Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, presented on Tuesday a revised 2026 Assisted Voluntary Repatriation Scheme for Syrian families, which provides financial incentives for return and allows one adult family member to remain temporarily in Cyprus for work. The scheme will run from June 9 to October 30, 2026.
The new scheme applies to Syrian families, including couples without children, when at least one of the spouses has applied for international protection or has been granted international protection status before December 31, 2024.
Under the scheme, one adult family member may remain in Cyprus for employment purposes, with a special two-year residence permit and unrestricted access to the labour market until August 31, 2028. The rest of the family may return to Syria with financial support.
The incentives provide pound 2,000 for the spouse who returns, pound 1,500 for each child and an additional pound 1,000 per family for families that already hold international protection status, rather than only a pending asylum application.
Applications may be submitted at the Asylum Service, the district offices of the Police Aliens and Immigration Service and the Pournara First Reception Centre.
The presentation took place in Nicosia, in the presence of representatives of competent services and economic stakeholders.
Ioannides said the scheme links migration management, returns, legal employment and the needs of the labour market. He noted that the government’s policy aims to ‘asylum only for those who are truly entitled to it, repatriation of those who have no legal reason to remain and the granting of residence permits through legal migration pathways.’
According to Ioannides, following the change of government in Syria in December 2024, around 5,000 Syrians have withdrawn their asylum applications or renounced subsidiary protection status and have voluntarily returned to Syria. He added that instructions have been given for the examination of asylum applications by Syrian nationals to resume, based on the new circumstances.
He also said that more than 1,500 asylum applications by Syrians have so far been rejected, while the Administrative Court of International Protection has dismissed the first appeals it examined and upheld decisions by the Asylum Service.
Ioannides added that the revocation of asylum status from Syrians has already begun for the same reasons for which asylum applications are being rejected. ‘Those whose asylum applications have been rejected or whose asylum status has been revoked will have to leave Cyprus,’ he said.
Pending asylum applications in the Republic now stand below 14,000, of which fewer than 10,000 concern Syrian nationals, according to the figures presented.
The Deputy Minister said the financial incentives provided under the new scheme come from European programmes and form part of the Republic of Cyprus’ broader returns policy, which is largely funded by the European Union.
Ioannides said the scheme aims to support the organised, voluntary, safe and dignified return of Syrian families, the lawful and controlled temporary stay of one adult family member for work, reduce pressure on the asylum system and support sectors of the Cypriot economy that need labour.
‘Those who are not entitled to asylum must leave the Republic of Cyprus immediately. Those who choose to join this scheme can do so with support, clear procedures and dignity,’ he concluded.