An increasing number of Syrian refugees arriving by sea has alerted authorities as they step up efforts to contain irregular migration from the war-torn country by excluding Syria nationals from a voluntary relocation scheme to other EU countries.
The Interior Ministry announced the move on Wednesday, as police confirmed that 113 Syrian migrants were picked up at sea by the coastguard on Tuesday evening.
The latest arrivals have pushed the number of irregular migrants arriving by sea since early May past 600, all from Syria travelling on 21 boats.
Cypriot authorities spotted a boat carrying 95 Syrian migrants off the Larnaca coast. They intercepted the boat and brought it safely to shore at around 7.00 pm.
Shortly after, another smaller boat carrying 18 migrants was spotted.
Amongst the refugees were 78 men, nine women, 11 unaccompanied minors, and 15 children.
Four men were arrested for illegally entering the Republic of Cyprus and suspected of people smuggling.
The rest were transferred to the Pournara reception centre in Nicosia.
The Interior Ministry said it’s shifting its focus to migrants arriving by sea, following a steep increase in arrivals by boat, as hundreds of refugees from Syrian have been picked up by the coastguard in the past two months.
It said the “Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus are intensifying political and diplomatic efforts to manage flows”.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou has formed a working group of technocrats from the Asylum Service, the Immigration Department, and the Labour Ministry.
The group is tasked with reviewing policy on Syrian nationals to properly manage those already in Cyprus and prevent further flows from the country.
“At the operational level, measures will be taken to clamp down on traffickers and possible rings with the assistance of competent European services, such as EUROPOL.
“Applicants for international protection who arrived in the Republic of Cyprus from 1/01/2023 onwards are not eligible candidates for the voluntary relocation program.
“The aim of this policy is that the relocation program should not be a factor of attracting nationals of specific third countries, who, possibly by abusing the program, use Cyprus as a transit station to other European member states,” said the ministry.
Despite the increased boat arrivals, asylum applications remain significantly lower than last year “due to coordinated actions and measures taken recently”.
“The measures have clearly helped reduce asylum applications of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries, with trafficking rings now shifting to other nationalities, such as Syrians.”
Asylum applications for June 2023 were 735; in June 2022, they were 2,401.
The ministry said that in July 2022, asylum applications were 1,770, while until mid-July 2023, they were a relatively low 550.
Authorities say there has been a rise in migrants arriving by boat, with a 60% increase recorded in the first five months compared to last year.
According to the Aliens and Immigration Unit, most irregular migrants arriving by sea come on boats from Tartus, Syria and are usually located off Cape Greco, Ayia Napa.
Police told the Financial Mirror that 4,779 migrants have arrived on territory under the control of the Republic of Cyprus in the first six months.
In 2022, 17,434 irregular migrants had arrived, of which 807 came via sea on 41 boats.
