B 4031
L.N. 488 of 2021
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION ACT
(CAP. 420)
Procedural Standards for Granting and Withdrawing 
International Protection (Amendment) Regulations, 2021
IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 25 of the
International Protection Act, the Minister for Home Affairs, Na tional
Security and Law Enforcement has made the following regulations :-
Citation and 
scope. 
S.L. 420.07.1. (1) The title of these re gulations is the Procedural
Standards for Granting and Withdrawing International Protection
(Amendment) Regulations, 2021 and these regulations shall be re ad
and construed as one with the Procedural Standards for Granting  and
Withdrawing International Protection Regulations, hereinafter r eferred
to as "the principal regulations".
(2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose:
(a) Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for
granting and withdrawing interna tional protection (recast); 
(b) Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the
qualification of third-country na tionals or stateless persons a s
beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status  for
refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and  for
the content of the protection granted (recast); and 
(c) Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for th e
reception of applicants for international protection (recast).
Substitutes 
regulation 2 of the principal 
regulations.2. Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be
substituted by the fol lowing new regulation:
"Scope. 2. The scope of these regulations is to transpose:
(a) Directive 2013/32/EU of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on
common procedures for gra nting and withdrawing
international protection (recast);
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B 4032
Adds new 
regulation to the 
principal regulations.3. Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations,
there shall be added the following new regulation:
Amends 
regulation 12 of the principal 
regulations.4. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 12 of the principal(b) Directive 2011/95/EU of the European
Parliament and of the C ouncil of 13 December
2011 on standards for the qualification of third-
country nationals or stateless persons as
beneficiaries of interna tional protection, for a
uniform status for refugees or for persons eligiblefor subsidiary protection, and for the content of the
protection granted (recast); 
(c) Directive 2013/33/EU of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013
laying down standards for the reception of
applicants for internati onal protection (recast).".
"
Information and 
counselling in 
detention facilities and  at border 
crossing points.5A. (1) Where there are indications that third-
country nationals or stateless persons held in detention
facilities or present at border crossing points, includingtransit zones, at external borders, may wish to make an
application for internati onal protection, the relevant
authorities shall provide t hem with information on the
possibility to do so and shall make arrangements forinterpretation to the extent necessary to facilitate access
to the asylum procedure.
(2) Organisations and persons providing advice
and counselling to applicants shall have an effectiveaccess to applicants present  at border crossing points,
including transit zones, at ex ternal borders, subject to
rules as well an agreement covering the presence  andaccess of such organisati ons and persons in these
crossing points:
Provided that limits on such access may be
imposed only where such limits are objectivelynecessary for the security, public order or
administrative management of the crossing points
concerned, as long as access is not thereby severelyrestricted or rende red impossible.".
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regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regul ation:
Substitutes 
regulation 13 of 
the principal regulations.5. Regulation 13 of the principal regulations shall be
substituted by the following new regulation:"(2) A legal adviser assi sting and representing an
applicant shall enjoy access to the information in the
applicant’s file, upon the basis of which a decision is or
will be made and as is liable to be examined by the
International Protection Appeals Tribunal insofar as theinformation is relevant to the examination of the
application:
Provided that the legal adviser shall also
enjoy access to information regarding the general
situation prevailing in the countries of origin of the
applicant and, where necessary, in countries through
which the applicant may have  transited as well as other
information in relation to particular issues such as
medical, cultural, religious and child-related or gender
issues:
Provided further that whe re disclosure of such
information would jeopardi ze national security, the
security of the organisa tions or persons providing
information or the security of the persons to whom theinformation relates, or where the investigative interestsrelating to the examina tion of applications for
international protection by th e International Protection
Agency or the international relations of Malta would becompromised, such access shall be precluded.".
"13. (1) When an applicant explicitly withdraws
his application, the International Protection Agency shall
decide either to discontinue the examination or reject the
application. A notice to such effect shall be entered in the
applicant’s file.
