Cyprus Offers Syrians Cash to Relocate Back Home, Migration Minister Announces
Cyprus will offer Syrians money to help them resettle back in their home country, while allowing each family's main earner to remain on the island to work for up to three years, a Cypriot minister has said.
The Deputy Minister for Migration, Nicholas Ioannides, stated that Syrians could be part of the voluntary repatriation program if they withdraw their asylum requests or revoke the international protective status that has been awarded to them prior to December 31, 2024.
Revealing the plan, Ioannides mentioned that families choosing to come back will receive a single payment of €2,000 for one adult along with €1,000 for every child. Couples without children can also submit an application.
The submission window will be open from 2 June through to 31 August.
In the case of this policy, whichever parent—either the father or mother—is the principal breadwinner for their family will receive a specific residency and work visa. This permits them to remain within Cyprus with an initial duration of at least two years and extending up to a total of three years.
They can make trips between here and Syria as long as their residency and work permits remain valid.
Ioannides said that many Syrians have expressed their willingness to return and help rebuild their country, following the ousting of the dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
Nevertheless, they hesitate due to the unpredictability of their local job market, he mentioned.
The Cypriot program seeks to assist families in addressing these worries by offering them certain financial assurances, stated Andreas Georgiades, who leads Cyprus' Asylum Service.
Syrian nationals make up the largest group of asylum-seekers in Cyprus by a significant margin.
According to Asylum Service figures, 4,226 Syrians applied for asylum last year, almost 10 times as many as the next largest group.
Ioannides asserted that this new program represents a focused, compassionate, and pragmatic approach aimed at supporting Syria’s shift towards normalization following the conflict.
Ioannides repeated that a 2009 search and rescue agreement between Cyprus and Syria enables Cypriot authorities to send back boatloads of Syrian migrants trying to reach the island.
Ioannides stated that two rubber dinghies, each transporting 30 Syrian migrants, were recently intercepted and returned according to the accord.
Cyprus rejects claims made by the UN refugee agency and Europe’s leading human rights organization suggesting that it is involved in pushbacks.
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