Refugee News Agency

23/09/2025

🌍✨ Stories like this remind us how important it is to support refugees,immigrants.

This young Cypriot arrived in London with just £20 at the age of 16 — and through hard work and opportunity, built a £2.5 billion property empire, becoming one of the city’s biggest landlords.

Immigrants bring determination, fresh ideas, and ambition that can transform communities and economies. With the right support and opportunities, their potential is limitless. 💪

Let’s remember: behind every immigrant is not just a struggle, but also the possibility of incredible success that benefits all of us. 🕊️💼🏙️

21/09/2025

Greece’s Fast Deportation Plan May Break EU Law

Athens – Greece says it will make deportations of migrants faster.

The new law gives rejected asylum seekers heavy punishments, like prison, fines, and electronic ankle tags. The government says this will reduce illegal migration.

But many experts and human rights groups say the plan is not legal under European Union (EU) rules.

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights gives everyone the right to ask for asylum. It also bans sending people back to a country where they may face danger, torture, or bad treatment.

EU law also says every asylum case must be checked one by one, and people must have the right to appeal.

Fast deportations without fair checks may break these rules.

The European Court of Human Rights has already found Greece guilty of illegal pushbacks in the past.

Groups warn the new law could cause more violations.

As a member of the EU and the 1951 Refugee Convention, Greece must respect international law.

Critics say the new deportation plans do not follow these obligations.

21/09/2025

The number of pending asylum applications in Cyprus has dropped by 26% so far in 2025, with authorities reporting significantly faster processing times, according to figures released by the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection on Sunday. In a post on platform X, the presidency cited recent data showing…

20/09/2025

At least 19 people drowned after the rubber migrant boat they were in sank off the coast of Libya as it was heading for Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration.

20/09/2025

If, hypothetically, all immigrants left Cyprus in one day, what would happen:

🚧 Construction stops – 30–40% of workers are foreigners.
🏨 Tourism & hospitality collapse – hotels/restaurants rely heavily on migrant staff (over 40%).
🧑‍🦳 Care crisis – 90% of domestic helpers & caregivers are immigrants.
🚌 Public buses, gas stations, small shops – many would close or shrink.
🚜 Agriculture drops – farms rely almost entirely on foreign labor.
📦 Deliveries stall – courier services, food delivery, and logistics would struggle to operate.

📉 Economic impact:

GDP could fall 10–15%.

Tourism (20%+ of GDP) would be devastated.

Labor shortages = rising wages + inflation.

Families struggle as elderly/children lose caregivers.

👉 Cyprus’s economy and daily life would collapse without immigrant workers.

Yet racist voices would quickly blame the government for “failing,” instead of recognizing how much immigrants keep the country running.

19/09/2025

Nine people were arrested after they helped 16 irregular migrants into the country in the Peristerona area of Nicosia, police said on Friday. At around 9.30pm on Thursday, members of the buffer zone surveillance unit located the 16 irregular migrants on the main road of Peristerona, eight of whom were…

19/09/2025

Cyprus has relocated more than 3,000 asylum seekers to nine different EU member states between 2022 until September 2025, the deputy ministry of migration said on Thursday. “The relocations are being implemented in close cooperation [with] the European Commission as well as with the European Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and…

19/09/2025

Chinese political scientist Yan Xuetong challenged former Israeli military commander Elad Shoshan, arguing that Israel’s government

“has no legitimacy and no right to decide or defend what is fact.”

Yan criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, highlighting the killing of Palestinian civilians, including women and children.

19/09/2025

As of 17 September, more than 3 000 asylum seekers, including vulnerable persons, families and unaccompanied minors have been transferred from Cyprus with EUAA support.

Since August 2022, the EUAA in coordination with the Cypriot Asylum Service, the European Commission and IOM Cyprus, has been supporting Cyprus authorities in implementing relocation activities under the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM). This Mechanism allows for the voluntary relocation of asylum applicants in the five first-line Mediterranean Countries, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain to other EU Member States and associated countries, willing to accept them.

During this exercise, the EUAA has been organising sessions to help asylum seekers understand and consent to their participation in the relocation scheme.

With this milestone, Cyprus has achieved the highest number of relocations among the 5 countries benefiting from the VSM.

17/09/2025