Cyprus plans to tighten its golden visa scheme ahead of joining the Schengen area, the Deputy Minister for Migration has told MPs.
Nicolas Ioannides said around 1,500 golden visas had been issued over the past two years. Authorities are also checking whether holders of about 12,000 permits issued since 2013 still meet the scheme’s requirements.
Cyprus’ expected entry into Schengen could make the scheme more attractive, Ioannides said. He has submitted proposals to other ministers on possible changes.
The government is also reviewing where investment linked to the scheme should go. Options include directing funds into education, defence and innovation. “We need investment,” Ioannides said, but added that it must be made “in a controlled way”.
The issue was raised during a parliamentary committee’s examination of an Audit Office report on migration management.
Investment scheme under scrutiny
The debate has a direct bearing on Cyprus’ property market. ALMA party leader Odysseas Michaelides said the golden visa scheme remained in force and, in his view, was putting pressure on the housing market. He said Schengen membership could make the programme more attractive by allowing beneficiaries to travel freely within the EU.
The government has not announced specific changes or a timetable for tightening the scheme.
New system to track arrivals and departures
Ioannides said a new information system was being developed to track third-country nationals from their arrival in Cyprus until their departure. It is expected to be installed in March, although he did not specify the year.
The announcement followed an Audit Office finding that, between 2021 and 2023, available records showed no departure for about 290,000 third-country nationals who had entered Cyprus legally.
Ioannides said the data had since changed and that government systems were being connected. Missing departure records could have several explanations, he said, including leaving through an uncontrolled crossing point, obtaining a residence permit or departing on a different passport.
Migration services are also being digitised. In the first phase, people in five categories will be able to renew residence permits online, track their applications and receive a text message when a decision has been made.
Asylum backlog and returns fall
The number of pending asylum applications has fallen from about 24,000 when the Deputy Ministry was established to fewer than 12,500, Ioannides said. He put the current asylum approval rate at between 15% and 20%, adding that many people in Cyprus hold subsidiary protection status.
He said more than 6,100 Syrian asylum applications had been withdrawn or revoked since December 2024, and about 5,500 people had returned. More than 7,000 returns were recorded during the first eight months of 2026, compared with more than 12,000 departures in 2025.
Ioannides said irregular arrivals in the first eight months of 2026 were down 92% compared with the same period in 2022. New asylum applications had fallen by 93%. Nearly 7,000 third-country nationals had been returned since the start of 2026, he said, while returns since 2023 totalled about 40,000.
Cyprus can now take part in, and host, joint European return operations with Frontex, according to the Deputy Minister.
Green Line checks and migration costs
MPs also questioned controls along the Green Line and at entry points such as marinas. Police Assistant Chief Michalis Katsounotos said officers patrolled the areas daily and stopped vehicles and people involved in irregular crossings.
Ioannides said Cyprus did not operate a migration procedure at the Green Line, but that specific checks were in place. He added that the government would not accept the Green Line becoming a hard border. A legal instrument for cooperation with the British Bases is available as part of preparations for Schengen, Katsounotos said.
Migration-related benefits had fallen from €49 million when the Deputy Ministry was established to €15 million at the start of 2026, Ioannides told MPs. He said EU funding covered all the cost of upgrading the Pournara reception centre, 85% of the cost at Limnes and between 80% and 85% of return operations.
Cyprus needs workers in key sectors
The Deputy Minister said Cyprus needed workers in construction and tourism, as well as nurses. The government had signed bilateral agreements with Egypt and India to recruit workers more selectively. About 200,000 valid residence permits were held by third-country nationals, he said.
The number of unaccompanied minors had fallen from about 1,100 when the Deputy Ministry was established to 130. Age checks were being carried out, and there were no plans to create new facilities, Ioannides said.
He described legal, organised and controlled migration as part of the solution to labour shortages, adding that recruitment should take place through lawful routes rather than misuse of the asylum system.
(Translated and summarised from an article in Stockwatch)
