New biometric identity cards issued in the Republic of Cyprus since July no longer include the names of the cardholder’s mother and father, according to a report in the newspaper Politis.
Under the headline “New IDs, no parents’ names… a modernisation step,” the paper reported that people receiving new ID cards had noticed the parental fields missing, and that the change had been introduced without any prior public announcement.
Following a complaint from one citizen, the newspaper approached the Republic’s Interior Ministry, which confirmed the change took effect in July after an amendment to the contract with the company that prints the biometric cards.
A ministry official said the move was based on EU Regulation 1208/2025, which sets common identity-security standards for EU citizens, as well as guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The official added that the change had been implemented by decision of the Director of the Civil Registry, under Article 63(2) of the Civil Registry Law — which governs the form, type and content of identity cards — meaning no amendment to domestic legislation or separate public notice was considered necessary.
The same source noted that the EU regulation does not oblige member states to adopt the measure, leaving the decision to individual countries. The Interior Ministry, however, took the position that identity cards exist solely to verify the cardholder’s identity, and that information on parents already appears on birth certificates.
According to the report, the protection of privacy and personal data was cited among the reasons for the change. The ministry official said that on the previous cards, a dash in the “father” field for children whose paternity was unknown had effectively disclosed private information about the individual. The proposal to remove parental details from ID cards had reportedly been put to the Interior Ministry by the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights.
The far-right ELAM party has criticised the change. Its spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, described it as an attempt to “erode the sacred institution of the family,” asking: “Is the next step going to be adding ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2′ to identity cards?” He said the party was calling for parents’ names to be reinstated on the cards.
