Cypriot nationality law

The Cypriot Nationality Laws dates back to 1967. It is mainly based on jus sanguinis.

Cypriot Citizenship Act
Parliament of Cyprus
Enacted byGovernment of Cyprus
Status: Current legislation

Acquisition of Cypriot citizenship

There are several ways to become a Cypriot citizen (citizen of the Republic of Cyprus) :

By marriage

The first, being married to a Cypriot national, requires one to be married for at least 3 years, and have completed 2 years of residency in Cyprus prior to the date of the application.

In the case where the Cypriot national is living abroad, the applicant must either have been married to the Cypriot national for 3 years and submit an accompanying letter explaining why citizenship is desired, or have been married to the Cypriot national for 5 years and have at least one child (in which case an accompanying letter is not required).[1]

The documents required are:[1]

  • Birth certificate of the applicant
  • Certificate of clean criminal record of the applicant
  • Marriage certificate
  • Birth certificate of the couple's children
  • Certificate of acquisition of the Cypriot citizenship of the Cypriot spouse (where applicable)
  • Statement of harmonious cohabitation signed before an Officer of the District Administration Office or the diplomatic authority
  • Statement of cohabitation from the local authority
  • The application should be submitted in duplicate and one of the two application forms should bear two stamps worth €8.54.
  • Photocopy of receipt for the amount of €300 paid as fees

By origins

To apply through this method, one must be over 18 years old, and naturally, have Cypriot origins, as long as one was born abroad after 16 August 1960, with one's parent at the time of birth a Cypriot citizen. One can apply in this way if one is an individual born after 11 June 1999, whose mother was a Cypriot citizen at the time of one's birth.[2]

Accompanying the application must be:

  • Birth certificate of the applicant
  • Marriage certificate of the applicant's parents
  • Photocopy of the applicant's and the applicant's parents' passports
  • Certificate of registration of the Cypriot parent (where applicable)
  • Copy of proof of fees paid €20
  • Stamp worth €8.54 attached to the application [2]

By investment

Naturalisation is referred to as the process for which a non-citizen of a country, in this case Cyprus, may become a citizen of that country. The process may be done via a statute or an application to the relevant authorities.

In March 2014, the Cyprus Council of Ministers revised the "Scheme for Naturalisation of Investors in Cyprus by Exception" as part of the government's attempts to attract foreign investors to the country.[3] One of these attempts included a program that granted applicants the right to live, work and study in Cyprus and in the European Union.[4]

On 13 September 2016, the Council of Ministers approved a new program of financial criteria for investors wishing to obtain citizenship of Cyprus, the Cyprus Investment Programme.[5]

Applicants applying for Cypriot citizenship through this citizenship-by-investment option must actively invest in the Cyprus economy, by primarily purchasing real estate at a minimum value of €2m which must be held for at least 5 years, thereafter the property may be sold however they must maintain a property of at least €500,000 indefinitely. Citizenship by investment includes the main applicant and his or her spouse and unmarried dependents aged 28 and under. The main applicant's parents can also be added for an additional investment of €500,000[6] According to recent amendments also the applicants on approval need to make donations of total of 150.000 euros. The recent amendments also make a condition that the applicants holds a valid Schengen visa.[7]

Following amendments to procedures in 2019, citizenship is now only approved after 6 months rather than 3 months as before.[8]

Cyprus suspended its citizenship for investment program from 1 November 2020. The scheme provided passports that guarantee visa-free travel in the European Union for a minimum investment of Є2 million.[9]

By birth

According to the Republic of Cyprus Citizenship Law of 1967, anyone born on or after 16 August 1960, and with at least one parent being a Cypriot citizen, automatically acquires Cypriot citizenship.[10] Those who were born between 16 August 1960 and 1999 to a Cypriot mother abroad however, do not automatically become citizens of Cyprus, but they may register after they turn 21 years old.[11]

Dual citizenship

Cyprus allows its citizens to hold foreign citizenship in addition to their Cypriot citizenship. Some countries, however, do not permit multiple citizenship e.g. adults who acquired Cypriot and Japanese citizenship by birth must declare, to the latter's Ministry of Justice, before turning 22, which citizenship they want to keep.

Citizenship of the Commonwealth of Nations

Cypriot citizens are also Commonwealth citizens as well.

Citizenship of the European Union

Because Cyprus forms part of the European Union, Cypriot citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament.[12] When in a non-EU country where there is no Cypriot embassy, Cypriot citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country.[13][14] Cypriot citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.[15]

Travel freedom of Cypriot citizens
Main article: Visa requirements for Cypriot citizens
Visa requirements for Cypriot citizens

As of 26 March 2019, Cypriot citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 173 countries and territories, ranking the Cypriot passport 16th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.[16]

In 2017, the Cypriot nationality was ranked twenty-fourth in the Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the Visa Restrictions Index, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, in addition to travel freedom, on internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well. [17]

See also

References
  1. "Migration Section: Acquisition of Citizenship as a Spouse of a Cypriot Citizen (Type M125)". Government of Cyprus. Civil Registry And Migration Department. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. "Civil Registry Section: Acquisition of Citizenship Due to Cypriot Origins". Government of Cyprus. Civil Registry And Migration Department. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  3. "Grant of the Cypriot citizenship to non–Cypriot entrepreneurs/ investors through the "Scheme for Naturalization of Investors in Cyprus by exception". Ministry of Interior.
  4. "Citizenship-by-Investment in Cyprus – Henley & Partners". www.henleyglobal.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. "Cyprus Investment Programme – Text of the Law". vizus-property.com. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  6. "Cyprus Investment Programme". George K. Konstantinou Law Firm.
  7. Kwai, Isabella (15 October 2020). "Cyprus Ends 'Golden Passport' Program After Corruption Accusations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  8. Zhou, Youyou. "Cyprus is finally making it harder for people to buy their way into the EU". Quartz. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  9. "Cyprus to suspend its citizenship for investment program". Arab News. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  10. "Official Website of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington D.C." www.cyprusembassy.net. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. "Dual Citizenship Cyprus". www.dualcitizenship.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  12. "Cyprus". European Union. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  13. Article 20(2)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
  14. Rights abroad: Right to consular protection: a right to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of other Member States when in a non-EU Member State, if there are no diplomatic or consular authorities from the citizen's own state (Article 23): this is due to the fact that not all member states maintain embassies in every country in the world (14 countries have only one embassy from an EU state). Antigua and Barbuda (UK), Barbados (UK), Belize (UK), Central African Republic (France), Comoros (France), Gambia (UK), Guyana (UK), Liberia (Germany), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (UK), San Marino (Italy), São Tomé and Príncipe (Portugal), Solomon Islands (UK), Timor-Leste (Portugal), Vanuatu (France)
  15. "Treaty on the Function of the European Union (consolidated version)" (PDF). Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  16. "The Henley Passport Index" (PDF). Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019. This graph shows the full Global Ranking of the 2019 Henley Passport Index. In certain cases, a rank is shared by multiple countries because these countries all have the same level of visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.
  17. "The 41 nationalities with the best quality of life". www.businessinsider.de. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2018.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.