the

existence of family, cultural and social ties with such person’s

country of origin.

The sponsor and the members of his family shall have the

right to appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board against a decision

taken by the Director rejecting the application for family

reunification or refusing to renew or withdraw a residence permit.

Part VII

Family reunification of refugees

This Part shall apply to family reunification of refugees

recognised by the Chief Executive Officer in accordance with the

International Protection Act.

(1) The Director shall authorise the entry and residence of

the family members of refugees referred to in regulation 4

Provided that if the refugee is an unaccompanied minor,

the Director -

(a) shall authorise the entry and residence for the purposes

of family reunification of his first-degree relatives in

the direct ascending line;

(b) may authorise the entry and residence for the purposes

of family reunification of his legal guardian or any

other member of the family, where the refugee has no

relatives in the direct ascending line or such relatives

cannot be traced.

An application for entry and residence for family members

of a refugee whose family relationship pre-dated their entry into

Malta, or where such application was submitted at any date

following the granting of his refugee status, or whose family

relationship was established subsequent to his entry into Malta

shall be submitted in accordance with Part IV of these regulations

Provided that the requirement of documentation regarding

his prospects of permanent residence shall not apply in his case

Provided further that where a refugee cannot provide official

documentary evidence of the family relationship, the Director shall

take into account other evidence and during the examination of the

application, the Director shall consult with the Chief Executive Office

of the International Protection Agency. A decision rejecting an

application may not be based solely on the fact that documentary

evidence is lacking.

(1) When submitting the application for family

reunification, the refugee whose family relationship pre-dated their

entry into Malta shall not be required to provide documentary

evidence as provided for in regulation 12(b), (c) and (d).

(2) The requirements of regulation 14(3) shall not apply to the

family member of the said refugee, unless his family members have

been authorised to join him in Malta.

(1) Refugees whose family relationships post-date the

grant of refugee status or whose application for family

reunification has not been submitted within a period of three

months after the grant of such refugee status shall require to

provide evidence that they have -

(a) accommodation regarded as normal for a comparable

family in Malta and which meets the general health

and safety standards in Malta; and

(b) stable and regular resources which have not been

obtained by virtue of recourse to the social assistance

of Malta and which shall be deemed to be sufficient if

they are equivalent to the statutory minimum wage in

Malta.

(2) The provisions of regulation 13 shall not be applicable with

regard to refugees.