It was stated that there are 3,700 children living in Cyprus, one of whose parents is Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot and the other is from a third world country, without having acquired Cypriot citizenship.
The issue of people who cannot obtain Cypriot citizenship was discussed in the Greek Cypriot Parliament Human Rights Committee.
Phileleferos, which reported the news under the headline “3,700 Children Waiting for Citizenship”, noted that based on data from the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, 760 applications with Turkish Cypriot parents that meet the criteria are pending, while there are approximately 2,800 applications with Turkish Cypriot parents that do not meet the criteria.
The newspaper stated that the figure for children of Greek Cypriot parents was not clear.
According to the news, the difficulties experienced by children who cannot obtain Cypriot citizenship were conveyed with examples at the meeting, and it was stated that a child had been waiting for 16 years for his application to be examined, and that there were also those who had come of age in Cyprus, had been living here for 20, 30 and 40 years and had not yet found a solution regarding citizenship.
The Parliamentary Human Rights Committee will also consider the issue in February.
In the explanation made by the Ministry of Interior, it was stated that if one of the parents is Cypriot, the right to citizenship is granted, but if the second parent entered or resides in the country illegally, this (granting of citizenship) is not valid.
The statement also noted that if the second parent enters or resides in the country illegally, the child’s situation and citizenship application are examined by the Council of Ministers based on certain criteria.
Approximately 5,000 approvals for citizenship had been given since the border gates were opened in 2003.