How to get Cyprus citizenship

In 2026, there are four legal routes to Cypriot citizenship. Three are open to anyone who meets the criteria. The fourth is granted, not applied for:

• Naturalisation
• Marriage to a Cypriot
• Cypriot origins
• Honorary citizenship, granted by the Council of Ministers

The Cyprus Investment Programme, which once sold citizenship outright, closed on 1 November 2020. Investors who want a Cypriot passport now take the residency route: buy property, hold permanent residence, and naturalise after eight years. Our comparison of Cyprus residency and citizenship sets out what each one gives you.

In short, to become a Cypriot citizen you must be married to a Cypriot for at least 3 years, have Cypriot roots, or live in Cyprus for 4 to 8 years on a temporary or permanent residence permit, depending on your professional qualifications and your Greek.

Highly skilled employees of companies of foreign interests can apply after 4 or 5 years of residence if they pass a Greek language exam. An A2 certificate (simple situations, limited communication) gives the right to apply after five years in total. A B1 certificate (everyday communication handled independently) gives it after four.

Below is a detailed description of each route, the forms, the fees and the required documents.

Cyprus citizenship forms and fees

Each route has its own application form and its own government fee. Every family member files separately and pays separately.

Form	Who it is for	Government fee
M127	Naturalisation after years of lawful residence	€500 on submission, €500 on approval
M125	Spouse or civil partner of a Cypriot citizen	€300
M71	Cypriot descent through the male line, born before 16 August 1960, citizens of the UK or its former colonies	€20
M72	Cypriot descent through the male line, born before 16 August 1960, other citizenships	€20
M124	Adults of Cypriot origin, citizens of the UK and Colonies or of a Commonwealth country, resident in Cyprus	€80
M121	Born abroad to a Cypriot father or mother, consular birth certificate	€20
M123	Adults born on or after 16 August 1960, descended from a Cypriot of the 1914 to 1960 period	€50
M126	Registration of a minor child whose parent acquired Cypriot citizenship	€80

The Stamp Duties Laws were repealed with effect from 1 January 2026 by Law 239(I)/2025, so documents signed from that date are not subject to stamp duty. The Ministry of Interior's citizenship pages still list stamps of €8.54 or €1.71. On the applications we filed in 2026, no District Administration Office or embassy asked for them. If a counter asks for the stamps anyway, call us before you pay.

Cyprus citizenship by naturalisation

Cyprus citizenship by naturalisation is the process of acquiring citizenship through years of residency, good character, proficiency in Greek, and knowledge of the political and social reality of Cyprus. The standard route requires 7 years of lawful residence within the last 10 years, plus a continuous 12 months immediately before applying. Eight years in total.

Since 19 December 2023, the criteria have been set by years of residence. An applicant must have:

• 12 months lawful stay in the Republic (up to 90 days absence allowed) plus lawful stay of 7 years in the Republic out of the 10 years before the 12 months. Eight years in total.
• Good character. Among the signs the law lists: no prison sentence, in Cyprus or abroad, for a serious offence (one carrying five years or more counts) or for an offence that is dishonourable or involves moral turpitude, with a foreign conviction counting only where the act is an offence in Cyprus carrying imprisonment; and no entry through an illegal point of entry, or entry or stay in breach of any prohibition, condition, restriction or reservation under Cyprus law.
• Sufficient knowledge of Greek at level B1**, proved by a certificate from the Greek Language Certification Examinations run through the Examination Service of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, or by a certificate from the School of Modern Greek of the University of Cyprus.
• Sufficient knowledge of the basic elements of the contemporary political and social reality of Cyprus, proved by a mark of 60% or higher at the examination run by the Examination Service of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
• Adequate accommodation and stable, regular financial means to support themselves and their family (contract of sale or rental, rent and utility receipts, proof of salary, employment contract, income tax statement, social insurance and bank account documentation).
• The intention to reside in the Republic.

**Level B1 means you can handle everyday communication situations independently.

Residence for naturalisation means physical presence in Cyprus under the immigration formalities that apply to your case. Time on a student permit does not count. Neither does time as an applicant for international protection, nor time as a holder of subsidiary or temporary protection.

Most applicants accrue the years on a renewable temporary permit or on permanent residence.

An amendment to the Civil Registry Law was passed on 30 November 2023. It lets highly skilled foreign employees obtain Cypriot citizenship after a shorter period, 4 or 5 years in total, depending on their Greek.

