A Syrian refugee advocacy group has strongly disputed the Cyprus government’s approach to asylum status reviews in response to a recent philenews report, raising concerns about the safety of voluntary returns and challenging assumptions about applicants’ motives for seeking protection.
In their response to reporting by philenews, Syrians in Cyprus confirmed that several of its members were among 600 people, mostly from Syria, who recently received letters from the Asylum Service calling them for status reviews.
The original report stated that the Asylum Service suggested those with “worker rather than refugee profiles” who are deemed not to require protection would be asked to return voluntarily to their home country.
The group expressed alarm at this phrasing, questioning what would happen to those who refuse voluntary return.
They also challenged the report’s claim that the majority of the 600 individuals—described as Sunni Muslim men—came to Cyprus for economic reasons simply because of their gender and religious background.
Draft evaders face continued risks
“We do not understand why gender determines that the reasons for arrival in Cyprus are economic,” Syrians in Cyprus stated in their response.
The group emphasised that many men are draft evaders who continue to face danger from forces loyal to the former Assad regime and from new authorities “precisely because they avoided armed struggle against the dictatorship”.
The organisation stressed that Syria is not considered a safe destination according to the UN. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Syria could be “weeks away from large-scale civil war,” whilst Israel has escalated military operations in the country.
Long delays contradict ‘fast processing’ claims
Syrians in Cyprus disputed the report’s claims that the 12,800 pending Syrian asylum applications are being processed at “fast rates”. The group noted that some members have been awaiting reviews since 2019, with nearly half waiting over 21 months—the maximum duration provided under refugee law.
This contradicts a recent report by the Auditor General dated April 8, 2025 and another by the Ombudsperson dated June 7, 2024, which highlighted delays in the asylum process, the organisation noted.
The group called the lengthy delays “glaring discrimination,” noting that new applications from other countries are reportedly processed within three months.
Employment rights and survival
Responding to explanations in the original report that asylum seekers cannot automatically work, Syrians in Cyprus clarified that under ministerial decree, asylum applicants can work in specific sectors after nine months from application submission.
“The fact that they work is obviously for survival purposes, and in no way implies that their reasons for staying in Cyprus are economic,” the group stated. “No human being wants to be a beggar. Work means dignity”.
Concerns over ‘indirect coercion’
Syrians in Cyprus warned against using lengthy waiting periods and application rejections as “indirect coercion” for voluntary returns. They noted that whilst 2,300 Syrians have voluntarily returned since Assad’s fall, this does not automatically mean conditions no longer justify international protection.
The group also questioned the legality of the Asylum Service’s continued rejection of Syrian asylum applications—as reported in the original article—based on assumptions that applicants support the new regime and do not need protection, describing this as an “oversimplified” analysis of Syrian political life.
Syrians in Cyprus called on authorities to continue evaluating applications whilst considering all factors that drive asylum seekers to seek protection, in line with Cyprus’s international obligations and using available quality assurance tools.
