Legislation and Policy
The responsibilities of the Immigration Sector derive from a number of legal instruments as well as policies set out by the Council of Ministers, the Ministerial Committee for the Employment of Third Country Nationals and the Interior Minister.
The main laws governing the work of the Immigration Sector, as these are amended or replaced, are:
- The Law on the Right of Union citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Republic,
- The Aliens and Immigration Law (Cap. 105),
- The Law on the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings and Protection of Victims,
- The Aliens and Immigration Regulations.
The above laws are harmonised with the European law. This means that the European Directives relating to the areas of free movement of EU citizens, immigration and trafficking in human beings have been transported to Cyprus law and they form a part of it.
The main competencies of the Immigration Sector are:
(a) Managing applications and issuing Certificates of Registration to Union citizens and Residence Cards to members of their family who are third party nationals.
(b) Managing applications and issuing entry and residence permits to third-country nationals who wish to enter or are in Cyprus.
(c) Managing the various requests related to points (a) and (b) above, etc.
(d) Other general issues concerning immigration (illegal migration, sham marriages, solidarity funds, borders, judicial applications, etc.).
Τhe Sector is divided into different Sections, each one being responsible for a number of the above competencies.
For more information on the current policies on specific matters please click the relevant link of our website below, depending on the topic that interests you.