Filenews 11 February 2025 - by Vassos Vasilleiou
A total of 22,740 applications for granting Cypriot citizenship were approved only in the period 2020 until July 311, 2023. In the same period, 2,650 applications were rejected.
The boom with the applications approved is recorded by the Audit Office in 2022 with 7,071 foreigners, while in the year 2023 (although the data refer to the end of July), they show a significant number of naturalizations and specifically 6,109. In the year 2020, 4.743 foreigners received Cypriot citizenship while in the year 2022 the Cypriot citizenship was given to 4.817 foreigners.
Regarding pending applications, the report of the Audit Office for the year 2020-2023 (end of July) states that according to the CRS computer system, on 7.11.2023 a total of 11,891 applications for the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship were pending, of which 6,801 (57%) concerned naturalization applications due to years of residence in the Republic and 2.243 (19%) concerned applications for registration by marriage with a Cypriot citizen. The first applications date back to 2007.
In two of the ten cases examined, the Civil Registry Department appears to have made a dent in the provision of the legislation for twelve-month continuous residence in the Republic prior to the date of application.
Moreover, in one case of a female citizen of an EU country regarding the length of her stay in Cyprus (before applying for naturalization), only the statement of the President of the Community that the applicant resides permanently in the Republic for a specific period, which is not consistent with the entries in the arrival and departure system, was taken into account.
The report also records a case of a European citizen who, instead of staying in Cyprus for three years and then applying, appears to have visited the Republic for only eight days in 2016 and another eight days in 2018. In the Report submitted to the Minister of the Interior with a recommendation for registration as a citizen of the Republic, it is stated that "from the facts, it appears that he intends to continue to reside in the Republic", a reference which is not true.
In two cases, an immigration permit of category E was granted to applicants who were offered employment in the Republic, when they were not employees (as provided by law) but main shareholders in their companies/employers, holding more than 50% of the share capital.
According to the data extracted from the ARS computer system, on 31.7.2023 a total of 23.646 applications for entry permits and 37.782 applications for temporary residence of domestic and general employment workers were pending. Most of these applications appear to be pending for a period of more than five years. An audit carried out by the Audit Office, in six of these cases, found that applications do not exist and incorrectly continue to remain in the system and are presented as pending.
The report also records how a Turkish Cypriot obtained a passport/ID card five times, using photographs of five different persons.
In another case we paid money to a foreigner as an incentive to leave Cyprus, even though he had already been deported previously.
It should be noted that the average time taken to complete the examination procedure for the cases audited was 37.7 months.
The illegal stay and work of third-country nationals in Cyprus is linked to lengthy application procedures and delays in decision-making, creating conditions for obtaining residence permits for humanitarian reasons.
