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Immigration 202440,47120th in the EU-27
Net migration 2024+13,588immigration − emigration
First-time asylum claims 20252,83514th in the EU-27 · 0.4% UE
New citizenships 20242,80018th in the EU-27

Cyprus ranks 20th in the EU-27 for regular immigration: in 2024 it registered 40,471 arrivals and 26,883 departures, for a net balance of +13,588. In 2025 first-time asylum applications came to 2,835, 0.4% of the EU total; citizenship acquisitions in 2024 numbered 2,800.

Regular migration

The series includes all citizenships — EU citizens moving between member states and returning nationals included — and counts those moving their usual residence for at least 12 months. Compared with 2019, immigration is up 47%.

Immigration Emigration

Regular migration, Cyprus, by year · Eurostat
YearImmigrationEmigrationNet
202440,47126,883+13,588
202340,76126,979+13,782
202237,55821,118+16,440
202125,47313,244+12,229
202022,85014,200+8,650
201927,55318,598+8,955
201825,74017,562+8,178
201722,45816,931+5,527
201618,59016,445+2,145
201515,36415,733−369
201413,00316,020−3,017
201313,66620,679−7,013
201216,13819,986−3,848
201123,0374,895+18,142
201020,2064,293+15,913
200922,5814,797+17,784
200821,0604,474+16,586

Asylum applications

First-time applications for international protection lodged in Cyprus in 2025 came to 2,835 (the 14th-highest in the EU). The series peak remains 2022, with 21,585 applications.

First-time asylum applications, Cyprus, by year · Eurostat
YearFirst-time claims
20252,835
20246,750
202311,660
202221,585
202113,260
20207,060
201912,695
20187,605
20174,480
20162,850
20152,110
20141,475
20131,140
20121,585
20111,745
20102,835
20093,200
20083,920

New citizenships

In 2024 citizenship acquisitions came to 2,800, the 18th-highest in the EU-27. It is a lagging indicator: today's new citizens typically immigrated several years ago.

Citizenship acquisitions, Cyprus, by year · Eurostat
YearAcquisitions
20242,800
20233,318
20222,873
20211,910
20202,740
20192,859
20183,198
20173,737
20163,127
20152,353
20141,633
20131,138
20121,530
20111,325
20101,508
20092,007
20081,531

Who leaves

In 2024, 1,660 of the country's own citizens moved abroad (the 27th-highest in the EU). The true number is almost certainly higher: emigration is measured through de-registrations, and people who leave do not always deregister.

How to read these numbers. Regular migration follows the UN definition (residence ≥ 12 months) and also includes EU citizens and returning nationals. “First-time applications” exclude repeat claims in the same country. Emigration, based on de-registrations, is generally undercounted. Definitions in the glossary, sources and limits in the methodology.

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