The number of immigrants with refugee or humanitarian status in Malta could be significantly lower than official figures suggest since a number of them are failing to return after being granted temporary travel documents.

Although immigrants leaving the island on temporary travel documents are supposed to return to Malta, the government is not keeping track of the number of people who fail to return.

Sources told The Sunday Times that the actual number of illegal immigrants in Malta is likely to be much lower than official figures as hundreds leave and never return.

Those people who are granted refugee status and those receiving subsidiary protection are entitled to a travel document, which allows them to apply for a visa and travel.

Over and above those leaving the island legally, there is an unknown number departing illegally. Last month, a number of people were charged with attempting to leave the island with false identity cards supplied by a Maltese man who was described as a "big fish" by a police inspector in court.

Jesuit Refugee Service director Fr Joseph Cassar said: "There is a grey area between the perceived number of migrants on the island and the number actually here, which is less than the official figure".

The large number of migrants attempting to escape from Malta is the reason why many diplomats were surprised at Malta's recent move at EU level to block the introduction of new legislation granting more rights to refugees, including the freedom to move to different member states for work purposes, informed sources told The Sunday Times.

This is because it is believed that the move would have benefited Malta since, given the chance, a large number of migrants would start a life in another EU country.

The Home Affairs ministry, however, defended its position by saying that migrants would have to stay in Malta for five years before being able to move to another EU country. The granting of permanent residence would be a disincentive for these people to return home in cases where the UN declares that their home country is safe.

"Malta is already facing a disproportionate burden and this would make our position worse," a spokesman for the ministry said.

"We are still waiting for the Immigration and Asylum Pact to be put into action. No-one has come forward except for France, which said that it would take 80 people, and even these are still on the island. If we had seen more initiative from other member states to support Malta, we may have considered this differently," the ministry added.

The European Union Pact on Immigration and Asylum includes a resettlement arrangement that would enable Malta to share with other EU countries some of the immigrants to whom asylum has been granted. Yet this can only be done on a voluntary basis.

The implementation of the pact will be the main focus in a meeting to be held between the interior ministers of Malta, Italy, Cyprus and Greece in Rome on Tuesday.

"The aim is to keep the issue of immigration high on the EU agenda. Immigration received a great deal of attention under the French Presidency, but now that the presidency will be taken over by the Czech Republic and then Sweden, we fear that it may be relegated.

"On Tuesday, we will agree on a common strategy to ensure that this does not happen," the ministry said.

The latest EU-wide Eurobarometer survey confirmed the Maltese people's increasing concern about immigration, with 48 per cent mentioning migration as their main concern - an increase of 19 per cent over autumn 2007.

Between January 1, 2002 and September 30, 2008, 204 people were granted refugee status, while 3,761 were granted temporary humanitarian protection. Over 11,000 illegal immigrants reached the island during this period.

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