Cyprus leads EU in asylum seeker returns, 4th in deportations

Cyprus ranks first among the EU member states in the percentage of returns on new asylum seekers applications, Interior Ministry announced Thursday.

This percentage reaches 97% in returns of irregular migrants who apply for asylum seeker status, making Cyprus first in the EU for the period March to September 2023.

Interior Ministry also said that Cyprus ranks 4th among the 27 member states in absolute numbers of returns and deportations of irregular migrants, according to figures released by Eurostat for the 2nd quarter of 2023.

In the period April-June 2023, there were a total of 1,775 returns of irregular migrants, mainly to Sub-Saharan African countries (Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon). It is recalled that Cyprus has taken specific measures for arrivals from these countries and is running an information campaign as well.

As a result of a series of measures implemented by the authorities, a decrease in the number of asylum applications has been observed in recent months. According to figures by the Ministry, in September a total of 723 asylum seeker applications were submitted.

At the same time, the balance of arrivals-returns was also positive in September, during which 824 returns and deportations of irregular migrants were carried out.

The measures applied by Cyprus to manage the migration crisis were discussed by the Ministers of Interior and Migration of Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Italy and Malta during the MED5 Summit, held October 6-7 in Thessaloniki, in the presence of the Vice-President of the European Union Margaritis Schinas.