Cyprus has engaged in offshore pushbacks as several boats carrying displaced people have approached in recent weeks. Returning people to countries where they could face persecution is prohibited by international law.
The Cypriot authorities have said they are "alarmed" after a total of five migrant boats arrived on or near their shores from Syria and Lebanon in the space of 48 hours. The boats were carrying a total of 183 migrants.
Turkish Cypriot human rights groups have urged a probe over reported gunshots by police at a migrant boat with Syrian refugees. Ethnically divided Cyprus, split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, has become a popular destination for migrants in recent years.
Cyprus announced it would be launching a "blitz" SMS campaign in order to try and deter migrants from coming to the country. Many have arrived thinking that Cyprus is a gateway to the rest of the EU. That is not the case, says the government.
The government in Cyprus has announced it will deport 17 migrants as soon as international flights allow. The migrants, whose nationalities and alleged crimes have not been disclosed, are being held in a detention center on the island.
EU member Cyprus has begun testing its migrant population for the COVID-19 lung disease. The ethnically divided island country, split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, has become a popular destination for migrants in recent years.
After authorities from EU member state Cyprus refused to let a migrant boat dock due to the corona crisis, police in the northern part of the island, which is under Turkish control, said they rescued over 170 migrants a day later. Ethnically divided Cyprus, split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, has become a popular destination for migrants in recent years.
Divided Cyprus, split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, has become a popular destination for migrants in recent years. Now, the government has introduced a series of measures to curtail the number of arrivals. Separately, it closed four of nine border crossing points with the northern part of the island over coronavirus fears last week.
The experience of an Italian family that took six migrants into their home has inspired the EU-funded project Embracin. Their reception model will be replicated in six EU countries.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will deploy up to 2,000 personnel to Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Malta in 2020 to support national authorities with asylum and reception. While support to Greece will double compared to 2019, support to Italy will be decreased as the country faces less workload within first instance asylum procedures.
Eurostat said the EU has experienced a 12% increase in first asylum requests in the third quarter of 2019 - compared to numbers from the previous quarter. For the first time, asylum seekers from Venezuela are in the top three of nationalities submitting asylum requests.
Cyprus will harden its border with the Turkish-controlled northern part of the island known as the Green Line. The move is intended to stop people from crossing into the south to claim asylum there.