The process of citizenship approval

The process of obtaining citizenship in Cyprus takes several steps.

And these steps are described in this blog:

STEP 1 – Review and select real estate investment

Initially, it is necessary to choose one real estate or several, worth a total of €2 million. After that a viewing will need to be organized, either by visiting Cyprus or via correspondence. Following that, a purchase agreement should be signed and a payment transferred to the account of the seller. Next, the application for citizenship is filled in.

STEP 2 - Preparation for applying for citizenship and collecting the necessary case of documents

The applicant must prepare all the necessary documents for application. Namely: a copy of the passport, a birth certificate, a marriage certificate (for spouses), a Police clearance certificate, a detailed biography. All documents must be officially translated into Greek or English and certified with an apostille.

STEP 3 – Pre-clearance check

The appointed lawyer completes a pre-clearance check.

STEP 4- Submit applications (residence permit and citizenship) – Issuance of Permanent Residency Card

The applicant must visit Cyprus on a mandatory basis to submit the residence permit and citizenship applications and to provide their biometric data required for the permanent residency card which is issued in 5 days.
The payment of the government submission fee of €2,000 for adults and €80 for a minor is made. The application for citizenship is lodged together with the property purchase agreement and all the necessary documents at the Ministry of the Interior.

STEP 5 - Acquire citizenship approval

The Ministry of the Interior will approve the application for citizenship within a period of three months from submission. At this stage the payment of the state approval fee of €5,000 per adult applicant is made.

STEP 6 – Completion of naturalization and issuance of Cypriot passport and ID cards

After a 6-month period of owning the Cyprus PR card, the applicant is able to complete the naturalization process. The certificate of naturalization must be signed by the applicant either in the presence of the Register of the Cypriot court or a Consular at any Cypriot consulate abroad, within 3 months from the date of receiving approval. In Cyprus, the process including the collection of biometric personal data takes 1 day. However, through an embassy of Cyprus abroad the process takes up to 2 weeks. 

STEP 7 - naturalization of children and applicant’s parents

Submit the applications for citizenship of children or parents. Applications of minors are processed within 3 weeks. During this time, the applicant can visit Cyprus at any time to collect their case of documents. Applications for adult children or parents are processed within 2-3 months and are payable with a submission fee of €2,000 and an approval fee of €5,000 per person. After the citizenship is approved, passports and ID cards must be collected within three months.