Updated July 12
Maltese residents who were already abroad when a change in travel regulations was announced on Friday and whose return flights are already booked can return home with a negative PCR test and without the need to quarantine, Superintendent of Health Charmaine Gauci has confirmed.
In an email that MEP candidate Peter Agius posted on Facebook, Gauci said "we will be allowing Maltese citizens who are already abroad with booked dates for return to come with a negative PCR and without need for quarantine".
A government spokesperson told Times of Malta on Monday that the exemption would apply to all residents with a valid Maltese residence card.
Following a surge in COVID-19 cases, the government on Friday said that, as of Wednesday, all travellers arriving in Malta must present a recognised COVID-19 vaccination certificate, and children accompanying their parents will have to present a recent negative PCR test.
This means that only adults vaccinated with an EU-recognised vaccine - Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen - and their children, aged under 12 will be allowed into Malta. A PCR test is required by the accompanying children aged 5-11 but unaccompanied children will not be allowed into the country.
Children under 5 do not need a test.
Speaking on One Radio on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Robert Abela also said that the ban would not apply to Maltese nationals residing in Malta who had travelled abroad prior to the ban.
Agius had earlier proposed that the government should follow the concept of "family reunion" for those Maltese expats who have been affected by the travel ban.
“This concept would be compatible with the EU principle of non-discrimination. Those who can prove that they have relatives, or are in a stable relationship with a person who lives in Malta, will be exempted from the new rules,” he had said.
He said that should the proposal be taken up, it would allow Maltese living abroad with unvaccinated children or an unrecognised vaccine to enter Malta with a PCR test.
But since the relevant legal notice has not yet been published, it is not clear whether Maltese citizens working abroad who are not yet fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel to Malta with a PCR test and without the need to quarantine.