How to apply

The applicant must prepare a complete list of entries and departures from Cyprus, based on passport stamps, to confirm the required days of stay. Each family member has to file a separate application and pay the required fee.

Application processing time and the 8-month rule

The 8-month deadline is not automatic. The Ministry of Interior states that highly skilled employees and their family members can request an accelerated examination capped at 8 months by paying a fee of €5,000. Without that request, the file joins the ordinary queue.

In our experience, ordinary naturalisation applications take 2 to 3 years from submission. The Ministry publishes no target for them.

Required documents

The Ministry's accompanying-documents checklist for form M127 runs to sixteen items, filed together with the form:

• Original birth certificate*
• Original clean criminal record certificate issued by the Republic of Cyprus, valid for six months
• Copy of a valid residence permit
• Marriage or civil partnership certificate, where applicable*
• Copy of a valid passport or other travel document
• Copies of the passport pages carrying arrival and departure stamps
• Detailed record of arrivals and departures to and from Cyprus
• Copies of the announcements from two consecutive publications in one daily newspaper, notifying the naturalisation application
• Certificate of success in Greek at A2 or B1, as the case requires, or a certificate from the School of Modern Greek of the University of Cyprus, or a Greek-medium school leaving certificate, or a Greek-medium academic degree
• Certificate of success at 60% or higher in the examination on the basic elements of the contemporary political and social reality of Cyprus
• Proof of accommodation: title deed, purchase agreement and payment receipts, or rental agreement with rent and utility receipts
• Proof of financial resources: payroll evidence, employment contract, social insurance, income tax, bank accounts
• For highly skilled applicants, a certificate from the Business Facilitation Unit or the Migration Department confirming the company meets the criteria of Council of Ministers Decision 92.018. Holders of a residence permit issued through the Business Support Centre do not need it
• Two recent passport-size photographs, certified by the Community Leader
• Copy of the receipt for the €500 fee
• For highly skilled applicants and their family members who want the accelerated examination, a copy of the receipt for the €5,000 fee

Documents marked (*) are public documents issued abroad. One from a country that has signed the Hague Apostille Convention needs an Apostille. One from any other country needs diplomatic certification, usually by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Cyprus embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus.

Two exceptions. Under bilateral agreements, documents from Russia and Serbia need no certification at all, provided they are properly signed and sealed. Some public documents from EU countries, such as birth and marriage certificates, are exempt under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. A document in any language other than Greek or English needs an official translation as well.

Government fees

The fee for submitting form M127 is €500. A further €500 falls due when the naturalisation certificate is issued, so budget €1,000 for a successful application.

Military service

Men who acquire Cypriot citizenship by naturalisation owe military service in the National Guard. Section 21 of the National Guard Law 19(I)/2011 grants the reduced terms below where neither parent is a person of Cypriot origin, and the reduction is decided on the applicant's own request rather than granted automatically.

• If you are naturalised after turning 18 and before turning 26, you serve 6 months. You must enlist within two years of naturalisation. Missing that window adds 2 months, taking the term to 8 months.
• If you acquire citizenship after turning 26, you serve 3 months. You must enlist within two years of naturalisation. Missing that window adds 2 months, taking the term to 5 months.
• If you became Cypriot before turning 18, plan on the full term of 14 months. The National Guard says that since full service was cut to 14 months, only the 6-month and 3-month reduced terms still shorten anything.

If you did not receive any military documents upon acquiring citizenship, contact the military office in the district where you applied. They will provide your army number and the relevant papers.

Your local military office will explain the details, so contact them once you acquire citizenship. The address for each district is on the National Guard Cyprus - gov.cy website.

Who counts as a highly skilled employee

The 4- and 5-year routes are not open to every foreign employee. The Ministry of Interior sets two alternative tests, and the applicant has to meet one of them.

• A temporary residence permit for employment at a company of foreign interests, in the Director, Specialist or Key Personnel categories.
• A gross monthly salary of at least €2,500, together with a university degree or certificates covering two years of experience in a matching role.

On top of that, the applicant must have worked for a qualifying company for at least two years before applying, and must be employed in highly skilled work at a qualifying company on the day the application is filed and on the day it is examined.

