Cyprus has widened the job market for non-EU students through a new labour decree signed by Labour Minister Marinos Moushouttas and published in the Official Gazette, opening roles across hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture to third-country nationals enrolled in Cypriot universities.

The decree follows extensive consultations between social partners aimed at addressing persistent labour shortages across the Cypriot economy. Students from non-EU countries may now seek employment in a broadened list of sectors, provided they have completed their first academic semester and are enrolled in their second.

Which sectors can students now work in?

The decree sets out eligible occupations across five broad categories:

• Hospitality and catering: kitchen assistants, cleaners, waiters, barmen and receptionists.
• Healthcare: carers in homes for the elderly and ward assistants in clinics, subject to secondary education and basic Greek language requirements.
• Trade and services: petrol station attendants, car wash workers, delivery drivers for food or mail, and building cleaners.
• Industry and agriculture: bakery and recycling unit workers, night shift factory labourers, and workers in farming, livestock and fishing.
• Domestic work: occasional household tasks.

For hotel operators, restaurants and care homes struggling to fill entry-level positions, the decree creates a new legal recruitment channel that previously did not exist for this group of workers.

What must employers do to comply?

The paperwork requirements are strict. To legally employ a student under the decree, employers and students must provide specific documentation to the Department of Labour. This includes:

• a certificate of full-time enrolment;
• a residence permit;
• a formal employment contract stamped by the Department of Labour, detailing the terms of work.

The Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) has urged businesses to familiarise themselves with the new framework to ensure full regulatory compliance.

How have unions responded?

Trade unions have reacted cautiously. Andreas Matsas, General Secretary of the SEK union, noted that while the decree provides a temporary solution for the labour market, a more comprehensive regulation of third-country labour would be preferable. He expressed concern that the arrangement must not lead to further deregulation of the labour market or to the exploitation of vulnerable students by employers.

His comments signal that employer compliance will face union scrutiny, particularly on contract terms and working conditions for student staff in hospitality and care roles.

Businesses hiring under the scheme should expect the Department of Labour to police the stamped-contract requirement closely, while the debate over broader third-country labour regulation in Cyprus continues among the social partners.