Speaking at the Cyprus Forum 2025 on 6 November, Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Dr Nicholas Ioannides revealed that more than 150,000 third-country nationals now live in Cyprus for work, study or family reasons, while a further 30,000 people are asylum-seekers or beneficiaries of protection.
Ioannides used the platform to outline the government’s migration priorities ahead of the island’s rotating presidency of the EU Council in 2026. Chief among them is implementation of the newly-agreed EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which promises faster asylum procedures, a mandatory solidarity mechanism for relocations, tighter return rules and clearer criteria for defining a “safe third country”. Cyprus intends to champion the pact’s practical rollout and has already relocated almost 3,000 asylum seekers to other member states since March 2023.
![Cyprus unveils integration roadmap as non-EU resident population tops 150,000]()
The minister confirmed that a National Integration Strategy has been finalised and will enter public consultation this month before cabinet approval. The strategy sets measurable goals for language training, access to the labour market and anti-discrimination measures, and will be backed by investment in reception and pre-departure facilities—the first of which is nearing completion in Limnatis, Larnaca district.
Return policy also remains central: nearly 11,000 irregular migrants left Cyprus in 2024 and the figure for the first nine months of 2025 is already approaching 10,000. Ioannides argued that high rejection rates (about 95 %) protect the viability of the asylum system and free resources for genuine refugees.
For employers, the key takeaway is that Cyprus wants to pair stricter border management with expanded legal migration channels to fill skills shortages. Businesses can therefore expect clearer pathways for intra-company transfers and seasonal staff, but also tougher audits to ensure compliance with work-permit rules. Companies planning to relocate staff to Cyprus should watch for the forthcoming integration strategy, which will spell out new language-training obligations and social-security enrolment requirements, and align HR policies accordingly.
Ioannides used the platform to outline the government’s migration priorities ahead of the island’s rotating presidency of the EU Council in 2026. Chief among them is implementation of the newly-agreed EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which promises faster asylum procedures, a mandatory solidarity mechanism for relocations, tighter return rules and clearer criteria for defining a “safe third country”. Cyprus intends to champion the pact’s practical rollout and has already relocated almost 3,000 asylum seekers to other member states since March 2023.
The minister confirmed that a National Integration Strategy has been finalised and will enter public consultation this month before cabinet approval. The strategy sets measurable goals for language training, access to the labour market and anti-discrimination measures, and will be backed by investment in reception and pre-departure facilities—the first of which is nearing completion in Limnatis, Larnaca district.
Return policy also remains central: nearly 11,000 irregular migrants left Cyprus in 2024 and the figure for the first nine months of 2025 is already approaching 10,000. Ioannides argued that high rejection rates (about 95 %) protect the viability of the asylum system and free resources for genuine refugees.
For employers, the key takeaway is that Cyprus wants to pair stricter border management with expanded legal migration channels to fill skills shortages. Businesses can therefore expect clearer pathways for intra-company transfers and seasonal staff, but also tougher audits to ensure compliance with work-permit rules. Companies planning to relocate staff to Cyprus should watch for the forthcoming integration strategy, which will spell out new language-training obligations and social-security enrolment requirements, and align HR policies accordingly.