Qualifying companies are the ones set out in Council of Ministers Decision 92.018 of 15 October 2021. They include companies of foreign interests with their own offices in Cyprus, Cypriot shipping, high-tech and pharmaceutical companies, and accredited international universities.

On this route, absences of up to 90 days a year do not count as time away when the 3 or 4 years are added up. On both routes, absences of up to 90 days in total do not break the final 12 months; for the 7 years of the general route the law gives no yearly allowance.

A person with four years of Cypriot residence and a salary below the floor does not qualify for the short route and falls under the ordinary eight years. See our guides to the work permit for companies of foreign interests and the Business Facilitation Unit for the company-side criteria.

The employee's spouse or civil partner can apply for naturalisation together with the employee, and so can an adult child who depends on the employee because a disability leaves them unable to work and to manage legal transactions. The spouse or partner is the person married to or in partnership with the employee on the day the employee applies. The Ministry's page accepts a family member's application filed later.

Family members need the 12 months of continuous residence and the 3 or 4 years, but their periods need not coincide with the employee's. The spouse or civil partner needs Greek at the level matching the residence period: A2 with 4 years, or B1 with 3 years, where a Greek-taught lyceum leaving certificate or university degree counts as B1.

A child who was a minor when the parent applied and turns 18 before the parent is naturalised can apply on good character alone. That application is examined within three months, a period that can be extended.

The Greek language and civics exams

Naturalisation needs a civics certificate and a Greek language certificate, B1, or A2 on the highly skilled route. A Greek-medium school leaving certificate or degree replaces the language certificate. Neither exam applies to the marriage or descent routes.

The language exam is graded against the Common European Framework. The general route needs B1. A highly skilled employee can apply after five years in total with A2, or after four years in total with B1. The certificate has to come from the Greek Language Certification Examinations, run through the Examination Service of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, or from the School of Modern Greek of the University of Cyprus.

The civics exam covers the basic elements of the contemporary political and social reality of Cyprus. The pass mark is 60%.

You do not need a language certificate if you hold a secondary school leaving certificate from a Greek-medium school or an academic degree taught in Greek. The civics exam still applies.

How long a citizenship application takes

Two clocks run. The first is the qualifying period: 8 years for the general route, 5 years for a highly skilled employee with A2 Greek, 4 years with B1, 3 years of marriage for a spouse. The second is the time the Ministry takes to decide once the file is in.

Highly skilled employees and their family members can pay €5,000 for an accelerated examination capped at 8 months. That is the only published deadline, and it has to be requested and paid for.

For everyone else, there is no official target. In our experience, naturalisation applications take 2 to 3 years from submission and marriage applications 1 to 2 years. Descent applications on forms M71, M72, M121, M123, M124 and M126 usually move faster.

Cyprus citizenship by marriage

A foreign spouse or civil partner of a Cypriot citizen can apply after three completed years of marriage or civil partnership. A couple living in Cyprus must show they were in the Republic for at least six months in each of those years, and that their total stay across the three years came to no less than two years.

A couple living permanently abroad applies on the three years alone.

A widow or widower of a Cypriot citizen can apply too, under the same residence test, which the law counts back from the date of the application. The route is closed to a spouse who entered or stayed in Cyprus illegally, but the Minister can exempt a spouse whose illegal stay was in the government-controlled areas.

A person who became Cypriot through marriage cannot use that status to register a child who is not the Cypriot spouse's child, or a later foreign spouse.

The Civil Registry Law 141(I)/2002 governs the route to Cypriot citizenship through marriage. Before the three years are up, a foreign spouse can live in Cyprus on a spouse visa or apply for permanent residence by marriage.

Required documents

To be eligible to apply for citizenship due to marriage, the applicant must submit the following documents:

• Application form M125
• Original birth certificate of the applicant*
• Original clean criminal record certificate of the applicant, valid for six months*
• Original marriage certificate*
• Copies of birth certificates, passports, or ID cards of the couple's children*
• Copy of the applicant's passport or ID card
• Copy of the Cypriot spouse's passport or ID card
• Declaration of harmonious cohabitation by the Cypriot spouse or civil partner, signed before an authorised officer
• Statement of cohabitation from the Community Leader. Couples resident abroad are excluded from this one
• The application goes in two copies
• Receipt(s) that the fees have been paid

Documents marked (*) are public documents issued abroad. One from a country that has signed the Hague Apostille Convention needs an Apostille. One from any other country needs diplomatic certification, usually by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Cyprus embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus.

