Press Releases

The government has adopted an action plan to holistically tackle the growing migration flows, Interior Minister, Nikos Nouris, said today.

Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace following the Council of Ministers meeting, Mr Nouris said that the Council of Ministers adopted the action plan drawn up to holistically address the increasing migration flows in our country.

He also noted that ‘’The dramatic increase in illegal immigration in Cyprus, as well as the significant  increase in the number of asylum applications, especially in recent months - and I wish to make a special reference to the last week since the day problems at the Greek-Turkish border emerged - with the number now exceeding 33,000 and reaching 3.8% of the total population of the Republic, renders the effective management of migration an issue of major importance for the Republic of Cyprus.’’

Within the framework of the above Action Plan, the Council of Ministers decided to adopt the following measures:

- To shorten asylum applications review time by more than doubling the number of reviewers from 32 to 69 as of next month.
- To amend Legislation so that deadlines for the right of appeal to Court be shortened.
- To develop a list of safe countries in order to distinguish applications that are clearly unfounded.
- An application concerning a country of origin included in the List of Safe Countries will be declared as clearly unfounded and processed in a speedy manner within 10 days.
- Tο instantly issue a deportation order when unfounded applications are rejected. The applicant  will have  the right to appeal to Court within 3 days.
- To immediately amend relevant legislation in order to combat the phenomenon of marriage of convenience, by introducing severe penalties for those involved.
- To introduce, as of next academic year, strict criteria for the enrollment of third-country nationals in private colleges in order to eliminate the phenomenon of virtual students, while promoting the imposition of harsh penalties for those involved.
- To set up state organized reception and housing areas and subsequently diversify subsidy policy.
- To create a new closed - type Center with a capacity of 600 persons to accommodate applicants until their asylum application has been processed.
- To reopen the entire Menogia detention center. The wing that was closed will reopen.
- To launch in co-operation with Local Authorities an investigation of immigrants illegally residing on inappropriate premises.

- To combat illegal labor by intensifying controls.
- To immediately implement the action framework that was agreed with the EU in November 2019, in the context of which a Single Return Agency will be established.
- To intensify measures with regard to the surveillance of the ceasefire line and increase police and army patrols to enhance public safety.
- The Minister of Interior is authorized to intensify contacts with the European FRONTEX Agency, in order to enhance cooperation in both return issues and restricting the flow of irregular migrants by land and sea.
- To immediately forward a request to the European Commission,  - which was just fowarded by the President of the Republic -  for financial assistance for the period 2020-2021. This assistance will be used to create appropriate infrastructures to accommodate and host the increased number of immigrants, cover the required operating and administrative costs, and provide equipment for surveillance of the coastline and the dividing line.

Asked whether the construction sector as well as the Investment Program have been affected by this crisis, the Minister said that "with regard to the Investment Program, the Ministry of Interior is examining a large number of applications which were submitted both before and immediately after the introduction of the recent criteria. Therefore, at this point, we have no further indications regarding the Investment Program. "

Asked if all the measures he mentioned have been taken with the Attorney General's consent, Mr Nouris said that "two extremely constructive meetings have been held with the Attorney General, last Friday and today in the presence of the President of the Republic.  Specific legal issues have been clarified in relation to suggestions submitted by the Ministry of Interior. Following the Attorney General's recommendations the necessary amendments will be made, which will provide solutions to a series of problems we have had to date. I have already said that, for example, specific deadlines will be shortened as a result of discussions with the Attorney General. "

Asked about the equipment he mentioned, the Minister said that it "pertains to all the logistical infrastructure needed for the monitoring of both the ceasefire and the Cyprus coastline with regard to entry of illegal immigrants either by land or by sea."
Asked if the equipment concerns vessels or vehicles, the Minister answered in the affirmative.

When asked if the Civil Defense is ready to intervene in the event that the coronavirus is spread in Cyprus and if there is relevant planning, Mr Nouris said: "There is a plan. The services of the Ministry of Interior have been fully vigilant all this time and will certainly remain so, including the Civil Defense, which has the responsibility at this time and is heavily involved in migrant matters. It is the competent Service which receives immigrants as soon as they reach the free areas of the Republic.’’

As far as its capabilities are concerned and when it is assigned specific responsibilities in this area, you may rest assured that  the Civil Defense will support the effort. "

Replying to a journalist's remark that the President of the Republic had asked the political parties for proposals and asked if the majority of those proposals were adopted, Mr Nouris said that "the Ministry of Interior and the other competent Ministries held an inter-ministerial meeting last Saturday during which we designed this action plan. The President yesterday received suggestions from the parliamentary parties, some of which were included or had already been included in our proposals and were thus adopted. We believe, however, that all the proposals in today’s announcement by the government fully cover the parliamentary parties as well. "