Children of non-EU families appealing their eviction from Malta should not have been sent letters ordering them to return to their countries, the parliamentary secretary responsible for citizenship has said. 

Families were left distraught when they received letters from Identity Malta on Monday, asking them to leave the country “as soon as possible”.

The letters were sent to six children, whose parents live and work in Malta. The archbishop was among those who called for the decision to be revisited after Times of Malta reported the story on Tuesday morning. 

‘Go home’ – children appealing eviction are told https://t.co/aXFcgjulTg I wonder whether whoever wrote the letter would know of Kafka and was perhaps trying to invent worse nightmares for people. Unconscionable. Please revisit your decision.

— Bishop CJ Scicluna (@BishopScicluna) April 8, 2020

In a statement in the afternoon, Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat said he acknowledged that the sending of the letters caused unnecessary hardship to the families involved, especially in the current exceptional circumstances caused by COVID-19.

"Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Malta, the proceedings of the Immigration Appeals Board have been suspended. In view of this, Identity Malta has decided not to extend the interim permit of third-country nationals who are staying in Malta only to await the outcome of their appeal. However, this does not apply to minors whose parents are both authorised to reside in Malta, and hence the letters mentioned in the article should not have been sent," his secretariat said.

Last December, Times of Malta reported that 41 children from Serbia and North Macedonia had been denied residence permits because their parents did not satisfy a policy which requires third-country nationals to earn €19,000 a year, as well as €3,800 extra per child.

The news, which came out just before Christmas, caused an outcry, and led to a fund-raising campaign fronted by tenor Joseph Calleja and the Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

Since then, the families of 37 of the children have appealed the decision through the Immigration Appeals Board. However, on Monday, Identity Malta wrote letters addressed to at least six of the 37 children, telling them that the board was temporarily closed because of the COVID-19 crisis and that they should continue the appeal outside the country.

“Given such circumstances and in view that even if the sittings of the board are resumed, the proceedings may still continue notwithstanding your absence from Malta, you are requested to make arrangements in order that you may depart from Malta as soon as possible,” the letter read.

Dragan Stojkovski from North Macedonia, whose 10-year-old daughter Eva was one of the children ordered to leave, told Times of Malta he and the other families were appalled by such an attitude and would continue to contest this decision however possible.

“This is unacceptable and disrespectful to us as legally employed taxpayers. It also violates my child’s human rights of being with her parents,” he said.

“In a very difficult situation for the entire world where we all need to stand together to overcome an invisible threat, instead of showing solidarity, Identity Malta are holding themselves to be the judge, jury and executioner of our cases.”

The legal representative of the 23 families lodging the appeal said that the request was illegal and was causing great distress to his clients. He asked not to be named.  

Government backtracks

In its statement, the Secretariat for Citizenship said the children in question will not be separated from their families or sent home.

"To be precise, the letters in question were not removal orders or return decisions, as stated in the article. The law clearly states that only the Principal Immigration Officer can issue such notifications, and not Identity Malta. Furthermore, there is no obligation to grant a residence permit whilst appeals are ongoing. It has always been the prerogative of the Maltese authorities to issue such permits until a decision is taken by the Immigration Appeals Board."

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Malta, it added, the proceedings of the Immigration Appeals Board had been suspended. Identity Malta, therefore, had  decided not to extend the interim permit of third-country nationals who were staying in Malta only to await the outcome of their appeal.

"However, this does not apply to minors whose parents are both authorised to reside in Malta, and hence the letters mentioned in the article should not have been sent."

Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat has instructed Identity Malta to remedy the situation with immediate effect, ensuring that such occurrences are not repeated.