Two exceptions. Under bilateral agreements, documents from Russia and Serbia need no certification at all, provided they are properly signed and sealed. Some public documents from EU countries, such as birth and marriage certificates, are exempt under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. A document in any language other than Greek or English needs an official translation as well.

Application process

The fee for submitting form M125 is €300. The Ministry publishes no target processing time; in our experience these applications take 1 to 2 years.

The marriage route is registration under section 110(2), not naturalisation. After approval, the Cypriot spouse or civil partner signs a declaration of harmonious cohabitation before a competent officer, and the Ministry returns a stamped and signed copy of the application confirming Cypriot citizenship. The identity card and the passport follow from there.

Cyprus citizenship by descent

Six forms cover descent, and which one you file turns on two questions. Were you born before or after 16 August 1960, the date Cyprus became independent from the United Kingdom? And which parent carries the Cypriot line? Find your case below, then read the matching subsection.

• Born before 16 August 1960, Cypriot line through the father, holding UK or former colony citizenship: form M71.
• Born before 16 August 1960, Cypriot line through the father, holding another citizenship: form M72.
• An adult of Cypriot origin, a citizen of the UK and Colonies or of a Commonwealth country, living in Cyprus: form M124.
• Born abroad on or after 16 August 1960 to a father or mother who was a Cypriot citizen at the time: form M121.
• An adult born on or after 16 August 1960 and descended from a Cypriot of the colonial period, under either of the two tests set out below: form M123.
• A minor child whose parent acquired Cypriot citizenship after the child was born: form M126.

Form M71: male line, born before 1960, UK citizens

People of Cypriot descent through the male line, born before August 16, 1960, who are citizens of the UK or its former colonies. Government fee: €20. The phrase means the Cypriot line runs through the father, not that the applicant has to be male.

Form M72: male line, born before 1960, other citizenships

People of Cypriot descent through the male line, born before August 16, 1960, who are not citizens of the UK or its former colonies. Government fee: €20.

Form M124: Cypriot origin, Commonwealth citizens living in Cyprus

Adults of Cypriot origin; Government fee: €80. The law treats as being of Cypriot origin anyone born in Cyprus at a time when their parents habitually lived here, and anyone descended from such a person.

The applicant is an adult of full legal capacity and of good character, holding citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies or of a Commonwealth country. They must satisfy the Minister of Interior that they habitually live in Cyprus or have lived here for the 12 continuous months before applying, or for a shorter period the Minister accepts in special circumstances, and that they intend to stay.

Service in the Cyprus public service, with the intention to keep serving, counts in place of residence.

Form M121: born abroad to a Cypriot parent

Applicants born abroad (consular birth certificate); Government fee: €20. A consular birth certificate may be issued to applicants born outside Cyprus after August 16, 1960, whose father or mother was a citizen of Cyprus at the time of birth. If the applicant is a minor, the Cypriot parent applies. Once approved, the consular birth certificate is issued, and the applicant or the parents are told how to collect it.

Form M123: born on or after 16 August 1960

Adults of full legal capacity born on or after August 16, 1960; Government fee: €50. This route is open to descendants of a person who became a British subject under the Annexation of Cyprus Orders of 1914 to 1943, or who was born in Cyprus between 5 November 1914 and 16 August 1960 at a time when his or her parents habitually lived in Cyprus.

Required documents:

• Original birth certificate of the applicant*
• Marriage certificate of the applicant's parents*
• A passport copy of the applicant and parents
• Certificate of registration of the Cypriot parent (where applicable)

Government fee for M123: €50.

Form M126: registration of a minor child

Registration of a minor child as a citizen of the Republic; Government fee: €80. This route applies where one of the parents acquired Cypriot citizenship after the child was born, by registration (of origin) or by naturalisation.

Accompanying documents for M121 and M126

• Original birth certificate*
• Copy of the parents' marriage certificate, with the original shown for checking*. For form M121, where the parents were not married: the father's affidavit recognising the child, sworn before a Registrar of a Cypriot court, and the mother's consent to the recognition, signed before a Registrar or a Cypriot consular officer
• A passport copy of the applicant and their parents
• Certificate of Cypriot citizenship of the Cypriot parent (where applicable)
• Receipt(s) that the fees have been paid

For the M126 only

• A declaration by the other parent consenting to Cypriot citizenship for the child, signed before an officer of the District Administration or a Registrar of a Cypriot court. A parent living abroad can sign it only before a Cypriot consular officer. No declaration is needed where a court order gives the Cypriot parent sole custody: attach the order, and if it was issued abroad, have it validated by a Cypriot court first.
• Copy of a school attendance certificate.
• Two passport-size photographs.

