Cyprus’ Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection has launched an €8.385 million initiative to scale up assisted voluntary returns (AVR) for third-country nationals who choose to go back to their countries of origin. Financed by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the 18-month project retroactively covers July 2025 through December 2026.(visahq.com)
Funds will bolster counselling services, fast-track travel documentation, and provide reintegration grants alongside post-return monitoring—measures designed to make departures sustainable. The Police Aliens & Immigration Unit will receive new case-management software and upgraded escort vehicles, while return-counsellor training is being expanded.
![EU-Funded €8.38 Million Programme Aims to Accelerate Voluntary Returns from Cyprus]()
For individuals and employers navigating Cyprus’s rapidly changing migration rules—whether facilitating a voluntary return or securing the right visa status—VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Through our dedicated Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/), users can access real-time entry requirements, submit online applications, and receive expert guidance on documentation, helping them stay compliant with new procedures arising from initiatives like this AVR scheme.
Cyprus processed more than 7,800 voluntary departures in 2025—triple the 2023 figure—but overcrowded reception centres and political pressure to reduce migrant numbers prompted calls for a systemic solution. Business federations welcomed the programme, noting that unclogging back-office workflows should shorten residence-permit renewals for investors and intra-company transferees.
NGOs, however, stress that “voluntary” must remain genuinely voluntary, with legal-aid safeguards and transparent counselling; they fear quotas could morph into coercion. Employers with dismissed staff or contractors who overstay will need to monitor revised flight-booking procedures and potential escort-cost allocations as the scheme beds in.(visahq.com)
Funds will bolster counselling services, fast-track travel documentation, and provide reintegration grants alongside post-return monitoring—measures designed to make departures sustainable. The Police Aliens & Immigration Unit will receive new case-management software and upgraded escort vehicles, while return-counsellor training is being expanded.
For individuals and employers navigating Cyprus’s rapidly changing migration rules—whether facilitating a voluntary return or securing the right visa status—VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Through our dedicated Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/), users can access real-time entry requirements, submit online applications, and receive expert guidance on documentation, helping them stay compliant with new procedures arising from initiatives like this AVR scheme.
Cyprus processed more than 7,800 voluntary departures in 2025—triple the 2023 figure—but overcrowded reception centres and political pressure to reduce migrant numbers prompted calls for a systemic solution. Business federations welcomed the programme, noting that unclogging back-office workflows should shorten residence-permit renewals for investors and intra-company transferees.
NGOs, however, stress that “voluntary” must remain genuinely voluntary, with legal-aid safeguards and transparent counselling; they fear quotas could morph into coercion. Employers with dismissed staff or contractors who overstay will need to monitor revised flight-booking procedures and potential escort-cost allocations as the scheme beds in.(visahq.com)
