The Republic of Cyprus, 36% of which is illegally occupied by Turkey, is increasingly struggling with a massive wave of illegal migration from Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.

Cyprus now has the highest number of asylum applications per capita of any EU country. Nearly 5% of the island population, according to the country’s officials, is now made up of asylum seekers.

The Cypriot government says that Turkey is orchestrating this illegal immigration crisis, as most migrants coming to Cyprus travel from Turkey. They reportedly fly from Istanbul or Ankara to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, are then smuggled to the free, southern part of the Republic of Cyprus, and from there, under EU law, can apply for asylum.

Since 2018, Cyprus has experienced a large increase in the number of people illegally arriving in the country and then applying for asylum.

In May 2021, Cyprus notified the EU that it could not accept any more irregular migrants. Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said that with migrant reception centers already overcrowded, Cyprus was now in a “state of emergency.”

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A few months later, in November 2021, the government of Cyprus said that this illegal immigrant crisis was creating “significant demographic change”, “ghettoisation in urban areas” and “acute socio-economic effects”.

In February 2022, the EU agreed to “help Cyprus manage record migrant influx.” The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) revealed in June that between January and April 2022, the number of migrants arriving in Cyprus increased by 119% compared to the same period last year.

Another Frontex report issued in June noted that in 2022, the number of illegal crossings in Cyprus had increased significantly compared to 2021 — by 213%.

Read more: Gatestone Institute