Immigration Act (Cap. 217), article 2

2. In this Act, unless the co ntext otherwise requires - "Board" means the Immigration Appeals Board constituted by article 25A; "Border Agreement" means an a greement 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 agreem ent, and Border Agreement State and citizen of a Border Agreement Stat e 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" mean s 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 th e 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 departur e by any form of conveyance; Cap. 460. "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 ; Cap. 197. "keeper" where used in relation to a hotel means a hotel-keeper as defined in the Hotels and Cat ering Establishments Act, and, where used in relation to pr emises where accommodation is provided for reward, includes any person who for reward receive s any other person to lodge in the premises either on his own beh alf 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 require s, include references t o attempting to land; "Malta" means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and the IMMIGRATION [ CAP. 217. 3 other islands of the Maltese Archipelago; "master of a vessel" include s 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 r esponsible for immigration; "passenger" means any person, other than a member of a crew, travelling or seeking to t ravel on board a vessel; "passport" means a passport referring to the person who is required to produce the same, furnished with a photograph of su ch person, which is valid on the da te on which the same person see ks entry into Malta and is not due to expire before the proposed d ate of departure of the same pers on from Malta, and includes any ot her similar document establishing the identity and nationality of t he 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 Minist er under article 3, and includes , within the limits of any authority granted by the Principal Immigration Officer under article 3(3), any public officer acti ng under such authority; S.L. 460.17 "removal order" means an order e nforcing the return decision or an order made in relation to the restriction of the free moveme nt of a Union citizen and his family members as provided for in the F ree Movement of European Union Nationals and their Family Members Order;; "residence permit" means a perm it issued under article 7(1); "return decision" means a deci sion issued by the Principal Immigration Officer, stating or d eclaring the stay of a third c ountry national to be illegal and imposing or stating an obligation to return; "Schengen acquis " means the Agre ement 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 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 th e Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and who is not a 4 CAP. 217.] IMMIGRATION person enjoying the Community rig ht of free movement, as define d 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); Cap. 460. "the Treaty" has the same meaning assi gned 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. Appointment of Principal Immigration Officer. Amended by: VIII. 1982.2; XXXIII. 1988.2; IX.2000.7.