S.L. 217.12 Art. 2Interpretation.

In these regulations -

"Act" means the Immigration Act;

"application for asylum" means an application made by a third-

country national or stateless person who has made an application for asylum in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken by the Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Board; "the Board" means the Immigration Appeals Board as established by article 25A of the Act; "competent authority" means that authority designated as such by the Minister for any purpose of these regulations; "country of origin" means the country or countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence; "entry ban" means an administrative or judicial decision or act prohibiting entry into and stay in the territory of the European Union or the Schengen Associated Countries for a specified period, accompanying a return decision;

"illegal stay" means the presence in Malta of a third-country national who does not fulfil or no longer fulfils the conditions of entry as set out in Article 5 of the Schengen Borders Code or other conditions of entry, stay or residence in Malta; THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS

"international protection" means refugee status or subsidiary protection; "Member State" means any one of the Member States of the European Union; "order to return" means an order issued by the Principal Immigration Officer declaring the stay of a third country national to be illegal and imposing an obligation to return to another Member State in which the third country national is authorised to stay. "removal order" means an order enforcing the return decision;

"return" means the process of a third-country national going back, whether in voluntary compliance with an obligation to return or enforced to his country of origin; or a country of transit in accordance with Community or bilateral re-admission agreements or other arrangements; or another third country, to which the third-country national concerned voluntarily decides to return and in which he will be accepted; "return decision" means a decision issued by the Principal Immigration Officer, stating or declaring the stay of a third country national to be illegal and imposing or stating an obligation to return; "risk of absconding" means the existence of reasons to believe, on the basis of the following criteria, that a third country national who is the subject of return procedures may abscond, when he -

(i) has no permanent address;

(ii) has no, or not enough, resources which are sufficient to maintain himself;

(iii) is considered to be a threat to public policy, public health or national security;

(iv) has not complied with any of the provisions of the Immigration Act and subsidiary legislation made thereunder;

(v) has applied for a residence permit more than once and such application has been refused;

(vi) has failed to cooperate with the Principal Immigration Officer in establishing his identity and nationality;

(vii) has fraudulently provided false identification details or false details regarding his arrival in Malta;

(viii) has destroyed or otherwise disposed of his identification documents;

(ix) is found to be in possession of fraudulent identification documents: Provided that save as provided in article 25A(6) of the Act, in the event of an appeal the third country national in question shall be detained for the duration of the appeal proceedings. "third-country national" means any person who is not a national of the European Union within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS [

EC Treaty and who is not a person enjoying the Community right of free movement, as defined in Article 2(5) of the Schengen Borders Code;

"unaccompanied minor" means a person below the age of eighteen years who arrives in Malta unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him whether by law or by custom; "vulnerable persons" means minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence; and "voluntary departure" means compliance with the obligation to return within the time-limit fixed for that purpose in the return decision.