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CYPRUS
1. INVOLUNTARY RETURN
1.1 POLICY
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CYPRUS
Both legal and illegal migration flows have grown significantly over the last few years in the
entire Mediterranean region; and the forthcoming enlargement of the EU will directly affect
Cyprus.
The island’s location, en route to the traditional receiving countries and a portal for migrants
from Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, has rendered the management of irregular migration and counter
trafficking pressing issues, also in anticipation of accession. This is expected to have a direct
impact on the rates of asylum applications, as well as smuggling and trafficking flows.
According to government reports, some 2,356 clandestine immigrants were arrested at the border
or nearby from 2000-2002 (in 2000, 1,449 persons were detected; in 2001, some 182 persons
and in 2002, 725 migrants). 2,640 irregular immigrants were arrested in the country in 2001 and
2,350 persons in 2002. The main countries of origin of these groups were Syria, Iran, Turkey, Sri
Lanka and Iraq.
While the estimated legal foreign work force in Cyprus is about 15,000, some 150 foreigners are
arrested every week for working on the island without permits. 1 Foreigners seem to account for
30 per cent of Cyprus’s prison population. There are an estimated 3,000-5,000 immigrants without
documents on Cyprus. About 1,200 foreign women, mostly from Russia, Romania and the
Ukraine, are employed legally in 70 cabarets. However, it is also reported that some of the
women being brought into Cyprus as cabaret dancers are subsequently forced into prostitution.
Located on major routes of irregular migration flows, Cyprus has had to manage the direct
consequences of several incidents involving the smuggling of irregular migrants on unseaworthy
vessels destined for the coasts of Greece – southern Crete, and originating from Libya, Syria,
Turkey and countries around the Black Sea. As a consequence, the island has increased its coast
guard patrols to keep boats carrying migrants away. The country has come under some criticism
for turning away vessels in spite of their poor condition and overflowing passenger numbers. 2
The issue of long detention periods for apprehended irregular migrants also came under scrutiny
when 16 migrants detained in a Larnaca jail for illegal immigration went on a hunger strike to
protest their prolonged detention. 3 This incident prompted the country to reconsider its legislation
on migration specifically with respect to third-country nationals, and bring in several amendments
to the Aliens and Immigration Laws, in conjunction with other measures in the field of
migration. 4