Filenews 27 May 2025 - by Michalis Hatzivasilis
The Police are intensifying the controls on illegal immigration through the Aliens and Immigration Service (OM), following the information that many are leaving Lebanon for Cyprus, in order to be immediately employed.
Information from "F" states that recently foreigners who have documents in their possession in order to be employed by specific employers in restaurants, taverns, hotels, but also in agriculture have been arrested. This is targeted immigration, since, according to the information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreigners are identified with documents that mention the name of the employer and the premises.
Similar information has been transmitted from Lebanon since people who are intercepted there by boats, clearly state that their destination is Cyprus in order to work and do not concern cases of refugees who were fleeing the regime to save themselves or to have a better tomorrow.
Following these findings, instructions were given by the political head of the Police to the Aliens Service, which began in the last few days inspections on premises that may be illegally employing foreigners, so that wherever people are found working without a permit, they are arrested and at the same time their employers are denounced.
The day before yesterday, an operation was organized throughout Cyprus where 51 foreigners, the majority of them from Syria, but also Asian countries, were identified, where they were found to be in Cyprus illegally. Procedures for returning to their countries have already been initiated. As reported to us by the Ministry of Health, controls on illegal immigration will be intensified since it seems that there is an increased demand for foreign workers to work in specific sectors.
As it is estimated, relatives of foreigners residing in Cyprus inform them about the possibility of being employed here, find them employers, which is why they attempt to leave Syria and through Lebanon to come to Cyprus to work.
According to our own information, joint operations of the Deputy Ministry of Migration, the Police and inspectors of the Ministry of Labour are being planned, in premises where there is either information or where it is deemed likely they illegally employ foreigners, in order to strike at illegal employment and with it illegal immigration.
