Responding to a parliamentary question, Cyprus’ Ministry of the Interior on 21 September published detailed figures showing that 5,176 Turkish Cypriots have obtained Cypriot citizenship between 2004—when the Republic joined the EU—and August 2026. Almost 60 percent of those approvals were granted in the three years immediately following accession, before a 2007 cabinet decision introduced stricter vetting criteria. Under current rules, Turkish Cypriots with one parent who was a citizen of the Republic before the 1974 division may apply, but cases in which the other parent is a Turkish settler require individual cabinet approval. Rights groups say the process leaves thousands—particularly children of mixed marriages—effectively stateless and unable to exercise EU free-movement rights. The new statistics, however, also indicate a modest acceleration since criteria were revised again in February 2024: 331 approvals have been issued in the past 30 months, compared with just 67 in the previous decade. Officials attribute the uptick to digitised records and a dedicated review panel that meets monthly rather than quarterly. For multinational employers the data matter because Cypriot passports grant visa-free access to all Schengen states and the UK, simplifying rotational assignments for eligible Turkish Cypriot staff. Immigration advisers are already fielding enquiries from north-Nicosia professionals who see the pathway as a route to EU labour mobility ahead of the island’s hoped-for Schengen accession later this decade.
Source: Cyprus Mail
