Author
National forms of protection
The Cyprus Asylum Service was responsible for examining Humanitarian Status, which was a national form of protection, included in the Refugee Law, which provided similar rights as those afforded to asylum seekers.[1] In 2014, the status was removed from the Refugee Law and since then the only available form of national protection is a form of humanitarian status under the article that transposed the Returns Directive, according to which ‘The Council of Ministers may decide, at any time, to grant an autonomous residence permit or other permit granting a right to stay, on compassionate or humanitarian grounds, to a third-country national who remains illegally in the territory of the Republic. [2]
In practice, this protection is examined by the Migration Department, and upon approval of the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, a “special residence permit” is issued and valid for 12 months, granting the right to remain. Such protection is not automatically reviewed by national authorities when they reject an asylum application and/or as they consider a return decision, in most cases applicants will have to apply on their own or with a lawyer or NGO at the Migration Department. However, in 2024, cases were identified where the Cyprus Asylum Service upon rejecting an asylum application and not issuing a returns decision referred the case to the Migration Department for an assessment of such protection.
The status does not automatically afford rights; in some cases, access to the labour market may be included in the decision. However, such access is subject to the authorisation of the Labour Department under the procedure for employing third country nationals (TCN), which is a bureaucratic and often time-consuming procedure as it requires an employer that has a right to employ TCN to submit a contract in the name of the person. For cases that may have serious health issues, a request can be made to the Ministry of Health requesting access to health care on an exceptional basis. [3]
Furthermore, the status is not to be renewed and, once the 12 months elapse, it is not clear what options are available for persons who may still have humanitarian reasons or whose return is not possible. In cases where the person is able to secure employment and contract authorised by the Labour Department, they may be able to obtain a work permit. In all other cases the persons remain undocumented after the 12 months have elapsed.
In 2024, 54 such status/permits were issued and, at the end of the year, 66 such status/permits were valid.[4]
Return procedure
Following the amendments to the Refugee Law of October 2020, the Asylum Service currently issues a return decision together with a negative decision in a single administrative act. The Asylum Service also offers the applicant the option of voluntary return to their country of origin. If no response is received by the rejected applicant about voluntary return or request for assisted voluntary return, then the return decision is referred to the Aliens and Immigration Unit (AIU) who is in charge of execution of return decisions and deportation orders.
For cases examined under the regular procedure, a returns decision is automatically suspended once an appeal is submitted.[5] However, appeals relating to cases examined in the accelerated procedure, subsequent applications, decisions that determine the asylum application unfounded or inadmissible, and decisions related to explicit or implicit withdrawal, do not have automatic suspensive effect. In such cases, a separate application must be submitted to the IPAC requesting the right to remain pending the examination of the appeal (see section Regular Procedure: Appeal).
According to the Ministry of Interior in 2023, Cyprus ranked first among EU States for the highest percentage of returns of new asylum applicant applications and ranked 4th among the 27-member bloc in absolute numbers of returns and deportations of irregular migrants.[6] By the end of 2023, 9,193 people had left Cyprus.[7]
In 2024, Cyprus returned 10,092 persons, voluntarily and involuntarily.[8] According to figures released by the Ministry of Interior and the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Cyprus has recorded the highest ratio of departures to arrivals among EU member states, with a rate of 179 per cent, with a total of 10,941 people having left the country in 2024 (including people relocated).[9] A voluntary return programme offering incentives between 1,000 and 1,500 euros contributed to 8,213 voluntary returns in 2024, compared to 4,636 in 2022.[10] The high number of returns has also been acknowledged by the EU Commission as “one of the success stories when it comes to stepping up on returns”.[11]
