Appeals court: citizenship by registration cannot be extended to a new foreign spouse
The Administrative Court of Appeal ruled on October 15 that a person who gained Cypriot citizenship through registration cannot pass that right to a foreign national they later marry.
Nicosia, Cyprus. The Administrative Court of Appeal ruled on October 15 that someone who obtained Cypriot citizenship through registration cannot transfer the entitlement to a foreign national they marry afterwards.
Background to the ruling
The Legal Service said in a statement that citizenship through registration is a route to Cypriot nationality grounded in descent or in marriage to a Cypriot citizen, depending on the circumstances and subject to the relevant legislation.
The appeal court’s decision confirmed an earlier ruling of the Administrative Court, which had thrown out a challenge lodged by a foreign national against the Interior Ministry. The ministry had refused to grant that person Cypriot citizenship through registration.
Reasoning of the court
The Appeals Court underlined the need to apply the citizenship legal framework consistently and to ensure the right to registration is used only within the limits set by law.
It said this reading reflects the intention of the legislature to stop abuse of the system and to prevent attempts to get around citizenship rules by means of successive marriages.
The court noted that this covers situations in which people who first became Cypriot citizens through registration later try to extend the same right to a new foreign spouse, or to a child who is not the child of the spouse through whom citizenship was originally acquired.
Legal representation
Counsel of the Republic Nicoletta Nicolaou handled the case on behalf of the Attorney-General.
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