Cyprus currently hosts 40,583 Russian citizens and 15,395 British nationals amongst 169,844 valid residence permits issued to third-country nationals, according to official migration data released Friday.
The figures show an 86% decrease in irregular migrant arrivals during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2022, Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides announced.
New asylum applications fell by 87% over the corresponding period, whilst pending asylum cases decreased by 26.5% within one year, from 23,934 in June 2024 to 17,604 in June 2025.
Russians represent the largest group of third-country nationals holding valid residence permits, followed by British citizens, Nepalese nationals with 14,009 permits, and Syrians with 13,541.
Other significant groups among residence permit holders include nationals from India, China, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ukraine and Egypt. An additional 36,060 permit holders originate from other unspecified countries.
Migration trends reverse
Irregular arrivals to the Republic of Cyprus dropped from 9,307 in the first half of 2022 to 1,260 in the corresponding period of 2025. The figures showed 5,103 arrivals in 2023 and 4,478 in 2024.
New asylum applications declined from 12,048 in the first six months of 2022 to 1,520 in 2025. Applications numbered 5,563 in 2023 and 4,899 in 2024.
Arrivals remained lower than new asylum applications, as some applicants enter Cyprus legally before submitting asylum requests.
The Asylum Service issued 5,638 negative decisions in 2025, including first-instance rejections, withdrawals, revocations and subsequent inadmissible cases. Positive decisions, covering complementary protection and refugee status, totalled 336.
Processing asylum applications
The population at the Pournara First Reception Centre decreased by 86% between June 2022 and June 2025. The centre housed 251 people in June 2025, down from 2,980 in March 2024, according to the data.
Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria represented the top three African countries of origin for asylum seekers in 2025.
Syrian nationals saw 3,051 application withdrawals and status revocations by 30 June 2025, with 2,057 having already been repatriated.
Total repatriations increased from 2,358 in 2022 to 6,187 in 2025.
Entry permit applications processed increased from 10,715 in 2023 to 19,705 in 2025, whilst residence permit applications rose from 57,628 in 2023 to 66,423 in 2025.