FES BRIEFING SNAPSHOT OF MIGRATION TO CYPRUS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS December 2024 BACKGROUND POLICIES Cyprus, historically, has been an island with a high geopolitical value, as it is situated at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Middle East(MENA). Its rich and complex history is marked by periods of foreign rule and internal conflicts, something that is reflected in the culture, the current domestic and foreign pol­icies, internal and external relations and population move­ments in the region. From EU Nationals, digital nomads, ex­pats, golden visas, work visas(including domestic, construction and agricultural workers) to seekers of international protection and trafficking victims, Cyprus has a wide migratory demo­graphic tapestry. Cyprus has made several policy changes over the last five years in response to population movements and trends shaped by regional situation and predicted influxes due to conflicts, eco­nomic migration, and geopolitical tensions. Aside from tight­ening its asylum and immigration policies, heightening border controls by land and sea, Cyprus has sought greater support and cooperation with the EU, while demanding from neigh­bouring countries to do their part in manage these challenges. While the policy changes reflect the efforts to tackle security concerns, they often leave the state exposed towards their hu­manitarian obligations. There is currently no active integration plan in Cyprus despite the ongoing discussion around it in the last five years. MIGRATION TO CYPRUS Even though Cyprus has not been the first choice to those aim­ing to reach EU countries due to the lack of land boarders with other EU countries, the progressive closing of other routes to­wards the EU has led to migratory flows towards Cyprus to in­crease, accessing the territory through the main entry points, but also irregularly by sea arriving directly at the ROC territories, as well as through the areas in the north that are not under the control of the ROC by crossing the“Green Line”. In response to the rising number of asylum applications, in 2022 Cyprus started more intensely implementing accelerated procedures to process asylum applications. This process aimed to reduce the backlog of cases piled up over the years, de­crease the deadline for appeal, as well as issue decisions on new applications faster, by utilizing the list of safe countries, stricter criteria to filter applications, and by prioritizing the re­turn and deportation of individuals whose claims were reject­ed. Since April 2024, applications from Syrians have been sus­pended. For the most part of the last decade, Cyprus has been hosting the highest number of refugees per capita, in comparison to any other EU country. Currently, Cyprus hosts 43314 refugees, 29541 asylum seekers, 98 stateless persons in the ROC and 142 persons of concern identified in the territories not under the effective control of the RoC. In the Eurostat report on migration and migrant statistics showed that there were about 90 500 third-country nationals (TCNs), representing 9.8% of the population, and another 93 100 EU citizens(10.1%) living in Cyprus in 2023. The use of detention centers and de facto detention has also been increased in the last five years. Aside from the Menoyia Detention Center, between 2020 to 2022, the First Reception Center Pournara was used as a de facto detention center. Anti Trafficking efforts have also seemingly been intensified, given the location of the island as a transit hub. However, even though new legislation has provisions for increased enforce­ment targeting traffickers, and victim support services envi­sioned to assist those affected by trafficking, there has been a lot of criticism about its implementation. Currently in the RoC there are some 43,314 refugees(includ­ing 20407 Temporary Protection Holders from Ukraine), 29,541 asylum seekers, and 98 stateless persons, according to 1