The number of residence permits issued by Identity Malta rose by more than half last year, to reach a record 13,800. The biggest proportion, nearly 3,500, went to Libyans.

A breakdown of last year’s permits, showing a 53 per cent rise, was uploaded on the Eurostat website.

The National Security Committee will today discuss the way permits are handed out. The meeting was called by the prime minister at the request of the leader of the opposition following the arraignment of auditor Joe Sammut and revelations that bogus companies were allegedly set up to facilitate the granting of permits. 

According to the figures, the 3,500 permits granted to Libyan nationals last year was also a record. It was more than double the number issued in 2013 and some eight times more than the figure of 2011, during the Libyan uprising. 

Just over 1,400 Russians were granted permits and nearly 1,200 were issued to applicants from the Philippines.  Some 100 permits were issued in 2013 and 2014 to Syrians, compared to just 44 in 2012. 

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