On the night between Sunday 28 December and Monday 29 December 2025, a group of 44 irregular migrants, who had been disembarked in Malta after being rescued on 12 December 2025, began their journey back to their country of origin in an operation led by the Malta Police Force.
This operation followed another return operation involving four individuals in the preceding days. As a result, within a relatively short period, just 17 days, 48 people who had entered Malta irregularly, were returned to their home countries.
This most recent operation was not only a large one, but it was also carried out within a relatively short timeframe, as these irregular migrants formed part of a group that had arrived in Malta on 12 December 2025 after being rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta.
Their swift return was made possible through close coordination between the Malta Police Force and several entities and directorates within the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, as well as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.
With this latest operation, the equivalent of 81% of the irregular migrants who arrived in Malta during 2025, have been returned to their countries of origin. At the same time, arrivals have remained at some of the lowest levels, as a result of the firm and fair policy implemented by the Maltese government, where deterrence and prevention are central pillars of this work. In fact, arrivals over the last five years have decreased by 93%, while returns of individuals who do not qualify for asylum to their countries of origin have increased.
Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, Byron Camilleri, noted that Malta continues to implement a fair migration policy which ensures that those who deserve protection as refugees are given all necessary assistance, while those who abuse the system and therefore have no right to remain in Malta are returned to their country in the most effective manner. Minister Camilleri added that carrying out this operation within just 17 days sends a strong message that the business model of human traffickers is being challenged, as it clearly shows that participation in this criminal model does not pay. This is a model that risks lives at sea, and every time the state attacks this model, the risk of lives being lost at sea is reduced.
At the Ħal Safi Detention Centre, during the pre-flight preparations, Minister Byron Camilleri thanked all the workers involved for their coordination.
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment
Photo (MHSE)
