Interior Ministry to expedite evaluation of asylum applications and returns

The Interior Ministry is gearing up to expedite examination of asylum seekers’ applications and returns, in order to tackle the huge migration influxes Cyprus is facing, Minister Constantinos Ioannou told the Cyprus News Agency in an interview.

Ioannou said that the goal is to examine 2,000 applications for political asylum per month and voluntary departures to reach 1,000 per month. There is a problem with deportations which is expected to be solved with the operation of the pre-departure center at Limnes. The works are expected to begin in June and the project will finish in 1.5-2 years.

The Minister also hopes that the Eastern Mediterranean action plan at EU level will help to address the problem.

Ioannou said that the government’s plan for migration is based on four pillars, pointing out once again that Cyprus is the EU member state with the largest number of asylum seeker arrivals in proportion to the population.

Asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection make up 6% of the population, while in other countries, especially front-line member states (eg France, Greece) these persons are only 1% or even less of the population.

Interior Minister noted that disproportionate flows in relation to Cyprus’ size and population add enormous pressure to the available resources the Republic has, but also to the reception system in place to accommodate migrants.

He said that the aim is to establish a Migration Deputy Ministry, adding that he expects the bill to be tabled at the Parliament end of May or beginning of June.

The Minister said that the government is working hard in four directions, namely the limitation of flows, the management on the ground in terms of reception areas, asylum examinations, etc., the acceleration of procedures and the most rapid and efficient examination of applications and returns.

In terms of infrastructure, Ioannou said that an upgrade of 25 million euro is underway at Pournara center to be completed in October, while the center in Kophinou will undergo a huge renovation to be finished June. This center will eventually have a capacity of 700 people compared to 450 right now.

At the same time, a large project of 80 million was announced and is expected to start July at Limnes which will be a pre-departure center and will help alleviate the deportations.

Ioannou said that there are currently almost 30,000 pending applications and that in order to deal with the issue, 27 employees were hired in addition to another 16-17 from the European Asylum Organisation.

He said that right now 1,100-1,200 applications are being processed per month and the aim is to increase them to 2,000. Ioannou recalled that the asylum seekers have the right to appeal to the administrative court of international protection, and in consultation with the Supreme Court and its President, new arrangements were made in order to speed up the whole process.

In March almost 1,400 appeals have been examined compared to 1,000-1,100 the previous months. The Minister said that around 5,000 appeals are pending and the aim is to complete them in the coming months.

He also said that with the upgrade of Pournara center, a better screening will take place. Ioannou said that last year Cyprus received 21,500 new applications compared to 13,000 in 2021, pointing out that it is impossible to set up detention centers for 21,000 people and the aim is to limit the migration influxes and increase the returns and deportations.

In 2023 (data until March) 2,047 people have returned and the aim is to have 1,000 returns per month. He noted the huge issue with deportations because right now the prisons are full and there is no other appropriate place to place illegal migrants, and therefore the Limnes center is expected to solve the problem, to a large degree.

Regarding the voluntary relocations, the Minister said that he recently met with the Ambassadors of France and Germany and they discussed the issue, asking them to increase the returns to the number promised for an equal distribution of the burden.

He also said that bilateral agreements are made with countries like Cameroon to accept their nationals back.

Asked about the Green Line through which the migrants pass to the Republic of Cyprus, he said that the issue is huge and worrisome as 95% of the migrants, mostly from African countries come to the occupied areas from Turkey, posing as students and soon after they arrive, they cross to the free areas of the Republic.

Ioannou said that the surveillance of the Green Line is important in order to arrest traffickers and reduce the flows. He also said that modern means of technology are being used i.e. cameras.

He said that Cyprus seriously invests in the Eastern Mediterranean action plan in order to deal with illegal migrants from Turkey and he will brief EU officials on Cyprus’ positions on the issue to be included in this plan.

The plan also includes possible sanctions on airlines that transport unaccompanied children or agreements at EU level with third countries for returns.

Interior Minister also noted that there is huge misinformation and most of these migrants do not even realise that they arrive on an island which is not part of the Schengen Area. He said that an information campaign will be launched with an aim to correctly inform these migrants of what to expect regarding, inter alia, allowances or the right to work.