South Cyprus rejects asylum applications of 3,461 refugees

The issue of illegal immigrants and political refugees in South Cyprus was discussed by the ad hoc committee of the Greek Cypriot Parliament yesterday.

According to Fileleftheros and other newspapers, the problems caused by illegal immigrants and political refugees in South Cyprus were extensively discussed at the committee meeting. The report highlighted that 33 million euros were paid from the state budget as monthly financial assistance to political refugees last year, while this figure was 8 million euros so far this year. It was also emphasized that 3,461 out of 3,648 refugees from countries deemed safe, which is 90%, had their asylum requests rejected.

The newspaper reported that 828 refugees had voluntarily returned to their countries this year, while 456 had been sent back to their countries by force.

During the committee meeting, some mayors, including the mayor of "Ayia Napa," drew attention to the population change caused by refugees. The newspaper reported that the mayor of "Ayia Napa" stated that there were 800 refugees within the municipal boundaries compared to 5,000 locals, which corresponded to 30-35% of the local population.

The mayor of the village of "Kookinotrimithia" also stated that the ratio of refugees to the local population in their region reached 70%.

The newspaper also reported that 135 people were arrested in 2022 for trafficking illegal immigrants, while 226 employers were under investigation for employing illegal workers.