The desire to reunite with family is a key indicator of immigrants' willingness to settle and integrate long-term. While family life is central to MT society, so far, non-EU families in MT are given some of the worst opportunities to reunite and integrate in Europe. The few families that can be reunited will be relatively secure in their future together in MT. To reach that point, they must overcome the limited definition of the family, vague conditions, complicated parallel procedures and limited rights, even potentially violating EU law. This policy creates more obstacles than opportunities from an integration perspective, making MT less welcoming of new families than 32 out of the 38 countries. Only CY, DK, IE and UK are more restrictive. 
In contrast, most new countries of immigration are usually the most welcoming countries for new families (top scores for PT, SI, ES and slightly favourable in HR & IT). Unlike these countries, MT's Regulation 217.06 took a restrictive and minimalist approach to implementing EU law without much justification. This initial approach to family reunion is potentially disproportionate and ineffective for integration and thus is no longer recommended by the  European Commission based on EU case-law and norms. In 2014, MT got +1 point closer to a more family-friendly immigration policy. 

• MT delays and excludes more sponsors from applying than 30 other MIPEX countries (see instead HR, IT, PT)
• Delay up to 2 years is longer than in 24 countries and not recommended by European Commission
• Vague requirement of 'reasonable prospects of obtaining the right to permanent residence', unlike in 27 countries
• Sponsors can only reunite with their unmarried minor children and spouse/partner; non-EU same-sex partners can be reunited as civil-union partners since 2014 (+4 points), similar to 17 countries
• MT remains only 1 of 8 countries setting a disproportionate age limit for couples higher than the legal marriageable age, without equal treatment for young couples including a non-EU citizen
• Unlike 25 countries, MT also enforces more conservative approach for non-EU extended families, with no clear entitlement for sponsors who can provide for their physically or financially dependent elderly parents and adult children
• The average European country is twice as open to non-EU families as MT, especially other countries in Southern Europe (IT, PT, SI, ES)

• The halfway favourable conditions are still more restrictve than most countries, ranking 25th
• Potententially cumbersome housing requirement 
• High and demanding proof of economic resources (average – not minimum – wage, without any social assistance, plus +20% per family member), disproportionate for vulnerable groups, esp. women 
• MT and only 9 other countries have obligations for sponsors and family members to attend and complete courses (in Maltese); MT most discretionary of all, also without specific vulnerable groups exempt in law or flexible alternatives to the course

• Non-EU families are slightly insecure in their status, more so than in 29 other countries (similar to AT, DK, IE)
• They experience a vague and discretionary, potentially long procedure (max 9 months)
• Several grounds for rejection and withdrawal, without explicit obligations to take personal and family circumstances into account
• Family members' permits are not initially as long as their sponsors (see instead 19 countries, most of Western Europe)
• In contrast, clear path and secure future for families to live together in IT, PT, SI, ES

• Same access to education, training and benefits as sponsor, but still formal limits on right to work (as in only 13 countries including only CY & TU in the region)
• Most countries removing these legal obstacles (e.g. AT, GR, ES) that keep families economic dependent on their sponsor with potentially negative long-term consequences 
• Reunited families also kept dependent on sponsor's residence status for 5 years, with even limited rights in case of divorce or domestic violence/abuse