Eighty four migrants voluntarily returned to their countries from Cyprus on Friday, the UN’s International Organization for Migration announced on Sunday.
Of these 21 were returned to India and 63 to Nepal.
They were men and woman, mostly students who were not in a position to pay their college fees because of the coronavirus.
“The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, both in terms of the country’s economy and the travel restrictions it has caused, have forced many migrants to turn to the IOM for their livelihoods, but also to receive support to return to their countries of origin,” head of IOM in Cyprus Natasa Xenophontos Koudouna said.
Before their departure, all were given a Covid test.
Since the start of the pandemic in March a further 26 migrants have been returned to eight countries with the support of the IOM.
The programme to help migrants return home has been operational in Cyprus since 2016, since when more than 600 people have used it.
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