{"id":60545,"date":"2026-10-12T18:11:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=60545"},"modified":"2026-10-12T18:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:11:22","slug":"minister-bedingfield-announces-comprehensive-reform-of-immigration-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/12\/minister-bedingfield-announces-comprehensive-reform-of-immigration-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Bedingfield announces comprehensive reform of immigration law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Minister for Home Affairs and Security, Glenn Bedingfield, visited the Asylum Seekers Welfare Agency (AWAS), where he met with the Agency&#8217;s staff and saw first-hand the work being done in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the visit, Minister Bedingfield announced that in the coming months the Government will be announcing a comprehensive reform of immigration law, with the aim of further strengthening the legal framework and processes related to immigration in Malta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Minister said that Malta&#8217;s economic growth is continuing to attract more foreign workers to the country, a reality that brings with it both opportunities and new challenges that require a responsible response and a legal framework that keeps pace with the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Our country has changed and the realities we live in today are very different from those of the past. We must therefore ensure that our laws reflect today&#8217;s reality and give us the tools we need to manage immigration in a more transparent, fair and efficient manner,&#8221; said Minister Bedingfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said that part of the reform will be the revision of the Immigration Act, which came into force in 1970. Since then, Malta has undergone significant economic and social transformation, becoming a member of the European Union and entering the Schengen area. All of these changes have had an impact on the field of immigration and on the way our country wants to address this sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We need a framework that moves with the times and reflects the Malta of today. The reform will focus on clearer and more efficient processes, while maintaining the principle that security and order in our country must remain a priority,&#8221; the Minister continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister Bedingfield also stressed the need to, at the same time, strike a balance between security and order and respect for human rights and dignity, particularly for those who truly need protection and assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Behind every policy and behind every law are people. Therefore, we want a system that is effective, that provides the necessary certainty and that at the same time protects the dignity of every person. This is a balance that we must maintain in every step we take,&#8221; said the Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister Bedingfield thanked all AWAS workers for their daily work and for the important role they play in the implementation of Government policy in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photo: MHS<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_60545\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60545\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minister for Home Affairs and Security, Glenn Bedingfield, visited the Asylum Seekers Welfare Agency (AWAS), where he met with the Agency&#8217;s staff and saw first-hand the work being done in this area. During the visit, Minister Bedingfield announced that in the coming months the Government will be announcing a comprehensive reform of immigration law, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_60545\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60545\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 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Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Minister for Home Affairs and Security, Glenn Bedingfield, visited the Asylum Seekers Welfare Agency (AWAS), where he met with the Agency&#8217;s staff and saw first-hand the work being done in this area. During the visit, Minister Bedingfield announced that in the coming months the Government will be announcing a comprehensive reform of immigration law,&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60547,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60545\/revisions\/60547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}