North gives over 6,000 irregular migrants amnesty

Exactly 6,165 irregular migrants in the north were given amnesty by the ‘government’ as part of its latest “migration amnesty” scheme, ‘interior minister’ Dursun Oguz said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Kibris Postasi TV, he said a total of 7,659 people had applied for the amnesty after the scheme was made operational on August 5.

“Not all the applicants were approved. We had tied this amnesty to conditions, but we also approached it from a humanitarian perspective,” he said.

The conditions had been that undocumented migrants in the north, including those fined for having lived there illegally on or after January 1, 2021, were able to register and be incorporated into the north’s system with a work permit if they could find a job.

They were also required to pay a fine of 33,926TL (€887) within ten days of their registration.

Oguz on Wednesday said he wished “everyone” who is living in the north illegally could have benefitted from the amnesty so that the authorities could “know about it”.

“The decisions taken have a basis. The decisions are humane and conscientious. The state must solve problems, and must be fair while solving those problems,” he said.

When the amnesty began, ‘interior minister’ Dursun Oguz said it would make the north “safer”, while also emphasising its humanitarian element.

“People abroad who have knowledge in certain professions will also be registered and be able to return to the country. Families with ties to the TRNC will also be reunited within the scope of the amnesty,” he said.

He added, “this article was put in place to protect the integrity of people’s families. It will reveal the number of people in normal working life in the labour ministry’s system, and those who have been employed in some way until now, unfortunately off the books. This is a step towards legality.”

The amnesty had been announced after employers in the north had expressed concern about a lack of available workforce.

Oguz had said the amnesty would allow them to take advantage of the undocumented population which is already present in the north rather than find people from overseas and increase the population further.