Malta lifts Ukraine travel ban for asylum seekers
You can read with
Maltese.
Malta will lift travel ban for asylum-seeking Ukrainians in Malta as Russian invasion escalates, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said on Tuesday.
To date, Ukraine is on the dark red travel list, which prohibits travelers from entering Malta unless they have a work permit or residential status.
Announcing the lifting of Covid-19’s travel restrictions from Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said Ukrainians fleeing the war and seeking asylum in Malta they will be required to quarantine according to Covid protocols.
However, Fearne did not give details on whether the € 100 per night stay at an isolation hotel would be lifted for those who do not have an alternative place to isolate.
Fearne’s announcement came as Russia continued to attack Ukrainian cities, killing hundreds of civilians and launching a new offensive in the capital Kyiv.
“It simply came to our notice then. Personally but also as a government and as a nation, we express solidarity. Ukraine is on the dark red list and people from these areas can only come if they are residents or have work permits.
LIVE: “We want to see our children alive again” – Zelensky’s emotional request
“Now we will also be accepting those who have relatives in Malta and all those who are seeking asylum in Malta. They have to quarantine according to the rules in force, “said Fearne.
But Fearne did not answer questions about whether asylum seekers will have to pay for quarantine.
Instead, he said those who come here will likely have a place to stay and therefore, will not need to make use of the hotel.
“As I said, we will be making an exception. Where we can identify an address, we make sure that there is an alternative address so that these people can be quarantined there, ”said Fearne.
Malta is in the process of sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine and will also be accepting Ukrainian cancer patients for treatment at the Sir Anthony Mamo oncology center in Mater Dei.
On Ukraine’s possible EU membership, Fearne admitted that the Maltese government had not yet taken a position on whether Ukraine should be allowed to join the EU.
However, he said that there would certainly be a long discussion at EU level about Ukraine’s membership and that eventually solidarity with Ukraine should be put into practice and not just words.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to give his country an immediate membership as the Russian invasion continues.