Cap. 217 Art. 2Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"Board" means the Immigration Appeals Board constituted by article 25A;

"Border Agreement" means an agreement to which Malta is a party or any rule in or under the Treaty providing for common border controls and free entry and exit of persons lawfully with the territory, into and from each of the territories of the Member States or States parties to the agreement, and Border Agreement State and citizen of a Border Agreement State shall be construed as such; "carrier" means any person whose occupation is to provide passenger transport by air, sea or land; "citizen of a Member State" means a citizen of a state party to the Treaty; "dependant" in relation to another person means -

(a) the child or step-child of such person, if the child or the step-child is under the age of twenty-one years;

(b) an adopted child under the age of twenty-one years, having been adopted by such person in a manner recognised by law;

(c) a parent or grandparent of such person who proves to the satisfaction of the Principal Immigration Officer that he is wholly maintained by the said person;

(d) any other member of the family as may be prescribed by the Minister; "deportation order" means an order made under article 22; "to embark" includes departure by any form of conveyance;

"European Union" has the meaning assigned to it in the European Union Act;

"exempt person" means any person to whom Part IV of this Act does not apply in accordance with article 4 of the same Act;

"implied condition" means a condition referred to in article 11; "keeper" where used in relation to a hotel means a hotel-keeper as defined in the Hotels and Catering Establishments Act, and, where used in relation to premises where accommodation is provided for reward, includes any person who for reward receives any other person to lodge in the premises either on his own behalf or as a manager or otherwise on behalf of any other person;

"to land" means to arrive or to enter by any form of conveyance and references to landing, unless the context otherwise requires, include references to attempting to land; "Malta" means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and the other islands of the Maltese Archipelago;

"master of a vessel" includes the captain of an aircraft; "member of a crew" means any person employed in the working or service of a vessel; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for immigration; "passenger" means any person, other than a member of a crew, travelling or seeking to travel on board a vessel; "passport" means a passport referring to the person who is required to produce the same, furnished with a photograph of such person, which is valid on the date on which the same person seeks entry into Malta and is not due to expire before the proposed date of departure of the same person from Malta, and includes any other similar document establishing the identity and nationality of the person to whom it refers to the satisfaction of the Principal Immigration Officer; "port" means any place where a person lands in or embarks from Malta and includes an airport; "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this Act; "Principal Immigration Officer" means the person appointed to such office by the Prime Minister under article 3, and includes, within the limits of any authority granted by the Principal Immigration Officer under article 3(3), any public officer acting under such authority; "removal order" means an order enforcing the return decision or an order made in relation to the restriction of the free movement of a Union citizen and his family members as provided for in the Free Movement of European Union Nationals and their Family Members Order;; "residence permit" means a permit issued under article 7(1);

"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; "Schengen " means the Agreement between the acquis Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders of the 14 June 1985 and the Convention of 19 June 1990 implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, and includes all other acts building upon it or otherwise related to it, as well as related agreements; "third-country national" means any person who is not a national of the European Union within the meaning of Article 20(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and who is not a person enjoying the Community right of free movement, as defined in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code); "the Treaty" has the same meaning assigned to it in the European

Union Act; "vessel" includes aircraft, but does not include a vessel belonging to, or in the service of, the military, naval or air force of any country.