Over 4,000 illegal migrants sent home

More than 4,000 third-country nationals have been repatriated so far this year, accounting for over 85% of those who arrived illegally in 2023, according to the Police Aliens and Immigration Unit (AIU).

In a statement, police said that in two recent operations carried out by members of its AIU in coordination with Paphos District AIU officers, 29 nationals of several third countries departed on Thursday and Friday.

Following decrees issued by competent authorities for their compulsory repatriation, they were put on flights from Larnaca airport to return to their home countries.

Since the beginning of the year, through various repatriation operations, more than 4,000 third-country nationals, who illegally resided in Cyprus, have returned to their countries of origin.

“This number reflects more than 85% of the total number of irregular immigrant arrivals in Cyprus during the same period,” the police said.

“We continue to focus efforts on maximising the number of repatriations of third-country nationals in coordination with other competent authorities”.