Serbia Seeks Solution With Malta Over Children Risking Deportation

Serbia is trying to resolve an issue with Malta concerning 22 Serbian children who have been denied residence visas and threatened with deportation because their parents do not meet the minimum income criteria, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"It is a tightened immigration policy that Malta has been announcing for months. Our ambassador reacted already in November, made some contacts and pointed out the peculiarities of the position of our people there," Ministry Secretary-General Veljko Odalovic told the Serbian public broadcaster RTS on December 18.

He added that Serbia has initiated several meetings at which its authorities are expected to come up with better solutions than the one currently in place.

Maltese authorities said they have denied residency permits and unification with families for 22 Serbian children whose parents don't meet the criteria of the minimal income. "The income required for family reunification … is intended to guarantee a decent standard of living for migrant families and their children. If such conditions are set aside, migrant families and their children may suffer undesirable social conditions," the Maltese Identity Agency said on December 17.

The agency said the children will not be evicted immediately, and that the families can file an appeal against the decision denying residency permits for them.

The Serbian families had already been living in Malta and were trying to get visas for their children to relocate there for good. They first complained to the Maltese media that their children risked being sent home to Serbia in September.

"The requirement for a residence permit of a family member of non-EU nationals obliges applicants to earn at least €19,000 a year as well as 20 per cent of...