The government's stance on those foreigners involved in criminal activities is changing drastically, while targeted action for Syrian families living in Cyprus has begun to be implemented.
On the instructions of the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nikolas Ioannidis, the head of the Asylum Service has recently removed the asylum from 95 people, 80 of whom are Syrians. At the same time, more than 2000 Syrian asylum applications have been rejected.
Also, according to information from Filenews, the first forced returns to Syria are expected to take place soon, as many Syrians are not entitled to stay in Cyprus, after the change of regime.
At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection has given instructions for the revocation of residence permits of the Indians who participated in a clash in Limassol in May. International protection will also be revoked for the Syrians involved in the recent incidents in Xylofagou.
With these actions, the government sends the message that the actions of persons who do not show respect to the state that hosts them will not be tolerated and instead of the judicial process, the revocation of their status will be initiated immediately and they will be deported.
The Deputy Ministry of Migration is also promoting the repatriation program with financial incentives (with EU assistance) of families from Syria, provided that a member can continue to stay in the Republic and work for a period of time and then be repatriated as well.
According to data presented by Mr. Ioannidis last week in Parliament, the decrease in asylum seeker arrivals in the first 6 months of 2026 reached 92% compared to 2022, while since the beginning of the current government, about 35,000 third-country nationals have departed.
