Cyprus: a new illegal migration route under tension

Cyprus is the European state which receives the most asylum seekers in relation to its population, with 7,000 applications in 2020 for only 800,000 inhabitants. Cyprus finds itself on the front line because the land borders of the Balkan route have largely closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and migration policies have tightened. More and more migrants from Syria, Lebanon and sub-Saharan Africa are going there in the hope of entering the EU.