Court rules citizenship acquired through registration cannot be passed to subsequent spouse

A person who acquires Cypriot citizenship through registration cannot pass on the right to obtain citizenship to a foreign national whom they subsequently marry, the Administrative Court of Appeal ruled on October 15. According to a statement issued by the Legal Service, citizenship through registration is a means of acquiring Cypriot nationality based on descent or marriage to a Cypriot citizen, depending on the circumstances and subject to the provisions of the relevant legislation. The ruling upheld an earlier decision by the Administrative Court to dismiss an appeal brought by a foreign national against the Interior Ministry over its refusal to grant Cypriot citizenship through registration. In its judgment, the Appeals Court stressed the importance of consistently applying the legal framework governing citizenship and ensuring that the right to registration is exercised within the limits established by law. The court said this interpretation was supported by the legislature’s intention to prevent abuse of the system and attempts to circumvent citizenship laws through successive marriages. This includes cases where individuals who initially acquired Cypriot citizenship through registration subsequently seek to extend the same right to a new foreign spouse or to a child who is not the child of the spouse through whom citizenship was originally obtained. The case was handled on behalf of the Attorney-General by Counsel of the Republic Nicoletta Nicolaou.