Nicosia, Cyprus. The Nicosia district court annulled the interior ministry’s failure to act on a citizenship application for a child of a Turkish Cypriot mother and Turkish father, finding the request was not examined within a reasonable timeframe.
Case background
The case concerns an 11-year-old born in Strovolos in 2015 whose application for Cypriot citizenship was submitted in September 2018 through his mother, a Cypriot citizen.
No response was given by the interior ministry until June 2021, when an appeal was filed challenging the lack of action.
The court proceedings noted that the child’s older brother, born in Ankara in 2010, acquired Cypriot citizenship in 2011.
Interior ministry position and court findings
During the hearing, the interior ministry said delays were due to a large number of pending applications, stating that “the department has a large number of applications pending from alleged Turkish Cypriots”, referring to individuals of Arabic origin claiming Turkish Cypriot descendance.
The court found this explanation did not apply in the present case, noting that the applicant’s mother is a Cypriot citizen born in Nicosia, that the applicant was born in Cyprus, and that his brother already holds Cypriot citizenship.
Developments after the appeal
In April 2022, after the appeal was filed, the ministry sent a letter confirming the applicant meets the criteria for registration as a Cypriot citizen.
The ministry said the application would be placed on a waiting list and forwarded to the cabinet only when instructed by the ministry.
Core issue identified by the court
The court identified the core issue as the failure to examine the application within a reasonable period, which had reached two years and ten months by the time legal action was taken.
What changes, if any, do you think should be made to how long citizenship applications can remain unexamined?
