Nicosia, Cyprus. Irregular arrivals to Cyprus fell by 92 per cent and new asylum applications declined by 93 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2022, Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides said on Friday.
He said the government had strengthened border patrols, addressed migrant smuggling networks and increased returns of people without a legal right to remain.
Migration policy
Ioannides said the government’s approach had shifted Cyprus from what he described as passive management of arrivals to stricter management of migration flows.
He said policy focused on granting protection to people entitled to asylum, returning those without a legal right to stay and creating regulated pathways for legal migration.
Asylum applications
Pending asylum applications fell from around 24,000 in June 2024, when the deputy ministry was established, to 14,000 by the end of June this year, before dropping below 13,500 by the end of July, Ioannides said.
He said applications from Syrian nationals fell by 96.8 per cent compared with the first half of 2024.
Almost 2,000 Syrian applications had been rejected since the start of last year, while about 5,200 Syrians had withdrawn their asylum claims or voluntarily returned home following the regime change in Syria.
Returns
Ioannides urged Syrians who no longer qualify for international protection to use the revised assisted voluntary return scheme before it expires on October 30.
He said people without a legal right to remain would have to depart or face forced return procedures.
During the first six months of the year, 4,145 returns of third-country nationals were carried out, while total voluntary and forced returns exceeded 5,000 by July 30, he said.