The employment of asylum seekers is regulated by the Refugee Law of 2000 (Law 6(I)/2000) and the relevant Regulations and Decrees, which allow the employment of asylum seekers in certain categories of economic activities and professions after one month from the submission of their request for political asylum.
Caution is advised when employing asylum seekers, as in case the asylum seekers’ application is rejected, the employers do not receive official information from the authorities regarding the persons they may be employing. They are therefore exposed to administrative penalties and potential criminal liability upon inspections conducted by the relevant officers in line with the Social Security Law 2010 (59(I)/2010).
The issue was strongly debated by the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (ΟΕΒ) during the first meeting of the monitoring committee of the new strategy for the employment of third country nationals in Cyprus (the “Committee”).
The Department of Labour and the Department of Labour Relations indicated during the Committee meeting that information to employers should be provided by the Civil Registry and Migration Department, but due to the fragmentation of administrative agencies and the lack of integrated systems and communication between them, it remains doubtful if this is feasible.
Upcoming changes
Employers are also advised to exercise caution as from this coming August the decree issued by the former Minister of Interior Nikos Nouris comes into force, annuling the decree of the previous Minister of Interior Konstantinos Petridis, which decreased the period that had to elapse from the submission of an application for political asylum to one (1) month, thus reverting to the nine (9) month period provided for by the Refugee Law of 2000 (N. 6(I)/2000) for the right of access of asylum seekers to the job market.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For more information and specialist legal advice please contact us to arrange a face-to-face meeting.
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