Government fees

• For form M121, a fee of €20.
• For form M126, a fee of €80.

Military service for applicants with parent(s) of Cypriot origin

Male individuals aged 18 to 45 who acquire Cypriot citizenship must complete 14 months of military service if either of their parents is of Cypriot origin.

A permanent resident abroad gets a reduced term. The law means someone whose main home has been outside Cyprus for at least ten consecutive years. Which term applies depends on his age on the date he arrives in Cyprus to settle, and he has to enlist within two years of arriving.

• Aged over 26 on arrival, the service is 3 months.
• Aged between 18 and 26 on arrival, the service is 6 months.

Enlisting is mandatory, so contact your local military office as soon as you obtain citizenship.

Citizenship application submission

Naturalisation applications on form M127 are lodged at the local District Administration Office and signed in front of a Registrar. The origin and marriage applications are signed before a Registrar of a Cypriot court, a Consular Officer at a Cyprus embassy or consulate, or another authorised person. The Civil Registry Section of the Ministry of Interior processes all of them.

If you live abroad, you can sign an origin or marriage application before a consular officer at a Cyprus embassy or consulate (a high commission in Commonwealth countries). Cyprus diplomatic missions receive citizenship applications, so you can lodge it there too.

Naturalisation on form M127 needs 12 months of legal, continuous residence in Cyprus right before you apply, with absences of up to 90 days in total allowed. The Ministry of Interior names the District Administration Offices for M127, and the gov.cy page on diplomatic missions lists M127 among the forms they receive.

Once you are a citizen, you can apply for a Cypriot identity card and passport. Our guide to the Cyprus passport covers that process.

Document authentication and translation

Documents marked (*) are public documents issued abroad. One from a country that has signed the Hague Apostille Convention needs an Apostille. One from any other country needs diplomatic certification, usually by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Cyprus embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus.

Two exceptions. Under bilateral agreements, documents from Russia and Serbia need no certification at all, provided they are properly signed and sealed. Some public documents from EU countries, such as birth and marriage certificates, are exempt under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.

Documents that are not in Greek or English need an official translation into one of them. Translations by sworn translators are accepted, and so are translations by a consular authority or a government department of the issuing country. The Press and Information Office no longer translates documents: since 1 July 2019 the work belongs to sworn translators under Law 45(I)/2019.

Passport through the Investment Program

The Cyprus Investment Programme is closed, and closed for good. The Council of Ministers ended it on 1 November 2020, and in 2025 Parliament deleted section 111A(2) of the Civil Registry Law, the provision the programme ran under. The deleted wording survives only where a court orders the re-examination of an application filed by 30 October 2020.

Our page on the Cyprus citizenship by investment programme covers what it was and what happened to it. Investors now buy permanent residence and wait. Residency by investment asks for at least €300,000 in real estate or company shares and a secured annual income of €50,000, rising by €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent child. Naturalisation follows 8 years later on the ordinary terms.

Honorary citizenship

Section 111A(1) of the Civil Registry Law 141(I)/2002 lets the Council of Ministers grant Cypriot citizenship in very exceptional cases, to a person who has rendered services of the highest level to the Republic. The Council must inform the House of Representatives in advance, and the terms are set by regulations the Council issues. Good character is the one naturalisation condition that still applies.

This is the one route nobody applies for. There is no qualifying period, no language exam and no residence condition, because the decision starts with the Council rather than with the applicant.

The First Schedule to the law prices it at nothing to submit and €50 for the certificate. Ordinary naturalisation costs €500 on submission and another €500 on approval.

Dual citizenship in Cyprus

Cyprus allows dual citizenship. Cypriot law does not make you give up your existing nationality when you become Cypriot by birth, descent, marriage or naturalisation.

There is one reserve power, and it concerns naturalisation only. On the Minister of Interior's proposal, the Council of Ministers can refuse a naturalisation certificate to an applicant who does not renounce another citizenship, in a single case or for a whole class of cases. Whether you keep your current passport turns as much on what your other country allows.