96,487 Turkish Cypriots Hold Valid Republic of Cyprus ID Cards

The ministry also reported that 5,176 Turkish Cypriots had been granted citizenship since 2004, including 331 who received it through Cabinet decisions following the introduction of revised criteria in 2024.

According to population registry records dated September 11, 2026, 870,632 valid Republic of Cyprus identity cards are held by living citizens. Of these, 774,145 belong to members of the Greek Cypriot community and 96,487 to members of the Turkish Cypriot community.

Greek Cypriot Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou presented the figures to Parliament in response to a question submitted by DISY MP Andreas Konstantinou.

Ioannou noted that expired identity cards that had not been renewed were excluded from the figures.

5,176 Turkish Cypriots Granted Citizenship Since 2004

According to data from the Republic of Cyprus Interior Ministry, 5,176 Turkish Cypriots have been granted Republic of Cyprus citizenship since 2004.

The figures show that 2,972 people received citizenship between 2004 and February 2007, before the Cabinet established formal criteria. From February 14, 2007, when the criteria came into force, until 2013, a further 1,806 people were granted citizenship.

Another 67 people received citizenship between 2014 and 2023. Since the revised criteria took effect on February 2, 2024, the Cabinet has granted citizenship to an additional 331 people through its decisions.

Article 109(1) of the Republic of Cyprus Civil Registry Law requires a Cabinet decision for the registration as citizens of children born in Cyprus to foreign parents who entered the Republic illegally or are residing there unlawfully.

Children Born of Mixed Marriages Also Addressed

The Interior Ministry said the Cabinet had established specific criteria governing the exercise of its discretionary authority under the provision in cases involving Turkish Cypriots and children born of mixed marriages.

The criteria take into account whether the foreign parent is a Turkish citizen or a citizen of another third country, where the parents married and, in cases involving a Turkish citizen parent, how that parent entered Cyprus.

Applications that meet the criteria are submitted to the Cabinet with a recommendation for approval, the ministry said.

Regarding the number of applications received, the ministry explained that the documents submitted to it were generally requests or letters rather than formal applications, and therefore were not registered in the official system.

“We do not have a figure for the number of pending requests. Most are submitted more than once,” the ministry said.