Asylum seekers can apply for work in the agricultural sector for a short period of time to help meet a shortage in seasonal workers, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday.
In a written announcement it said that recognising the contribution of the agricultural sector to safeguarding the quality and sufficiency of food for consumers and the difficulties in finding seasonal workers for the agricultural sector, the government has made the following arrangements to ease this problem:
- The Civil Registry and Migration Department, in a press release issued on 13 April, 2020, announced that residence permits for seasonal work are to be extended for a period of three months, due to the extraordinary measures taken to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Department of Labour accepts applications by political asylum applicants for work, inter alia, in the agricultural sector for a short period of time. Those interested can address themselves to the local and district offices of the Department of Labour for information and for submission of the relevant application. It is noted that the applications can be submitted electronically and by fax. Application forms and relevant information can also be found on the website of the Department on http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dl/dl.nsf/ .
The Council of Ministers has approved a series of measures to support the agricultural sector while the Agriculture Ministry is examining the implementation of additional measures, on the basis of the relevant guidelines as these are set out by the European Commission, it added.
