𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐲𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩? 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Angelina Alyabyeva, Legal Associate, CYSEC AML Officer, Compliance Consultant, LLB(Hons), LLM

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘆𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝟭𝟰𝟵(𝟭)/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟮 (𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝟭𝟰𝟭(𝗜)/𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟮), 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟭𝟭𝟭𝗕. 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘆𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰.

Residency Requirements: Foreign nationals aspiring to become Cypriot citizens must substantiate their eligibility by proving legal and continuous residency in the Republic for the preceding twelve months. Unlike prior regulations, brief absences not exceeding a total of 90 days within this period will not disrupt the residency requirement. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate lawful residence or civil service engagement in the Republic for at least seven years in the decade leading up to the twelve-month period.

Good Character Assessment: Applicants must exhibit good character, as evidenced by their adherence to the law, respect for the Republic of Cyprus, and the absence of any involvement in activities detrimental to national interests. The criteria include a clean criminal record, no association with illegal administrations, and compliance with international law.

Language Proficiency: Proficiency in the Greek language at the BI level is a prerequisite for naturalisation. Applicants are required to provide language proficiency certificates specified in an Order of the Minister, obtained through a written examination.

Knowledge of Political and Social Reality: A thorough understanding of contemporary political and social aspects of the Republic is essential. Evaluation by a committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, and Ministry of Justice determines applicants' knowledge through a specified procedure.

Financial Stability and Suitable Accommodation: Applicants must showcase suitable accommodation and financial stability. This involves demonstrating regular, lawful income, addressing long-term unemployment if applicable, and revealing any financial assistance received during their stay in the Republic.

Genuine Intention to Reside: A genuine intention to reside in the Republic or serve in its civil service is paramount. Residence for naturalisation purposes refers to the physical presence of the applicant, excluding periods as an asylum seeker, holder of international protection order, or holder of a student permit from the residency calculation.