Irregular arrivals to Cyprus fell by 92 per cent and new asylum applications dropped by 93 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2022, Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides said on Friday.

Ioannides said the government’s approach had shifted Cyprus “from passive management of arrivals to a decisive and strict treatment of flows”, with policy focused on granting protection to those entitled to asylum, returning those without a legal right to remain and creating regulated pathways for legal migration.

He attributed the decline in irregular arrivals to increased patrols along both the Green Line and at sea, as well as tackling migrant smuggling networks.

Ioannides said pending asylum applications had fallen from around 24,000 in June 2024, when the deputy ministry was established, to 14,000 by the end of June this year, before dropping below 13,500 by the end of July.

He further heralded a sharp fall in applications from Syrian nationals, saying new claims were down 96.8 per cent compared with the first half of 2024.

Almost 2,000 Syrian applications had been rejected since the start of last year, while around 5,200 Syrians had withdrawn their asylum claims or voluntarily returned home following the regime change in Syria.

Ioannides urged Syrians who no longer qualify for international protection to use the revised assisted voluntary return scheme before it expires on October 30.

“Those who do not have a legal right to stay will have to depart, otherwise forced return procedures will be applied,” he said.

The deputy minister said 4,145 returns of third country nationals had been carried out during the first six months of the year, while total voluntary and forced returns had exceeded 5,000 by July 30.