He said 3.8 per cent of those living in the country are asylum seekers, while that number is under 1 per cent in other EU states, like Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta.

It's estimated that 25 per cent to 30 per cent of all migrants currently in Cyprus are refugees fleeing conflict.

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According to Asylum Service Statistics, Syrians filled the most asylum applications last year, followed by people from Georgia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cameroon, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

Nouris had previously said that most migrants arrive to ethnically divided Cyprus' breakaway north and cross a United Nations-controlled buffer zone to seek asylum in the internationally recognised independent south.

Separately, Nouris said around 700 migrants would remain confined to a reception centre on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia until a small scabies infestation there is completely eliminated.

The minister said he expected confinement measures to be lifted "soon" after people have been treated.

The migrants have confined to the centre since late March when the government enacted a strict, stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Those restrictions were lifted on May 23, but the migrants weren't allowed to leave the centre.

Cyprus has confirmed 944 cases of coronavirus and 17 deaths according to the World Health Organisation and Johns Hopkins University.

AP