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Repatriation program, Cyprus offers money to Syrians if they return home
2025-05-29 17:22:12 / BOTA
Cyprus will offer Syrians money to help them resettle in their country of origin, while allowing the main income earners for each family to stay on the island to work for up to three years, a Cypriot minister said.
Deputy Minister for Migration, Nicholas Ioannides, said that Syrians would qualify for the voluntary repatriation program if they abandon their asylum claims or cancel the international protection status they were granted before December 31, 2024.
Unveiling the scheme, Ioannides added that families who agree to return will receive a lump sum of 2,000 euros for an adult and 1,000 euros for each child. Childless couples are also eligible to apply.
The application period will be from June 2 to August 31.
The main breadwinner of the family — either the father or the mother — will be granted a special residence and work permit, which allows them to stay in Cyprus for a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years.
They will be allowed to travel back and forth to Syria, as long as their residence permit and work permit are valid.
Ioannides said many Syrians have expressed their willingness to return and help rebuild their country, following the overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
However, they are reluctant to do so, due to uncertainty about the job market in their country, he said.
The Cypriot program aims to help families overcome such concerns by giving them some financial guarantees, according to Andreas Georgiades, head of the Cyprus Asylum Service.
Syrian nationals constitute the largest group of asylum seekers in Cyprus by a significant margin.
According to figures from the Asylum Service, 4,226 Syrians applied for asylum last year, almost 10 times more than the next largest group.
"This new program is a targeted, humanitarian and realistic policy that supports Syria's post-war transition towards normality," Ioannides asserted.
Ioannides reiterated that a 2009 search-and-rescue agreement between Cyprus and Syria allows Cypriot authorities to turn back boats carrying Syrian migrants trying to reach the island.
Ioannides said two dinghies, each carrying 30 Syrian migrants, were recently returned in accordance with the agreement.
Cyprus denies suggestions from both the UN refugee agency and Europe's top human rights body that it is engaging in deportations.
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