Τhe Asylum Service of the Ministry of Interior announces that within 2024 it is seeking to purchase services by translators/interpreters, for the following languages/dialects: Arabic, Kurdish/Syria, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Armenian, French, Bangla, Farsi/ Dari, Filipino, Vietnamese, Hindi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Urdu, Nepali, Somali, Comore, Lingala, Pashto, Amharic, Georgian, Kurmanji/Turkey, Mongolian Ethiopia, Spanish, Sorani, Sousou, Swahili, Portuguese, Pounjabi, Thibet, Mandarin.
Both oral and written translation from the above languages into Greek or English are to be provided across Cyprus, e.g at the main and new offices of the Asylum Service in Nicosia, at the Examination Center in Kokkinotrimithia, at the at the Divisional Aliens and Immigration Departments of the Police, at the Reception/Accommodation Centers for Applicants for Internal Protection, at the Local Hospitals of the Republic and at the Social Welfare Services, at the International Protection Administrative Court, at points of entry by sea and airports, etc. The services may be required to be provided at any time of the day (upon availability of translators/interpreters). The interested parties should be registered with the Department of Social Insurance as self-employed, and their contributions should be paid by themselves. While performing the required interpretation/translation duties, the interested parties must arrange their transfers with their own means of transportation.
The interested parties are requested to submit their application to the Asylum Service by filling out Form 1 (Application) which can be found on the website of the Asylum Service (see below) and to submit it together with the required documents, as indicated in the Form.
Form 1 should be submitted in person at the offices of the Asylum Service, which are located at 70 Archiepiskopou Makariou III Avenue, AFEMIA HOUSE, 1077 Nicosia, at the second floor, to Mr. Alexandros Kirmizoglou no later than Thursday 28th of February 2024.
Required Qualifications:
i. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
ii. Secondary school leaving certificate or
iii. University degree in the language the application is submitted for or
iv. Postgraduate studies in the language the application is submitted for (including doctoral studies).
Table of criteria and marks assigned:
| Qualifications/ Relevant Experience | Marks Assigned |
| Secondary school leaving certificate | 1 |
| University Degree in the language for which the application is submitted for | 1 |
| Postgraduate studies in the language the application is submitted for (including Doctoral studies). | 1 |
| Interpretation/translation experience with applicants for international protection | 0.5 – 2
(0.5 for each completed semester with maximum limit two years) |
Subsequently, the Asylum Service will compile a list based on the language and the relevant qualifications. In the case of candidates with equal qualifications, their ranking on the list will be determined through a draw. This list will also be shared with other services that work with applicants for international protection and that may need the services of an interpreter/translator.
The interpreters/ translators will be contacted to provide services based on the needs that arise. The immediate availability of the interpreter will be taken into account when requested to provide services, since the cases are not stable and predictable and neither have a specific duration.
It is noted that the Asylum Service may utilize the services of more than one person at any one time, for the same language, in order to meet its needs.
The current remuneration of interpreters/translators providing services to the Asylum Service is set at €10/hour for oral translation/interpretation and €11/hour/page for written translation at home.
For more information, you can contact Mr. Giorgos Argyrou tel. 22308573, email.: gargyrou@asylum.moi.gov.cy and Ms. Irini Kiprianou tel. 22308545, email.: ikyprianou@asylum.moi.gov.cy.