Cyprus has reached its capacity, a government spokesman said in Nicosia on Tuesday, following a meeting of the National Security Council on migration.
The spokesman was speaking after a series of arrivals of migrants by boat over recent days. "Given the speed of the arrivals, we have reached the limit," he said.
A total of 476 migrants travelling on 10 boats have reached the eastern Mediterranean island since Sunday after rescue by the Cypriot coastguard, the Cyprus Times has reported.
Most of the migrants are Syrians who reached Cyprus from Lebanon. Cyprus is the closest EU country to Lebanon.
The spokesman said migration needed to be coordinated within the EU as a whole. The Cypriot authorities had made contact with the authorities in Lebanon with a view to halting the departures, he said.
In proportion to its population, Cyprus has recorded the highest number of applications for asylum over recent years by comparison with other EU member states.
An average of 30 people per day have reached the island since the beginning of the year according to statistics compiled by the UNHCR, the UN's refugee body. This week's 476 have still to be added.