(2) When an applicant has implicitly withdrawn
or abandoned his application, the Intern ational Protection
Agency shall ensure that a decision is taken to eitherdiscontinue the examinati on or, provided that such
application is deemed to be  unfounded on the basis of an
adequate examination of its s u b s t a n c e ,  t o  r e j e c t  t h eapplication.
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(3) If the International Protection Agency decides
to discontinue the examination without taking a decision,
a notice to such effect shall be entered in the applicant’s
file:
Provided that the International Protection
Agency may assume that the applicant has implicitly
withdrawn or abandoned his appl ication for international
protection when it is ascertained that: 
(a) he has failed to provide information
essential to his applicati on or has not appeared for a
personal interview unless the applicantdemonstrates, within a reasonable time, that his
failure was due to ci rcumstances beyond his
control; or
(b) he has absconded or left without
authorisation the place where he lived or was held,
without contacting the competent authorities within
a reasonable time or he has not, within thirty (30)
days, complied with reporting duties or otherobligations to communicate, unless the applicant
demonstrates that this was due to circumstances
beyond his control.
(4) An applicant who reports again to the
International Protection Agency after a decision to
discontinue the examination, is entitled to request his
case to be re-opened or to make a new application whichshall not be a subsequent a pplication. Such application
shall be made in writing stating the reasons supporting
such a request:
Provided that when an applicant reports again
to the International Protection Agency after nine (9)
months of the decision to d iscontinue the examination,
then the applicant’s case can no longer be reopened and
the new application may be  treated as a subsequent
application.
(5) In case the examination of the application has
been discontinued, the applicant’s case may be reopened
only once and the International Protection Agency may
decide to resume the examina tion at the stage where the
examination had been discontinued.
(6) Service of any document relating to the
asylum procedure shall be made by delivery to the
applicant for international protection either in person, or
via electronic mail, or by post  to his last known address: 
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Adds new 
regulation to the principal 
regulations.6. Immediately after regulati on 13 of the principal regulations
there shall be added the  following new regulation:
Amends regulation 17 of the principal 
regulations.7. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 17 of the principal
regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regul ation:Provided that when the applicant is assisted by
a legal advisor or representative, service of any document
relating to the asylum proc edure can be made with his
legal advisor or representative.".
"Lapse of 
International 
Protection."13A. The International Protection Agency may
decide that international pr otection shall lapse where
the beneficiary of international protection has
unequivocally renounced his protection or has become
a Maltese national. Une quivocal renunciation of
protection shall include inter alia :
(a) a written statement by the beneficiary
confirming that he is renouncing his protection
status; or
(b) failure to renew international
protection within a period of twelve (12) months
from the lapse of the vali dity of said protection or
its renewal:
Provided that in case a beneficiary of
international protecti on who has unequivocally
renounced his protection subsequently makes a requestin person to the International Protection Agency to have
his international protection status reinstated, theInternational Protection A g e n c y  s h a l l  r e v i e w  h i s
request to determine whethe r international protection
should once again be granted, provided that the personconcerned still meets the eligibility criteria and is not
excluded from international protection:
Provided further that the same provisions
shall also apply to beneficiaries of Temporary
Humanitarian Protection.". 
"(2) For the purpose of this  regulation, the relevant
authorities shall ensure that:
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Amends 
regulation 18 of 
the principal 
regulations.8. Paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 18 of the
principal regulations shall be su bstituted by the following new
paragraph:
"(a) the unaccompanied minor shall be represented and
assisted by a representative, appointed by the Chief Executive
Officer of the Agency for the We lfare of Asylum Seekers, during
all the phases of the asylum procedure;".
