ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the context that has transformed Cyprus from an emigration to an immigration country. It examines public discourse, the legal status and the social position of migrants and asylum-seekers. Cyprus abandoned the restrictive immigration policy followed until 1990 in an effort to meet low-skill labour shortages generated by an economic development model based on mass tourism and services. The policies and practices governing migrant workers from the moment of entry, their working conditions and their legal and social rights, are set out in the agreement between the Cyprus government, the employers' organizations and trade unions. 'Cyprus is too small to absorb the current number of foreign workers' is a phrase often heard in public discourse. The social paradigm on which this statement rests is derived from the 'host-immigrant' model theory, according to which migrant workers are considered a 'threat' to the fabric of society. Cypriot society is undergoing an economic, social and political transformation.
