Cyprus granted citizenship to 5,176 Turkish Cypriots since 2004

Nicosia, Cyprus. A total of 5,176 Turkish Cypriots have been granted Cypriot citizenship since 2004, according to figures released by the interior ministry on Monday. The highest number of approvals was recorded before formal criteria were introduced in 2007.

Citizenship figures

A total of 2,972 citizenships were granted between 2004 and February 2007, before the cabinet established formal criteria for approving such cases.

After the criteria took effect on February 14, 2007, 1,806 citizenships were granted up to 2013. Between 2014 and 2023, a further 67 citizenships were granted.

Since the criteria were revised on February 2, 2024, 331 additional citizenships have been granted.

Approval procedure

Applications in these cases fall under the civil registry law, which applies to children born in Cyprus to a foreign parent, in most cases a Turkish settler.

The law requires cabinet approval before registration can proceed, rather than processing cases through standard channels.

The interior ministry said it does not keep a record of pending applications, adding that submissions are requests or letters rather than formal applications and are not logged in its system.

Criteria and EU citizenship

The cabinet criteria, introduced in 2007 and revised in 2024, assess whether the foreign parent is a Turkish national or a national of another third country, where the parents married and, where one parent is Turkish, the circumstances of their entry into Cyprus.

The issue of citizenship for Turkish Cypriots and children of mixed marriages is linked to Cyprus’ accession to the European Union in 2004, under which Turkish Cypriots living in the occupied north became entitled to EU citizenship as rightful citizens of the Republic.