Substitutes 
regulation 20 of 
the principal regulations.9. Regulation 20 of the principal regulations shall be
substituted by the following new regulation:(a) unaccompanied minors are informed
prior to the examination of their application for
international protection, and in a language they
understand or are reasonably supposed to
understand, of the possibility that their age may bedetermined by medical examination. This shall
include information on the method of examination
and the possible consequences of the result of themedical examination for the examination of the
application for international protection, as well as
the consequences of refusal on the part of the
unaccompanied minor to undergo the medical
examination which may include the rejection of theapplication;
(b) unaccompanied minors and, or their
representatives consent t o  a  m e d i c a l  e x a m i n a t i o n
being carried out t o determine the ag e of the minors
concerned;
(c) the decision to reject an application by
an unaccompanied minor who refused to undergothis medical examination has  not be based solely on
that refusal:
Provided that an unaccompanied minor’s
refusal to undergo such a medical examination shall notprevent the determining authority from taking a decisionon the application for international protection, and that
the best interests of the minor shall be a primary
consideration in any such decision.".
"
Rights of 
beneficiaries of 
international 
protection.20. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any
other law to the contrary , and notwithstanding any
deportation or removal order, a person declared to be a
beneficiary of international protection shall be entitled:
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(a) without prejudice to the provisions of
articles 9 and 10 of the Act, to remain in Malta
with freedom of movement, and to be granted, as
soon as possible, personal documents, including a
residence permit for a pe riod of three (3) years,
which shall be renewable:
Provided that a residence permit to be
granted to a family member may be valid for at
least three (3) years and shall be renewable;
(b) unless he is in custody awaiting
judicial proceedings for the commission of a
criminal offence, or is serving a term of
imprisonment, to be given a Convention Travel
Document in the case of a refugee and a TravelDocument in accordance with relevant provisions
o f  n a t i o n a l  l a w  i n  t h e  c a s e  o f  a  b e n e f i c i a r y  o fsubsidiary protection, e ntitling him to leave and
return to Malta withou t the need of a visa;
(c) to have access to employment, social
welfare, integration programmes, appropriate
accommodation, State education and training and
to receive State medical care:
Provided that access to employment, social
welfare, integration programmes, State education andtraining and State medical care including treatment of
medical disorders shall be granted under the sameconditions as nationals:
Provided further that the social welfare
benefits granted to beneficiaries of subsidiaryprotection may be limited to core social welfare
benefits:
Provided further that beneficiaries of
international protecti on shall have access to
accommodation under equivalent conditions as other
third-country nationals leg ally residing in Malta.
(2) (a) Family members of a person granted
refugee status, if they are in Malta at the time of the
decision or if they join him in Malta, enjoy the same
rights and benefits as the re fugee so that family unity
may be maintained.
(b) Family members of a person granted
subsidiary protection, if they are in Malta at the time of
decision, enjoy the same rights and benefits as the
person enjoying subsidiary protection status so that
family unity may be maintained.
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Amends 
regulation 23 of 
the principal regulations.10. Regulation 23 of the princip al regulations shall be
renumbered as sub-regulation (1 ) and immediately thereafter
there shall be added the following new sub-regulation:(3) Beneficiaries of international protection
who have special needs, such as pregnant women,
disabled people, persons w ho have undergone torture,
rape or other serious forms of psychological, physicalor sexual violence or minors who have been victims ofany form of abuse, neglect, exploitation, torture, cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment or who have suffered
from armed conflict, shall  be provided with adequate
health care including treat ment of medical disorders.
(4) Beneficiaries of International Protection
shall be allowed freedom of movement within theMaltese territory.
(5) Beneficiaries of te mporary humanitarian
protection shall be entitle d to the same rights and
benefits as for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection;
provided however that the duration of protection for
beneficiaries of temporary humanitarian protection
shall be of one (1) year and shall be renewable.
Documents issued to such persons shall have the same
period of validity as fo r their protection.".
"(2) For the purpose of these regulations, the
concept of safe country of origin can only be applied tothose countries which have been designated as safe
countries by the International Protection Agency andincluded in the Schedule to the Act.".
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