Abstract
This paper examines the authoritarian immigration policy of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), which often results in the denial of the rights of migrants, TCNs, and EUNs. It examines how the mode of immigration control is connected to the particular state of exception in Cyprus known as ‘the doctrine of necessity’. It focuses particularly the issue of criminalizing, detention and expulsion of migrants, both TCNs and EUNs and the denial of residency rights for TCNs. The paper introduces the basic components towards an analytical frame for understanding and critiquing the current legal framework. Repressive migration control is a manifestation of an ill-construed conception of ‘sovereignty’ in a divided country, which the State seeks to justify on the grounds of ‘necessity’ and ‘exception’. In addition, the RoC is currently facing the banking/economic crisis and mass unemployment, which has provided a fertile ground for racism and xenophobia. The paper concludes with some ideas about the alternative policies ahead. Important for this paper are the current global and European debates around the ‘states of exception’, ‘emergency’, ‘necessity’, and ‘sovereignty’ in the context of the dissensus or fundamental disagreement over the issue migration and the racialization of subaltern migrants. The case of Cyprus is discussed, in part as an exception, but also as a particular instance of a broader global and European issue.
Highlights
This paper examines the authoritarian immigration pol icy of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), which often results in the denial of the rights of migrants, third country nationals (TCNs), and EUNs
This paper examines the authoritarian immigration pol icy of the RoC that often results in the de nial of the rights of migrants, TCNs, and EUNs
The treatment of European Union (EU) nationals is the other illustration of the peculiar migration state of exception: the immigration regime has not done away with subjecting EUNs to rules which undermine the proclaimed right to free movement for workers
Summary
From the early 1990s, Cyprus, from an exporter of migrants, became an immigration destination with over 20 percent of its working population made of migrants, TCNs, and EUNs. The concerted effort by the Government, political parties, and trade unions created the conditions for the economic development subsequently experienced and for the labor shortages, which resulted [4,7,8] To meet these shortages, the Government began to issue individual visas to migrant workers for employment, which were short-term and restricted to specific sectors. Global political developments, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, resulted in the migration of labor from ex-Soviet countries This was coupled with the migration of large numbers of Pontiac Greeks from the Caucasus region, who received Greek nationality and were, able to migrate to Cyprus with minimum formalities.
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