How to obtain Cypriot citizenship by marriage.

The spouse of a Cypriot national may, under certain conditions apply for citizenship.

The key criteria are:

  1. The applicant must be married to a Cypriot for at least 3 years.
  2. The applicant must reside in Cyprus for at least 2 years prior to the date of application.

What about if you are residing permanently abroad?

It is also possilbe for a spouse to apply in the case the couple lives permanently abroad. Under that scenario:

  1. The application for acquisition of citizenship can be submitted by spouses of Cypriots residing overseas after they have completed at least three years of marriage. These applications must additionally be accompanied by a letter from the couple stating the reasons for requesting the grant of the Cypriot citizenship to the foreign spouse.
  2. If the couple has completed at least five years of marriage and has at least one child, it is not necessary to attach the aforementioned letter.
  3. In addition all public documents that are issued abroad must bear an official translation into Greek or English and be certified with APOSTILLE.

Documents needed for the application.

  1. Birth certificate of the applicant.
  2. Certificate of clean criminal record of the applicant, at least 6 months old.
  3. Marriage certificate.
  4. Birth certificate of the couple's children (if applicable).
  5. Photocopy of the applicant's passport.
  6. Photocopy of the Cypriot spouse's passport.
  7. Certificate of acquisition of the Cypriot citizenship of the Cypriot spouse (where applicable).
  8. Statement of harmonious cohabitation signed before an Officer of the District Administration Office or the diplomatic authority.
  9. Statement of cohabitation from the local authority.
  10. The application should be submitted in duplicate and one of the two application forms should bear two stamps worth 8.54 euros.
    Photocopy of receipt for the amount of 300 euros paid as fees.

Document Ratification

All accompanying documents submitted as part of applications must be duly certified/authenticated as described below. Where the accompanying documents requested are copies, these should be certified/authenticated in the same manner.

Document languages and translations

All documents submitted with the application must be in Greek or English. Otherwise, they should be accompanied by an official translation into one of these languages from sworn translators or by a Consular Authority of the issuing country or a government department of the issuing country.

Apostille certifications of public documents

All accompanying public documents issued in other states that have ratified the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Hague Apostille Convention of 5.10.1961, must be duly authenticated, in accordance with the Law on the Abolition of the Requirement to Legalize Foreign Public Documents of 1972 (Apostille stamp). The Ministry of Justice and Public Order is responsible as the Central Authority for the implementation of the Hague Apostille Convention of 5.10.1961. For more information follow this link (information from the competent Ministry, Ministry of Justice and Public Order).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.