Your duties as an asylum-seeker

In addition to your rights as an asylum-seeker, you also have various duties that you are required to abide by during your time in Cyprus. These are as follows:

Respect the laws of the Republic of Cyprus

You must respect and follow the laws and regulations of the Republic of Cyprus. Examples of illegal practices include:

  • Unauthorised work
  • Child marriage
  • Forced marriage
  • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
  • Domestic violence
  • Sexual violence
  • Possession of weapons
  • Polygamy
  • Forgery – Note: Buying and travelling on false or forged documents/passport is a criminal offence for which you may be arrested and sentenced to prison.

Freedom of movement

You must not leave Cyprus without the permission of the Director of the Civil Registry and Migration Department. If you leave Cyprus without permission, you may not be allowed to return and your file will be closed.

Fake documents and issuance of travel documents

If you try to leave Cyprus using fake documents you will be arrested for a criminal offence and convicted to prison. In case you urgently need to travel for humanitarian reasons, you can apply for special permission and you may be issued with a relevant travel document.

Your passport

You must hand in your passport to the Immigration when you apply for asylum or the Asylum Service at your interview, and you will be given a receipt document as well as photocopies of your passport.

Responding on time to official letters

You must respond on time to the letters addressed to you by the Asylum Service. If you do not your file will be closed or your application will be refused.