TIGHTENING OF MEASURES FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT MEET THE REFUGEE CRITERIA - HARMONIZATION BILL TIGHTENS THE STRAPS ON FOREIGNERS - Filenews 4/4 by Vassos Vassiliou
They tighten the straps for those foreigners who apply for refugee status or subsidiary protection status, as the Council of Ministers can issue a detention order for them, when it appears that they are submitting an application in order to simply delay or prevent the execution of a decision to return to their country of origin.
The above applicants are detained in special facilities or, if there is no such facility, they are taken to the Prisons, away from criminal prisoners.
An applicant may be detained when he leaves the geographical area to which he or she is to be transferred without authorisation. At the same time, for the same reason, the provision of material reception conditions may be revoked.
One of the reasons why an applicant may be detained is the protection of national security or public order.
The above are provisions of a harmonizing bill which is being discussed before the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior. The bill "The Refugee Law of 2026" also provides for the following: "If necessary, and after an individual assessment of each case, the Council of Ministers may issue a written decree by which to detain an applicant, unless in the specific case it is possible to effectively implement other restrictive alternative measures for any of the following reasons:
>> To establish or verify his/her identity or nationality.
>> To identify the information on which the application is based, which would otherwise be impossible to obtain, in particular where there is a risk of the applicant absconding.
>> To ensure that the applicant complies with the decision of the supervisor, in the event that the applicant has not complied (with this decision) and there is still a risk of absconding.
>> To decide, in the context of a border procedure, the applicant's right to enter the areas controlled by the Republic.
>> When the applicant is detained in the context of (his) return procedure in order to prepare (the return) or to carry out the removal procedure.
For the above to apply, the Council of Ministers must substantiate, on the basis of objective criteria, that the applicant has already had the opportunity to access the procedure for granting international protection and that there are reasonable grounds to consider that the applicant is submitting an application in order to simply delay or prevent the enforcement of a return decision.
>> When it is necessary for the protection of national security and/or public order."
Also, the Council of Ministers may, instead of placing the applicant in detention, impose alternative measures and/or obligations for as long as it deems appropriate under the circumstances, which aim to avoid the risk of absconding, such as: (a) Regular appearance before the Authorities of the Republic or (b) deposit of an appropriate financial guarantee, or (c) submission of documents, or (d) obligation to stay in a designated place, including a hospitality center, or (e) surveillance by the Police.
The applicant's reservation has the shortest possible duration and lasts only for as long as there is a reason for detention provided for in the legislation.
As for the consequences that the applicant will face if he leaves his area of residence, the bill records that: "In the event that an applicant leaves the geographical area without the permission of the supervisor, the provision of material reception conditions may be revoked or restricted. The supervisor may, by decision, when deemed necessary, determine the applicant's residence in a specific place of residence adapted for the accommodation of the applicants, for reasons of public order or to effectively prevent the applicant from absconding, where there is a risk of absconding'.
According to the bill, the detention of applicants usually takes place in special detention facilities, but when there is no such option, "a correctional institution is used as a matter of necessity" and the detained applicants are detained separately from prisoners under criminal law.
Minors may be detained as a measure of last resort, and after it has been assessed that detention is in the best interests of the minor.
As stated in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill, it was promoted in order to harmonize domestic legislation with the legislation of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is binding on the member states of the European Union and will be implemented from June 12, 2026 (it is noted, that given the dissolution of the Parliament for the May elections, the discussion of the bill must be completed as soon as possible).
In the same document, it is stated that the main provisions of the bill aim to strengthen the operational capacity of the Republic of Cyprus to deal with migratory pressures and to simplify and accelerate asylum procedures.
