Asylum claims up 42 per cent in Cyprus last year

A total of 2,105 new asylum requests were filed in Cyprus in 2015, up from 1,480 in 2014, a 42 per cent increase, according to Eurostat data released on Friday.

Most of the applicants came from Syria 910 (43 per cent), followed by Palestine with 175 (8 per cent) and Vietnam 125 (6 per cent).

The data show that in 2015, 1,255,600 first time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the EU, more than doubling the number of the previous year.

The number of Syrians seeking international protection doubled in 2015 compared with 2014 to reach 362,800, while the number of Afghans has almost quadrupled to 178,200 and that of Iraqis has multiplied by seven to 121,500. These three countries account for more than half of all first-time applicants.

In 2015, there were on average 2,470 first time asylum applicants per million inhabitants in the EU member states.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.