Cyprus’ Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection has launched an €8.385 million initiative to scale up assisted voluntary returns (AVR) for third-country nationals who choose to go back to their countries of origin. Financed by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the 18-month project retroactively covers July 2025 through December 2026.
Funds will bolster counselling services, fast-track travel documentation, and provide reintegration grants alongside post-return monitoring—measures designed to make departures sustainable. The Police Aliens & Immigration Unit will receive new case-management software and upgraded escort vehicles, while return-counsellor training is being expanded.
![EU-Funded €8.38 Million Programme Aims to Accelerate Voluntary Returns from Cyprus]()
Cyprus processed more than 7,800 voluntary departures in 2025—triple the 2023 figure—but overcrowded reception centres and political pressure to reduce migrant numbers prompted calls for a systemic solution. Business federations welcomed the programme, noting that unclogging back-office workflows should shorten residence-permit renewals for investors and intra-company transferees.
NGOs, however, stress that “voluntary” must remain genuinely voluntary, with legal-aid safeguards and transparent counselling; they fear quotas could morph into coercion. Employers with dismissed staff or contractors who overstay will need to monitor revised flight-booking procedures and potential escort-cost allocations as the scheme beds in.
Funds will bolster counselling services, fast-track travel documentation, and provide reintegration grants alongside post-return monitoring—measures designed to make departures sustainable. The Police Aliens & Immigration Unit will receive new case-management software and upgraded escort vehicles, while return-counsellor training is being expanded.
Cyprus processed more than 7,800 voluntary departures in 2025—triple the 2023 figure—but overcrowded reception centres and political pressure to reduce migrant numbers prompted calls for a systemic solution. Business federations welcomed the programme, noting that unclogging back-office workflows should shorten residence-permit renewals for investors and intra-company transferees.
NGOs, however, stress that “voluntary” must remain genuinely voluntary, with legal-aid safeguards and transparent counselling; they fear quotas could morph into coercion. Employers with dismissed staff or contractors who overstay will need to monitor revised flight-booking procedures and potential escort-cost allocations as the scheme beds in.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
