Amendments To The Immigration Act (Cap. 217) Loss Of The Right To Freedom Of Movement Or Exempt Person StatusSection 44(4)(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the wife of a citizen of Malta or of a person who enjoys freedom of movement shall herself enjoy freedom of movement as long as she is living with her husband. Until the 9 February 2000 Section 4(i) of the Immigration Act (Cap 217) stipulated that the following persons, amongst others, shall enjoy exempt person status (that is, the right to enter or leave Malta, the right to remain on the Island and the right to work locally): - a citizen of Malta;
- a person who enjoys freedom of movement under Section 44 of the Constitution;
- the spouse of a citizen of Malta or of a person who enjoys freedom of movement as long as he/she is not living apart from the wife/husband under a judgement of a competent court or a deed of separation;
- the widow/widower of a citizen of Malta or of a person who enjoyed freedom of movement as long as he/she was not living apart from the husband/wife by a judgement of a competent court or a deed of separation at the time of his/her death.
The Immigration Act has now been amended so that with effect from the 10 February 2000: - the spouse of a citizen of Malta or of a person who enjoys freedom of movement shall enjoy freedom of movement/exempt person status only if he/she is still married to and living with his wife/her husband;
- the widow/widower of a citizen of Malta or of a person who enjoyed freedom of movement shall enjoy exempt person status only if she/he was still living with her husband/his wife at the time of the latter's death.
This means that the foreign wife or husband of a citizen of Malta or of person who enjoys freedom of movement shall lose the right to freedom of movement and/or exempt person status if she/he is no longer living with her husband/his wife. And in the case of a widow/widower such person would also lose exempt person status if he/she was not living with his wife/her husband at the time of the latter's death.
  
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