Newsroom
A total of 5,176 Turkish Cypriots have been granted Republic of Cyprus citizenship since 2004, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Interior to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
The figures cover several distinct periods and reflect changes to the criteria used by the Council of Ministers when considering citizenship cases involving Turkish Cypriots and children of mixed marriages.
Between 2004 and February 2007, before formal criteria were established, the Republic granted 2,972 citizenships to Turkish Cypriots.
The first set of criteria was approved by the Council of Ministers on February 14, 2007. From that date through 2013, a further 1,806 citizenships were granted.
The number fell significantly in the following decade. 67 citizenships were granted between 2014 and 2023.
Revised criteria came into force on February 2, 2024. Since then, the Council of Ministers has approved 331 citizenships under the new framework.
How the process works
The Ministry of Interior said the cases are assessed under Article 109(1) of the Population Registry Law. The provision concerns children born in Cyprus whose foreign parent entered or is residing in the Republic illegally. In such cases, registration requires a decision by the Council of Ministers.
The ministry also clarified that there is no official figure for the number of cases currently awaiting consideration.
Rather than formal applications, many of the submissions are requests or letters sent to the authorities and are not entered into the ministry's system. The ministry said that many requests are submitted more than once, making it impossible to provide an accurate total of pending cases.
Criteria for Turkish Cypriot and mixed-family cases
The Council of Ministers' 2007 decision established specific conditions governing the discretionary authority provided under Article 109(1). Those conditions were revised in February 2024.
Cases that satisfy the applicable requirements can then be put before the Council of Ministers for a decision.
Among the factors taken into account are the nationality of the foreign parent, including whether that parent is a Turkish citizen or a citizen of another third country, as well as where the parents' marriage took place.
For cases involving a Turkish parent, the authorities also consider the circumstances under which that parent entered Cyprus.
The latest figures therefore cover a process that has changed considerably since 2004, with formal criteria first introduced in 2007 and revised almost 17 years later in 2024.
