S.L. 460.17 Art. 14Procedures.

(1) The Director shall inform the person whose free movement has been restricted in accordance with this Order, or who is to be removed, in writing, precisely and in full, of the reasons for such restriction or of the grounds for such removal, on which the decision taken in his regard is based, in a way that is comprehensible to such person, unless this is contrary to the interests of the security of Malta: Provided that, where applicable, the said person shall be informed of the time allowed to leave Malta except in duly substantiated cases of urgency, the time allowed to leave Malta shall not be less than one month from the date of notification.

(2) The Director shall inform the person referred to in subarticle (1), in writing, of such person’s right to lodge an appeal to the Board and the time limit for the appeal and the Board shall allow for an examination of the legality of a removal decision, as well as of the facts and circumstances on which the proposed measure is based, ensuring that the decision is not disproportionate, particularly in view of the requirements laid down in article 13.

(3) Where the application for appeal against a removal order is accompanied by an application for an interim order to suspend enforcement of that order, actual removal from Malta may not take place until such time as the decision on the interim order has been taken, except:

(a) where the removal decision is based on a previous judicial decision; or

(b) where the person concerned has had previous access to judicial review; or

(c) where the removal decision is based on imperative grounds of public security under article 13(4).

(4) The competent authorities may exclude the person concerned from its territory pending the redress procedure, but such person may not be prevented from submitting his defence in person, except when his appearance may cause serious troubles to public policy or public security or when the appeal or judicial review concerns a denial of entry to the territory.

(5) A person, who is removed from Malta or whose free movement has been restricted in accordance with this Order, on grounds of public policy or public security, may submit to the Principal Immigration Officer an application in writing for the lifting of his exclusion from Malta after a reasonable period, depending on the circumstances and in any event after the lapse of three years from the enforcement of the final exclusion from Malta and put forward arguments to establish that there has been a material change in the circumstances which justified the decision ordering the said exclusion and the Principal Immigration Officer, in consultation with the Director shall reach a decision on the application within six months of its submission and such person shall have no right of entry into Malta pending the consideration of his application.

(6) The Principal Immigration Officer may not impose a ban on re-entry following a removal provided that such removal did not take place on grounds of public policy, public security or public health.

(7) A removal order shall not be issued by the Principal Immigration Officer as a penalty or legal consequence of a custodial penalty unless such order conforms to the requirements of articles 12 and 13.

(8) If a removal order as provided for in subarticle (5) is enforced more than two years after it was issued, the Principal Immigration Officer, in consultation with the Director, shall ascertain whether the individual concerned is currently and genuinely a threat to public policy or public security and shall assess whether there has been any material change in the circumstances since the removal order was issued.