Cyprus lifts blockage placed on Turkish Cypriots of mixed marriages from obtaining citizenship

Cyprus (south) on Friday lift restrictions placed on Turkish Cypriots of mixed marriages, in which one of their parents is a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, as they will now have their applications for Cyprus citizenship processed. 

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus made the announcement on Friday, Janaury, 26 when it rolled out a 14-item 'series of actions' that includes various measures affecting the daily life of Turkish Cypriot citizens.

According to the statement made by the Presidency, the measures, which were determined by evaluating all relevant parameters, will be implemented in accordance with national law, international law and the European Union acquis.

Previously, Turkish Cypriots who had one parent who was from Turkey had seen their citizenship applications blocked if their parents were married in the north after July 20, 1974, following guidelines issued by a cabinet decision in 1974.

Now, however, the government has said they will begin examining pending applications for citizenship which had previously been blocked.

Cyprus Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said Turkish Cypriots of mixed marriages who apply in the future will have their applications processed.

The other measures include an expansion to the list of goods allowed to cross between Cyprus’ two sides under the Green Line Regulation, as well as the bolstering of staffing levels at the crossing points and the widening of the Ayios Dhometios crossing point in Nicosia.

In the field of healthcare, Turkish Cypriots will now have access to the Institute of Neurology and Genetics and will have their “extraordinary and urgent pharmaceutical needs” covered by the government.

The Cyprus government will also pay widows’ pensions to Turkish Cypriots who have the right to one and allow Turkish Cypriots the right to participate in human resources programmes, within the framework of the government’s action plan for the European Year of skills.

Turkish Cypriots who turn 18 will have the right to obtain a Youth Culture Card, loaded with €220 they can spend on attending cultural events, while the government also promised to implement “rapid transport measures” for Turkish Cypriot children who cross the Ledra Palace crossing point to go to school every day.

Turkish-speaking workers will also be recruited to work at the Citizens’ Service Centre in Nicosia, while the government also pledged to “ensure the continued smooth operation” of the capital’s sewage treatment plant in Haspolat, and “further facilitate” access to Muslim sites in the Republic.

They said the measures concern “a wide range of activities which affect the daily lives of our Turkish Cypriot compatriots.”

The measures “have been formed unilaterally following an assessment of all the relevant data and will be implemented within the framework of domestic law, international law, and the acquis communautaire [to the European Union],” they said.