Irregular migration to Cyprus ‘down 92 per cent since 2022’

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...