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House votes to require court review of detentions past six months
The amendment covers non-EU nationals in administrative detention and was passed to bring Cypriot law into line with an EU directive and the European Commission's Schengen recommendations.
The House passed a law on Thursday requiring a court check in cases where non-EU nationals are held in administrative detention for more than six months. The amendment to the Aliens and Immigration Law passed with 39 votes in favour. Elam and Alma voted against.
Under the previous rules, non-EU nationals could be held in administrative detention for up to six months. That period could be extended by a further 12 months, to a maximum of 18, in specific cases such as a detainee’s lack of cooperation or delays in obtaining travel documents from third countries. The amendment requires that a writ of habeas corpus be issued once detention passes six months, so that a court reviews whether the detention should continue.
The change was needed to align the law with an EU directive and with a recommendation from the European Commission on Cyprus’s obligations as the country prepares to join the Schengen area, the report says.
Who applies to the court
The contentious point is who files the application. Under the amendment, applications for habeas corpus are made by the director of the Migration Department. Alma MP Michalis Paraskeva called this paradoxical, because the same official who asks for a detention to be extended would be the one applying for the court review. He warned that this would create legal complications later.
Akel MP Aristos Damianou pointed to the EU directive in force and said EU law takes precedence over Cypriot law.
What is not yet clear
The report did not say when the amended law will come into force, how many people are currently held beyond six months, or how the courts will handle the new applications. It also did not say whether a detainee or a lawyer can apply independently of the Migration Department.
The practical effect is narrow but important. Administrative detention is used in immigration cases, not criminal cases, so the change does not affect people held on remand or serving sentences. It creates a judicial check at the six-month mark for people held while deportation or removal is arranged, in the cases covered by the new procedure.
Cyprus is not yet in Schengen. The Commission’s recommendation, as described in the report, treats the change as one of the steps the country needs before joining.
Sources (1)
- Cyprus Mail, House mandates judicial review for extended migrant detention, 5 November 2026 . Reports the vote, the previous detention limits, the EU and Schengen context, and the debate over who files the application.