Hundreds of families from Lebanon have settled in its neighbor Cyprus over the past year. The flow of families from Lebanon began in October 2019 but has accelerated since the explosion in the port of Beirut about a year ago, and with the recent deterioration of the economic situation.

Cyprus does not have accurate information on the number of Lebanese who settled on the island as some arrived with non-Lebanese passports. This is not the first time Cyprus has served as a refuge for the Lebanese. During the Civil War (1975-1990) about 100,000 families from Lebanon immigrated to the island and during the Second Lebanon War (2006) about 60,000 Lebanese immigrated to Cyprus.

The arrival of the Lebanese has great economic potential. Over the past few months, 7 Lebanese companies have moved to work entirely from Cyprus for their 200 employees and in Nicosia, the hope is that this is just the first step towards the move of many companies from Lebanon to Cyprus. Also, the real estate market in Cyprus is hot with a sharp rise in demand.