https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/green-line-border-agents-get-ready-for-action
Over two hundred Green Line border agents will report on duty later this month on the Greek Cypriot side of the UN buffer zone, but the newly-hired sergeants will only focus on irregular migrants, leaving drug trafficking and other crimes off the agenda...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/decline-in-asylum-approvals-in-cyprus-in-2022
According to data from Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU, EU countries granted protection status to 384,245 asylum seekers in 2022, up 40% from the previous year. However, in Cyprus, there was a significant decrease in protection status, with only 580 cases being granted (compared to 2,305 in 2021)....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/1-the-goal-is-1-000-voluntary-returns-per-month-says-ioannou
The government of Cyprus has outlined a four-pillar plan to address immigration issues, according to Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou. The first pillar is to limit the flow of asylum seekers entering Cyprus, followed by managing asylum applications and reception areas more efficiently....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/delivery-driver-middleman-scandal-widens
A recent traffic accident has prompted police to widen a fraud investigation that began in Limassol and now has reached the capital, following revelations that foreign food delivery drivers in Cyprus were paying middlemen to secure driver permits through the state’s austere system...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/italy-declares-state-of-emergency
To deal with the recent influx of migrants arriving on the southern shores of Italy, the country's right-wing government has announced a six-month nationwide state of emergency....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/total-of-126-asylum-seekers-in-cyprus-sent-to-germany
A total of 126 applicants for international protection, originating from Somalia, Afghanistan, Congo, Nigeria and Syria departed on Tuesday on the first chartered flight from Cyprus to Germany where they are being resettled....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/city-employee-arrested-in-driver-permit-middleman-scandal
More suspects including a civil servant have been arrested in the document fraud scandal where foreign food delivery drivers allegedly paid hundreds of euros to a middleman in order to secure a driver’s permit...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/new-migration-scandal-looms-after-network-uncovered
A new scandal involving services for asylum seekers may have been inadvertently uncovered in Limassol, where arrest warrants have been issued amid strict rules for renewing driver permits and a black market designed to overcome restrictions...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-applications-up-by-490-since-2016
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou told MPs on Thursday that the number of applications for international protection increased by 490% since 2016, pointing out the need to implement an EU action plan for the Eastern Mediterranean with a view to reducing migratory flows....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/us-report-harsh-conditions-in-cyprus-prisons
The US State Department's Human Rights in Cyprus 2022 report highlights significant human rights issues in Cyprus. The report states that there were credible reports of harsh conditions in prisons and detention centers, particularly for asylum seekers....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/us-report-on-cyprus-notes-rise-of-antisemitism
A US report on Cyprus highlights significant human rights issues including reports of abuse and harsh conditions in detention centers for asylum seekers...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-scraps-online-migration-appointments-after-scandal
Immigration authorities in the Republic of Cyprus scrapped an online appointment platform on Monday after allegations were made public about agents selling available slots to foreigners for profit and causing months of waiting for those who did not shell out the cash...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/uk-to-pay-france-half-a-billion-pounds-to-curb-channel-crossings
Britain is to pay France almost half a billion pounds over the next three years in a high-stakes gamble to end Channel migrant crossings....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/hate-speech-rampant-in-cyprus-despite-progress
Hate speech affecting several groups remains widespread in the Cypriot public discourse, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said on Tuesday in a report on Cyprus. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/rishi-sunak-gets-tough-on-irregular-immigration
Prime minister Rishi Sunak will introduce new laws this week barring anyone arriving in the UK by small boats across the English Channel from claiming asylum....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-drives-hard-bargain-on-eu-migration-money
Outgoing Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will note the disproportionate burden for the Republic of Cyprus due to the increased migration flows, during the European Council summit taking place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, highlighting the instrumentalization of the migration issue by Turkey...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/migrant-boat-sinks-off-greece
Four migrants, including three children, died after their boat sank off the island of Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea on Sunday, the Greek coast guard said...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-seeking-busboy-detained-in-paphos
Paphos immigration police got busy on Election Day Sunday when they detained a busboy and his employer over suspected unauthorized work...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-name-suspect-in-nicosia-deadly-ambush
Cyprus police have published a photo of a suspect following Sunday’s deadly car ambush in Nicosia, where a Syrian man was shot in the head, but there were more questions than answers after additional details emerged...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/mep-s-propose-solutions-to-the-growing-migration-problem-in-europe
In a plenary discussion with the Swedish Presidency and President von der Leyen, MEPs presented their views on how to deal with the migratory challenges facing Europe....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/wronged-worker-slams-cyprus-over-migration-crisis
Thousands of asylum seekers in Cyprus were sent back to their countries last year but one foreign worker, who feels he has no good options following a dispute with his employer, says many people who come to work on the island are forced to seek asylum because the system is not in their favor...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/nouris-the-cause-of-cyprus-immigration-problem-is-turkey
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said on Monday that Turkey is the eliciting factor of the migration issue in Cyprus, speaking at a press conference where he presented the work of his Ministry during his term....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/athienou-draws-line-over-buffer-zone-barbwire
A recent renovation of a Greek Cypriot police station near the buffer zone came with promises of additional staff and better monitoring of the area, but leaders of the local community have second thoughts over a controversial barb wire...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-and-austria-have-common-line-on-migration
Cyprus and Austria will submit specific proposals next week on issues of cooperation with third countries, on issues of migrant returns and voluntary relocation, announced on Friday by Minister of Interior, Nicos Nouris....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/migration-nikos-christodoulides-can-and-wants-to-deal-with-it
One of the biggest and most serious problems Cyprus faces now, and one of the biggest challenges, is the issue of migration. Our country must deal with disproportionate flows of migrants, both in relation to its size and resources and in relation to its population....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/first-group-of-asylum-seekers-relocated-to-germany-from-cyprus
Repatriation flights from Cyprus to Germany and France began at the end of December as part of the EU's support policy for Nicosia in the refugee crisis. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/un-chief-sees-no-common-ground-in-divided-cyprus
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' report on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, released on Wednesday night as an official document of the Security Council, number S/2023/3, records the lack of common ground between the two sides for peace talks leading to a mutually agreeable solution...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/mixed-messages-as-cyprus-offers-boosters-to-visitors
The Republic of Cyprus is offering to vaccinate short-term foreign visitors against the coronavirus, but the government’s position on booster shots remained unclear in the wake of recent revelations through the Twitter Files about discussions on natural immunity...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/leaked-un-report-on-cyprus-raises-eyebrows
A draft report by the UN Secretary General on the peacekeeping force in divided Cyprus has been leaked to Greek Cypriot media, prompting political pundits to point to bleak and candid references to a host of divisive issues including...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/germany-s-new-right-to-residence-effective-as-of-january-1st-2023
Germany’s much-discussed Right to Residence and other laws making it easier for foreigners in the country to make their stay legal, move to the country or gain permanent residency there, has become effective today, January 1, 2023....