The Council of Ministers on 18 December approved a long-awaited shake-up that will transfer operational control of all reception facilities for unaccompanied migrant children from the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare to the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection. The reform takes effect on 1 January 2026.
Deputy Migration Minister Nikolas Ioannides said consolidating arrival, reception, processing, integration and return under one roof “will eliminate bureaucratic hand-offs and speed up decisions that directly affect vulnerable minors.” Guardianship and legal custody will remain with Social Welfare Services, but staffing, security and day-to-day budgets—largely funded by the EU’s AMIF—move to the Migration Ministry.
![Reception centres for unaccompanied minors to shift from Social Welfare to Migration Ministry on 1 January]()
Cyprus currently hosts roughly 480 unaccompanied minors, most housed at Pournara and smaller shelters in Nicosia and Larnaca. NGOs have long criticised overcrowding and slow age-assessment procedures. By folding the centres into the Migration portfolio, the government hopes to tap additional EU funds and implement uniform case-management software by mid-2026.
For international businesses running CSR or volunteer programmes at the shelters, the change means new points of contact and revised access protocols. HR teams arranging dependent-care support for expatriate staff who foster or mentor minors should verify that agreements are updated with the Migration Ministry.
The restructuring is part of a broader 2025-2027 action plan that also foresees a new purpose-built minors’ facility near Limnes and expanded language-training budgets to aid integration of those granted protection.
Deputy Migration Minister Nikolas Ioannides said consolidating arrival, reception, processing, integration and return under one roof “will eliminate bureaucratic hand-offs and speed up decisions that directly affect vulnerable minors.” Guardianship and legal custody will remain with Social Welfare Services, but staffing, security and day-to-day budgets—largely funded by the EU’s AMIF—move to the Migration Ministry.
Cyprus currently hosts roughly 480 unaccompanied minors, most housed at Pournara and smaller shelters in Nicosia and Larnaca. NGOs have long criticised overcrowding and slow age-assessment procedures. By folding the centres into the Migration portfolio, the government hopes to tap additional EU funds and implement uniform case-management software by mid-2026.
For international businesses running CSR or volunteer programmes at the shelters, the change means new points of contact and revised access protocols. HR teams arranging dependent-care support for expatriate staff who foster or mentor minors should verify that agreements are updated with the Migration Ministry.
The restructuring is part of a broader 2025-2027 action plan that also foresees a new purpose-built minors’ facility near Limnes and expanded language-training budgets to aid integration of those granted protection.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