Regarding monitoring of returns, the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights/Ombudsman has the mandate to establish and operate an effective monitoring system for the return of irregular staying third-country nationals, which starts from the moment the forced-return procedure commences and ends with the departure of the third-country national from Cyprus and their readmission to their country of origin or to a country host or to another third-country to which they decide voluntarily to return and be accepted. The aim of the Mechanism is to monitor all stages of the forced-return operation undertaken by the competent migration authorities and to exercise effective control in order to ensure the implementation of common rules and procedures provided for in both the European and the National legislation as well as in the Codes of Contact published by Frontex.[12] However, the Commissioner is not present during a significant number of forced-return procedures, most probably due to limited capacity. Additionally, in practice the Commissioner does not monitor voluntary returns.[13]
According to a joint investigation by the NGO Statewatch and the New Arab and UntoldMag news agencies, published in early 2025, the Ministry of the Interior has been “using coercion and deceit to pressure individuals into voluntary returns, at the expense of the country’s obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights”. The investigation into Cyprus’ Assisted Voluntary Return programme, which is “financially and operationally” supported by the EU to enable people who wish to return to their home countries in an “organised, safe and dignified manner”, found that the participation of a number of Syrians had not been based on their free and informed choices. The authors reported that Syrians had faced denial of access to asylum, unfounded accusations of serious crime, and unlawful detention in conditions “contrary to European values and international human rights law”, and that they had been pressured into sign voluntary return agreements “under the threat of forced deportation”. Furthermore, the investigation reports that, out of the €56.4 million the EC has paid to Cyprus under its Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for the period 2021-2027, the Commission has allocated no money to monitor “voluntary” returns. Between May 2022 and September 2024, the EC provided Cyprus with €9.7 million for its voluntary returns program – 90% of the program’s budget. For that amount, Cyprus deported some 12,600 individuals as “assisted voluntary returns”. For the same period, the Commission allocated some €2 million for the forced returns of some 4,507 individuals from Cyprus. Only €121,547 was assigned by the EU to Cyprus’ Commissioner for the Protection of Human Rights to monitor forced deportations between July 2022 and December 2027.[14]
In 2023 the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published two reports on Frontex-supported return operations from Belgium and Cyprus to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Regarding Cyprus, the CPT highlighted the need for clear guidelines on the flight preparations and the boarding procedure, including on health-related issues. The Committee also became aware of allegations of ill-treatment after aborted removal attempts requiring the Cypriot authorities to take a proactive approach as regards the detection and prevention of ill-treatment. It also made recommendations aimed at improving safeguards in the context of the preparation for removal (e.g., access to a lawyer).[15]
[1] Article 19A, Refugee Law (since removed).
[2] Article 18OH(4). Aliens and Migration Law
[3] Information provided by Cyprus Refugee Council.
[4] Information provided by Migration Department
[5] Article 8 (1A) Refugee Law.
[6] Cyprus Times, Ministers: Cyprus ranks first in the EU in returning immigrants, 30 November 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/5cpurfjw; Financial Mirror, Cyprus ranked first in EU on returns, 13 October 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/48cO84B; ECRE, Weekly Bulletin of 20 October 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/48cEE9p; PhileNews, Cyprus returned more than 4,370 asylum applicants in 2023, says Interior Minister, 6 July 2023, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3TEl8yh.
[7] Information provided by Civil Registry and Migration Department.
[8] Information provided by Migration Department
[9] Cyprus Mail, Cyprus cuts asylum numbers as more migrants return home, 5 February 2025, available here.
[10] Philenews, Government pays migrants €1000-€1500 to leave Cyprus, ministers say, 5 February 2024, available here.
[11] Cyprus Mail, Cyprus is one of the ‘success stories’ when it comes to stepping up on returns, EU Commissioner Johansson says, 14 March 2023, available here.
[12] Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Ombudsman), Forced Returns Monitoring Mechanism, available here.
[13] Information provided by Cyprus Refugee Council.
[14] Satewatch, €1,500 and a one-way ticket: how Cyprus deports Syrian refugees with EU support, 17 February 2025, available here; ECRE, CYPRUS: Government accused of coercing Syrians into ‘voluntary’ returns ― Trial of prominent human rights defender postponed for fourth time ― Hundreds of Syrians reportedly withdrawing asylum applications ― Call for end to freeze on Syrians’ asylum applications, 20 February 2025, available here.
[15] CoE CPT, Report to the Government of Belgium on the visit to Belgium carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 7 to 10 November 2022, 13 July 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3RwrAom. See also, ECRE, Weekly Legal Update (EWLU) of 8 September 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3PFoVsZ.