Cypriot citizenship by descent

Who qualifies

• Register your birthA parent who was a Cypriot citizen when you were bornA Cypriot mother or father counts. If you live abroad, you count as a citizen once your birth is registered. You do that by applying for a consular birth certificate (form M121).
• Cypriot originA parent, grandparent or earlier ancestor born in Cyprus between November 5, 1914 and August 16, 1960, while their parents lived thereIf neither parent was a Cypriot citizen when you were born, you can apply to register once you’re 18 (form M123). Descendants of people who became British subjects when Britain annexed Cyprus (under orders from 1914 to 1943) qualify too. There’s no residence or language test.
• Through a parentUnder 18, and your parent became Cypriot after you were bornYour parent can register you as the minor child of a citizen (form M126).
• Other rulesBorn before August 16, 1960 yourselfDifferent forms apply. Some work through the male line only, and one needs a year’s legal residence in Cyprus. Ask the embassy.
• Usually notNo Cypriot parent, and no ancestor born in Cyprus from 1914 to 1960 or made British when Britain annexed itCypriot heritage alone isn’t enough.

Military service

Cypriot men are liable for National Guard service from the year they turn 18 to the year they turn 50. If you’re a permanent resident abroad, you’re exempt. That covers people born abroad who have lived there with their family for at least 10 years in a row.

You lose that status if you settle in Cyprus or stay there for more than 12 months. Then you could be called up. The law sets shorter service for people who arrive as adults: 6 months if you arrive aged 18 to 26, or 3 months if you’re older, as long as you enlist within 2 years. It also covers men living in Cyprus with a parent of Cypriot origin, even if they never registered.

Cyprus’s High Commission in London says men aged 16 to 26 who are liable need an exit permit from a military office to leave Cyprus after a visit. You show a certificate of permanent residence abroad, which the embassy in Washington issues for the equivalent of €9.

How to apply

1. Contact the embassy or consulate firstIn the US, that’s the embassy in Washington, or the consulate general in New York for New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England. You apply in person there or at an honorary consulate. Payment is by money order, in US dollars at the day’s exchange rate.
2. Through a parent: apply for a consular birth certificateFill out form M121 in two copies and sign it in front of a consular officer. Under-18s need both parents to sign. It costs €28.54, including a stamp.
3. Through Cypriot origin: apply to registerAdults use form M123, signed in front of a consular officer, and make a formal promise of loyalty to the Republic. It costs €50 plus two €8.54 stamps. Children are registered through a parent who’s already a citizen, with form M126 (€80 plus two stamps).
4. Wait for a decision from NicosiaThe Civil Registry and Migration Department decides. It doesn’t publish waiting times. If it says no, you get a letter with the reasons.
5. Then apply for an ID card and passportYou can’t apply for a passport while your citizenship application is pending. Passports are applied for in person at the embassy. An adult passport costs €70 and a child’s €45, paid in US dollars.

Documents

• The application form (M121 or M123), in two copies
• Your original full birth certificate, showing both parents. It isn’t returned, so order a spare
• Your parents’ marriage certificate, if they were married
• Copies of your passport and both parents’ passports
• Through a parent: their Cypriot birth certificate or certificate of registration
• Through Cypriot origin: proof of your link to your Cyprus-born ancestor, such as birth certificates for each generation, and their Cypriot birth record
• An apostille on every document from outside Cyprus

The embassy in Washington asks for originals with an apostille. Documents not in Greek or English need an official translation into one of them, according to a lawyer writing in the Cyprus Mail in April 2025. The Civil Registry has a full list for each form, so ask the embassy for the current one.

For UK, Irish and US certificates, see where to order certificates.

Common questions

What a Cypriot passport gives you

The right to live, work, study and retire across all 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. See what an EU passport lets you do.