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By Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer in Cyprus Third-country nationals residing in areas controlled by the Government of the Republic legally and continuously for the last five years prior to the submission of the application and holding a valid residence permit in the Republic can apply along with the required original documents in order to obtain the status of long-term resident in Cyprus. It often happens that the Administration (in this case the Immigration Department) does not properly assess the facts and circumstances of the applicant and does not properly check the requirement for obtaining the status, resulting in a rejection decision. This decision is notified to the applicant and must contain clear justification for the reasons for the rejection of the application. It must also state that the applicant has the right to appeal against the rejection decision within 75 days from the notification of the decision. According to the Aliens and Immigration Law, [1]   in order to...

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks. In a  report  on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place from 21 November to 1 December 2023, published together with the  response of the Greek authorities , the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ( CPT ) once again urges the Greek authorities to improve the conditions in the country’s immigration detention facilities, and especially the newly-built and EU-funded centres on the Aegean islands, while ensuring that foreign nationals are treated both with dignity and humanity (see the executive summary of the report in  English  or in  Greek ). The main objective of the November 2023 visit to Greece was to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation in pre-removal detention centres, in...

Written by Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer in Cyprus The positive impact of the application of the principle of effectiveness reflects a significant recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The decision concerns immigration law and in particular the right of the asylum seeker to appeal against the decision rejecting his application. The ECJ considers that the applicant may rely on circumstances subsequent to the rejection in his appeal and that the national court should take them into account. According to the Judgment [1]  , it is for each Member State to lay down procedural rules for legal actions that would safeguard that effective judicial protection. The Court recalls that the Dublin III Regulation 4 provides that a person who is the subject of a transfer decision is to have the right to an effective remedy against that decision and that that remedy must cover, inter alia, the examination of the application of that regulation. According to article 27 of the Regul...