Are there many refugees in Cyprus

Refugees in Cyprus are present in relatively small numbers when compared with continental Europe. The distance from the Syrian port of Latakia to the Cypriot Ayia Napa in a straight line is 170 km. However, refugees prefer to get out of the country through Turkey with a further crossing in inflatable boats to the Greek island of Kos.

First of all, it is worth noting that, since Cyprus is located very close to Syria, the Cypriot government had to come up with a solution to avoid the endless flow of migrants. To this end, many bureaucratic obstacles were put in front of the refugees, making the island completely unattractive for immigration.

Refugee status in Cyprus gives people from Syria certain benefits: legal stay on the island until a decision is made, employment, social benefits, a medical card for treatment in public hospitals and free education in schools and kindergartens.

To obtain refugee status, the following steps must be taken:

Collect documents from your home country.
Get to Cyprus.
Fill out the asylum application form.
Submit documents to the immigration office and take fingerprints.
Obtain a letter from the police confirming that you have submitted your asylum application allowing you to work in agriculture. It must always be carried with you, otherwise deportation threatens.
Get an Alien Book and put all family members in there, except for children under 12 years old.
Pass medical tests within three days.
On the appointed days, visit the immigration office.
Pass the interview in English or in your native language with an interpreter.
Submit your passport.

After a while, a decision on the consideration of the application will come by mail, according to which you can receive:

refugee status for 3 years;
subsidiary protection status for 1 year;
residence permit on humanitarian grounds;
refusal with an explanation of the reasons and the right to appeal.

As you can see, the procedure for obtaining refugee status is complex and time-consuming, so refugees in Cyprus are unlikely to create problems for tourists in 2017.

What documents are needed

Required documents for obtaining refugee status:

passports of all family members;
birth certificates;
Marriage certificate;
3 photographs 3.5 x 4.5 cm;
real address of residence in Cyprus;
documentary confirmation of the threat to life and health from staying at home.

Photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, written documents or certificates, testimonies of witnesses, protocols of interrogations and confrontations, notes with threats, a screenshot of a page certified by a notary public, or a link to a resource on the Internet where the threat is placed can serve as confirmation of the threat to life in the homeland.