India calls for formal migration agreement with Cyprus to protect Indian workers, students

The High Commissioner of India to Cyprus, Mr. Manish, has called for a formal migration and mobility agreement with Cyprus to ensure legal, predictable pathways for Indian nationals while protecting their rights, amid a sharp increase in arrivals through student permits and temporary work arrangements. Speaking in a recent interview with the television station Alpha, Manish stressed that Indians in Cyprus arrive through official channels. “Whatever Indians you are seeing here, all of them are coming here legally,” he said. “They are not coming illegally. They are all coming here legally after permits, visas, work permits, student permit, which is given by your ministries and department, but the challenge is to have a framework agreement for legal and predictable migration.”

He noted that numbers have doubled, with private colleges actively recruiting from India for foundation courses and other short programmes. Many of these institutions, sometimes described as operating from shopping malls or single rooms, have drawn scrutiny. Students enter on permits, often transition into the labour market in sectors such as construction, agriculture and delivery, and are permitted to work limited hours under existing rules. Manish observed that many perform cash work without formal contracts and receive wages far, far lower than the European workers, as employers seek non-EU labour to fill shortages at lower cost.

Under European Union rules, citizens of member states enjoy free movement and equal treatment in employment. Third-country nationals, including Indians, require specific visas or permits and can face different conditions regarding wages, social protections and working hours. While such distinctions are embedded in national and EU legislation designed to prioritise the domestic and European workforce, they can create practical disparities.

Temporary or student-linked arrangements may leave individuals with incomplete coverage under employment standards, heightening risks of exploitation by intermediaries once permits expire and overstays occur. Manish expressed concern that large cohorts completing one-year foundation courses may not progress to degree programmes, leaving them vulnerable once student status ends. “Ultimately, for me as a High Commissioner, my core interest and concern is that the Indians who are coming here to live, work, study, their life, their rights has to be protected. We want a regulated migration,” he said.

He described ongoing discussions with Cyprus’s Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection toward a draft agreement that would establish clearer legal pathways. The text was not finalised, but remains under consideration. Cyprus has benefited from Indian workers meeting genuine labour needs, while India has seen growing economic ties, including foreign direct investment routed through the island and expanding private-sector collaboration in technology and services.