Filenews 11 March 2023
The Office of Migrant Returns at the Ministry of Interior is upgraded, since by decision of the new Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, it is officially established as a service of the Ministry.
Mr. Ioannou has assessed the importance of the Office that was established during the ministry of Nikos Nouris and that contributes to the returns of thousands of irregular migrants to their countries, which is why one of his first actions was its institutionalization as an official department of the Ministry that will have a head and will be staffed by public officials. The Return Office will be subordinate to the Civil Registry and Migration Department, which is responsible for issuing detention and deportation orders, while it will be supervised by the Minister of the Interior himself.
According to information provided by "F", in the future, with the creation of a Deputy Ministry of Migration, as was the pre-election commitment of the President of the Republic, the Return Office will be subordinated to it, as will the Department of Migration.
The Office for Returns was set up to have a coordinating role for the returns of irregular migrants to its countries. Previously, returns of migrants were minimal, either because Cyprus had not signed readmission agreements, or because there were no incentives for a migrant to voluntarily return to his homeland. Due to the huge migratory flows that Cyprus has been receiving in the last two years, where thousands of immigrants entered and very few left, it was deemed necessary to create a mechanism that coordinated the efforts to return those whose stay here was deemed illegal. Due to agreements reached with third countries, it was possible last year to repatriate 7500 migrants, compared to 2320 in 2021.
Now, the new Minister of Interior wants to upgrade the Office, so that, in addition to being coordinating, its role becomes more decisive in resolving the migration issue, since it was judged that the more returns are made, the more the problem with the thousands of immigrants is alleviated.
Meanwhile, in a coordinated police operation, conducted in Nicosia in the context of combating illegal immigration, another 22 migrants of various nationalities who were staying illegally on the territory of the Republic were identified. They were arrested by the Aliens and Immigration Service (Nicosia Unit) and will be forwarded for deportation to their countries. The Police have stepped up their efforts to crack down on illegal employment, illegal immigration, but there is a problem with detention facilities that are overcrowded.
