If you are under 18 years old in Cyprus and you wish to apply for international protection or have already applied and you are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, you should immediately inform the authorities of your age. You will be taken under the care of the Social Welfare Services who will assign a legal guardian for you. The Social Welfare Services will assess whether you will be placed in suitable accommodation for unaccompanied children or under the foster care of a relative. Please visit the website of the Social Welfare Services to find more details about the protection services they offer.
If you have no documents showing your age, the Asylum Service may request you are given some tests to assess your age.
If you are in detention you must inform the police officers about your age. While in detention, the Welfare Services are responsible to represent and assist you. Please note that the detention of asylum-seeking children is prohibited.
If you have family in another EU Member State you must immediately inform the Asylum Service and the Welfare Services as you are eligible to apply through the Dublin Procedure to jon your family abroad. The application for family reunification must be submitted no later than three months after you applied for international protection.
The Welfare Services will be responsible for your needs, including access to healthcare, accommodation, basic needs, education, as well as your right to safety and well-being. Anything you say to your welfare officer is confidential.
The Welfare Services are responsible for representing you during the asylum procedure. A welfare officer must represent you and this includes giving you information about the whole procedure and all your rights and obligations throughout the procedure. Your representative must also prepare you for the interview at the Asylum Service and escort you to this interview. Your representative must explain the consequences of the examination of your asylum application should it be refused, and if you are refused your welfare officer must explain to you your right to submit an appeal.
If you are under 16, you are obliged to go to school. If you are 16 or over, it is not mandatory to go to school, but it may be in your best interests to continue your education. For more information on primary and secondary education in Cyprus, please visit the relevant page on this website.
How can I apply to join my family member/relative in another European country (Dublin Regulation)?
There is a European Union law commonly known as the Dublin Regulation, which establishes the country that is responsible for receiving and deciding on asylum applications based on agreed criteria. Cyprus is a so-called ‘Dublin Country’ as well as: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
If you have family members / relatives in a Dublin Country, you will need to provide their any available details along with information and documentation on your identity and age when you visit the Asylum Service of the Republic of Cyprus. Providing this information at the earliest opportunity will facilitate your application to join your immediate family member – mother, father, brother or sister – or close relative – aunt, uncle or grandparent.
The guardian/representative appointed to you by the government to assist you during your stay in Cyprus until you reach 18 years of age, will be present at your interview at the Asylum Service and will assist you with your application for family reunification. Your guardian/representative will accompany you whenever you have to talk to the authorities. S/he is there to ensure your best interests. This means that your needs, safety, well-being and your own views will be taken into account. Therefore an application to join your family member/relative will only be made if it is in your best interests.
How do I prove that I am a child?
You must show any documents in your possession that prove your date of birth, such as your passport or birth certificate to the Asylum Service. During your interview at the Asylum Service, you may undergo an age assessment interview. If after the interview there are still reasonable doubts about your age, you will be asked by the Asylum Service to go for medical examinations to see if you are younger or older than 18. If you refuse to go for medical examinations, the Asylum Service may decide that you are older than 18 and be considered an adult.
The medical examination procedure will be explained to you by the Asylum Service officer and your guardian/representative, and your consent must be sought. If there is anything that you do not understand, you should ask for it to be explained to you.
Age assessment should be conducted in the least intrusive way possible, and can only be conducted by qualified medical personnel at the request of the Asylum Service.
If you reach adulthood while your application is examined or if you are declared an adult further to the age assessment procedures, your status as an asylum seeker will not change and your application for international protection will be examined in accordance with the law. If you disagree with the outcome of the age assessment, you have the right to appeal the decision at the International Protection Administrative Court. Please contact the Child Commissioner and/or the Cyprus Refugee Council for advice and information, including on the deadlines for lodging an appeal.
What other information is needed in order to make a request for family reunification to a Dublin Country?
You can express your wish to apply for family reunification at the earliest opportunity.
In order to submit a formal application for family reunification to the Dublin Country where you have a family member or relative, you will need to provide the following information to the Asylum Service:
- Written consent from your family member/relative in the Dublin Country that s/he agrees to take care of you;
- Written consent from you and/or your guardian/representative that you agree to be transferred to the Dublin Country specified;
- A document that shows that your family member/relative is legally present in the Dublin Country specified. The relative may have refugee status or may be an asylum-seeker;
- Evidence that you are related to the person that you wish to join;
- Full address of your family member/relative in the Dublin Country;
- Details of your family member/relative’s income and living conditions (accommodation);
- Evidence that your family member/relative is able to take care of you.
How long does the procedure take after I make a request for family reunification?
The Asylum Service of the Republic of Cyprus will review your case and the documentation you have provided and, if satisfied, submit a transfer request to the Dublin country where your family member/relative lives. The Dublin Regulations require that such transfer requests be made within three months of the date of making the asylum application. Before the request can be made, all of the necessary information and documentation must be gathered, including proof of your age. Your guardian/representative will be notified of the date your application is sent.
The country in which your family member/relative lives will examine the request and make a decision within two months of the request being made. If the country accepts responsibility for you, your transfer will take place within six months of the date of the acceptance. That country will then examine your application for asylum, and decide whether you should be allowed to stay and live there. If the country does not accept responsibility for you, the Asylum Service may write to ask if they could reconsider the decision. The country usually replies within two weeks, but sometimes it may take longer.
Why have I been fingerprinted?
If you are 14 years of age or older and you make an application for asylum, your fingerprints will be taken and transmitted to a fingerprint database called ‘Eurodac’. You must cooperate in this procedure. All people who apply for asylum in the EU are obliged by law to have their fingerprints taken.
Your fingerprints might be checked at some point to see if you have ever applied for asylum before in another Dublin Country, or to see if you were previously fingerprinted at a border of another Dublin Country. If it is discovered that you have already applied for asylum in another Dublin Country, you may be sent back to this country, if it is in your best interests for you to go there. This country will then be responsible for examining your application for international protection.
I have more questions, where can I get information?
Your guardian/representative is responsible to assist you in answering any more questions that you may have.
The Child Commissioner is mandated to ensure that the rights of unaccompanied children are protected in compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. You may contact the Office of the Child Commissioner for more information.
You may also contact UNHCR or the NGOs and other organisations that offer assistance, including legal advice, to refugees and asylum-seekers in Cyprus. For their details, please visit the ‘Where can I seek help?’ page on this website.