Asylum seekers receiving rent and food allowances in Cyprus have fallen to 2,000 and include, among others, nationals of Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Iraq.
Sources at the Deputy Ministry of Migration told CNA that about 400 of these are Syrians, and that the Deputy Minister has ordered an expedited examination of their applications. “Since December 2024 when the government in Syria has changed, the situation appears to be stabilising and therefore the reasons that previously favoured granting international protection no longer apply today”, the sources said.
Overall, around 13,600 asylum applications are pending, of which 9,600 concern Syrian nationals. As the same sources noted, “over the past three years, benefit amounts have been reduced by 50%”.
The sources pointed out that the strict migration policy of the government of President Nikos Christodoulides “has achieved a sharp reduction in irregular flows and at the same time a significant reduction in the cost of migration.”