Around 20,000 Syrians currently remaining in Cyprus with asylum or subsidiary protection status are being targeted by a new voluntary return programme offering financial incentives and the option for one family member to remain on the island for work.

Speaking to Alpha TV on Wednesday, Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides explained that the revised scheme, which will run throughout the year and is largely funded through EU programmes, is intended to expedite the repatriation of Syrians following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad and the state’s relative political stabilisation.

According to the deputy minister, around 5,000 Syrians have already either left Cyprus voluntarily or withdrawn asylum applications since December 2024.

Ioannides said the authorities were seeking to provide Syrians with “the opportunity to return to their homeland to restart their lives there with a financial incentive” while allowing one spouse to remain employed in Cyprus and financially support family members returning to Syria.

Under the scheme, returning spouses will receive €2,000 each, children €1,500 each and families already granted international protection status will receive an additional €1,000 payment.

A central feature of the programme allows one adult family member to remain legally employed in Cyprus until August 2028 under a special residence permit with unrestricted access to the labour market.

Officials said the measure was designed both to support families rebuilding their lives in Syria and to help meet labour shortages in sectors facing recruitment difficulties.

Ioannides said conditions in Syria had changed significantly since the political transition in December 2024, affecting the basis on which many protection claims had originally been granted.

“Many Syrians no longer meet the criteria for international protection,” he said.

More than 1,500 applications have also been rejected, triggering procedures for departure where individuals no longer have a legal right to remain.

The minister pointed to a decline in irregular arrivals having fallen by 90 per cent compared with 2022, with approximately 650 arrivals recorded so far this year.

He also announced that from June 12, asylum seekers will gain access to employment after six months rather than nine under provisions introduced through the EU’s new migration pact.

Applications for the voluntary return scheme can be submitted through the asylum service, district immigration offices and the Pournara reception centre in Nicosia.