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Cyprus has recorded a 92% reduction in irregular migration flows since 2022, with sea arrivals brought to a halt and crossings along the Green Line sharply reduced, Deputy Minister of Migration Nikolas Ioannides told MPs on Monday.
Presenting his ministry's proposed €60.2 million budget for 2027 before the House Finance Committee, Ioannides said the country had also seen a substantial fall in asylum applications and pending cases, alongside an increase in departures and repatriations.
More than 8,600 third-country nationals have left Cyprus since the beginning of 2026, bringing departures during the current government's term to approximately 40,000, he said.
The Deputy Minister reported 1,500 arrivals between January and November 2026, compared with 14,000 during the same period in 2022. He also said that more than 90% of asylum applications were considered abusive and rejected, while 75% of repatriations had taken place voluntarily.
200,000 residence permits in force
Around 200,000 residence permits are currently valid in Cyprus, according to Ioannides, while approximately 20,000 people have been granted asylum. The combined number of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection stands at around 30,000 nationwide.
Russian nationals account for the largest share of residence permits, while approximately 5,000 permits have been issued to Israeli citizens.
The Deputy Minister also provided an update on reception facilities. Pournara was accommodating 364 people, while another 396 were staying at Kofinou. A total of 120 unaccompanied minors, mainly from Syria and Somalia, are being housed across Cyprus, with the Deputy Ministry having assumed responsibility for their accommodation in January.
Residents of the reception centres receive €100 per month to cover basic necessities and are permitted to leave the facilities, as they are not being held in detention. Restrictions apply to individuals awaiting repatriation.
Construction and improvement works at Pournara and Kofinou have been completed, while the new accommodation facility at Limnes is expected to be handed over before the end of November. The projects received 84% of their funding from European sources.
Budget falls by €14.5m
The proposed budget for 2027 stands at €60.2 million, down from €74.7 million in 2026. Of the new allocation, €58.1 million is earmarked for operational expenditure and €2.1 million for development projects.
Ioannides attributed the reduction mainly to the completion of major construction works. He said European funding was expected to cover 90% of the 2027 budget, excluding staff salaries.
Cyprus is also expected to receive approximately €800 million for migration-related programmes under the EU's next long-term budget covering 2028-2034.
The Deputy Minister said 46 additional positions had been secured to address staffing shortages, with recruitment expected to take place during 2027.
He also compared the cost of financial assistance to asylum seekers, saying government expenditure had fallen from €33 million in 2022 to an expected maximum of €13 million in 2026.
On public security, Ioannides said dozens of residence or protection statuses belonging to foreign nationals considered dangerous to public safety had been revoked. He added that a person whose residence permit has expired may be considered to be staying illegally until the necessary renewal procedures have been completed.
MPs call for better integration
Although MPs acknowledged the reduction in irregular migration, the committee discussion also exposed disagreements over the government's approach to integration, public safety and the handling of applications.
DISY MP Nicoletta Constantinou reported complaints about delays in processing residence permits. She argued that reducing arrivals was only one part of effective migration management, with the authorities also needing to address who is allowed to remain and how departures are enforced.
She said incidents of crime and antisocial behaviour continued to affect residents' sense of security, while schools faced growing demands to support children from migrant backgrounds without sufficient resources.
Fellow DISY MP Savvia Orfanidou questioned whether crossings through the Green Line were continuing and referred to the concentration of migrant communities in certain neighbourhoods.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou called for greater investment in integrating people who have been granted the right to remain in Cyprus. He identified four essential elements of migration policy: humane reception, fair and individual assessment of asylum applications, effective returns and successful integration.
He described integration as the area where Cyprus was falling short, arguing that urgent action was needed to prevent the formation of isolated communities.
ELAM MP Andreas Papacharalambous welcomed the reduction in irregular arrivals and asylum applications, but called for more repatriations, new readmission agreements with countries of origin, stronger action against human trafficking networks and tighter controls on legal employment.
Finance Committee chairwoman and DIKO MP Christiana Erotokritou congratulated the Deputy Minister, saying the figures demonstrated the progress achieved. DIKO MP Andreas Apostolou also praised Ioannides' performance.
Alma movement leader Odysseas Michaelides described the results as deserving of recognition, while Direct Democracy MP Yiannis Laouris called for further reductions in asylum applications and suggested using artificial intelligence to accelerate administrative procedures.
Digital services and integration among 2027 priorities
Setting out the government's priorities for next year, Ioannides said the focus would be on implementing the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, increasing returns and strengthening cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
The Deputy Ministry is also working on a digital system to manage returns and plans to extend online services to additional categories of residence permits. Applicants are expected to gain electronic access to their files, allowing them to follow the progress of their cases.
Further initiatives will target legal migration, developed in cooperation with other ministries and social partners.
The government also intends to continue its national integration strategy, with particular emphasis on learning Greek, developing professional skills, accessing lawful employment and familiarising newcomers with Cypriot society and public institutions.
Ioannides said the government's objective was to ensure that legal migration supported economic development without compromising social cohesion or public security.
He acknowledged that the progress recorded so far did not mean the work was complete, pledging continued cooperation, transparency and accountability.
