United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees Representation in Cyprus - Refugee Issues in Cyprus

Refugee Issues in Cyprus

Cyprus has been a destination for a consistently increasing number of regular and irregular immigrants. According to national sources, the estimated number of irregular migrants in Cyprus is 50,000. Cyprus enacted national refugee legislation in January 2000 and its asylum institutions started conducting Refugee Status Determination (RSD) in 2002. In 2007, 6,789 persons submitted asylum applications and in 2008, 3,922 persons applied for asylum. The number of the asylum-seekers pending to be examined at the end of 2009 was 5,275. Cyprus and Malta rank first among the industrialized countries in the per capita number of asylum applications.

In principle, asylum-seekers are not denied access to Cyprus. Most asylum-seekers, however, do not try to enter the country through official channels, in order to avoid the risk of not being admitted. While the Asylum Service (the first instance body that examines asylum applications and the coordinating body on asylum seekers’ issues) has made considerable progress in setting up the structures and the processes to ensure quality decisions, the reality remains that the number of Eligibility Officers (EOs) against the number of applicants is still objectively insufficient. This is clearly substantiated by the fact that at the end of 2008, there were 8,005 cases pending to be decided.

Other problems related to refugees issues in Cyprus are the following:

• Asylum lawyers are virtually non- existent and provision of free legal couselling by NGOs is insufficient
• The high number of asylum applicants has caused difficulties for the welfare services to provide for the minimum reception conditions as set out in the Reception Condition Regulations of 2005.
• Labour offices are to refer asylum seekers to jobs but the number of referrals is very low.
• Integration programs such as language and vocational training appear to be insufficiently disseminated among asylum seekers and refugees. Moreover, the practical difficulties faced by refugees are not sufficiently taken into account when it comes to the organization of such programs.
• There are no alternatives to administrative detention.
• There is only one reception center in the country with a capacity limited to 80 people.

Regarding the situation in the north part of Cyprus which the Government of Cyprus does not have de facto control, there are no socio-economic data available. Persons of certain nationalities are detained and deported as soon as possible, most of the time without being given an opportunity to distinguish irregular migrants from persons suffering persecution. The overwhelming majority of those individuals who succeed in entering into the north without being detected, cross the "Green Line" and apply to the Government of Cyprus. Applicants in the north are examined by UNHCR.