The government facilitated 1,172 returns of people to their country of origin in January, according to Interior Minister Nicos Nouris.

The 1,172 returns is a huge boost of 469 per cent compared to the 250 returned in January 2022.

nouris immigration stats“Effectively managing the migration issue will remain a top priority for the ministry until the final day of the current government,” he said.

Nouris explained that the returns office, operating under his ministry, has since been established and its success is proved by the much higher return rate.

That, he said, “leads us to believe that there will be a higher number of returns achieved this year than compared to the 7,600 in 2022”.

The returns office’s success is further proved by Cyprus now ranking as first within the EU for returns, he said, along with the praise the policy has received from the EU Commission itself.