Guide to Gaining Citizenship in Cyprus
Cyprus is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean. However, since it joined the EU in 2004, Cypriots have become some of the most privileged Europeans. For instance, not only can they travel and work freely throughout the EU, but they can also reside and work in many other countries, such as the United Kingdom (UK), without requiring any visa.
As you can imagine, for those individuals living outside the European Union, the ability to get an EU passport and eliminate those pesky travel regulations is quite appealing.
Ways to Obtain Cypriot Citizenship
There are three ways in which you can become a citizen of Cyprus. There was a fourth way, the Golden Passport program, but it was unfortunately abolished in the latter part of 2020.
Citizenship by Birth
The first and easiest way to gain citizenship is by being born on the island of Cyprus. However, even if you were born in another country, if you have Cypriot roots, you may get citizenship after all.
If you were born abroad after 1960 and your father was a Cypriot citizen, you are free to apply for citizenship.
If you were born abroad and your mother was a Cypriot, the process is slightly different. For example, if your mother was from Cyprus and you were born between 1960 and 1999, you can apply for citizenship when you reach the age of 21.
Citizenship by Marriage
The second method to achieve citizenship would be through marriage with a citizen of Cyprus. However, this method isn’t the quick and easy path that you might think.
Through marriage to a Cypriot citizen, a foreigner who wishes to gain citizenship must reside in Cyprus for at least three out of five years after their marriage has taken place. They must also prove that they are actually married and that their spouse is, in fact, a citizen of Cyprus. You must also submit a letter attesting to certain conditions.
Suppose you have been married to a Cyprus national for five years and have a child from this marriage. In that case, you can apply without the additional certification letter.
Citizenship through Naturalization
The third and final method is naturalization. This requires living on the island for at least seven consecutive years with no interruption, making you eligible to apply for citizenship.
Details on all the requirements needed can be found here at this official Cyprus government civil registry.
Citizenship through Investment
This is the fourth method that I referenced earlier. It allowed foreign nationals to obtain Cyprus citizenship through an investment of at least 2M euros.
Unfortunately, quite a bit of corruption was found with this process, so it was canceled in November 2020.
As a Cypriot citizen, you will have visa-free access to 172 countries around the world and Europe. Most importantly, you can freely move between all European Union member states without restrictions.
It’s perfect if your dream destination isn’t available in one country, but they are on another passport’s list.