# Cypriot citizenship by naturalisation Cyprus's ordinary adult naturalisation route combines a final year of lawful residence with seven earlier years in a separate ten-year window. Greek B1, civic knowledge, character and financial conditions apply; the employer-linked highly skilled route is separate. Scope: Ordinary adult residence-based naturalisation under the Republic of Cyprus Ministry's M127 guidance, not descent, marriage or the accelerated highly skilled route. Jurisdiction: Republic of Cyprus. Sources reviewed 2026-09-17; review due 2026-12-16. General information, not legal advice or a finding of eligibility. Requirements depend on the route, applicant and filing date. Verify the official instructions before applying. ## Final twelve months of lawful residence The applicant must have resided legally and continuously in the Republic for the twelve months immediately before applying. Absences totalling no more than ninety days in that period do not interrupt it. This final period is additional to the earlier seven-year requirement, not part of it. Evidence: conditional. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/). Source location: Ordinary naturalisation criteria (a) and (b); final twelve-month period and ninety-day absence allowance. ## Seven earlier years in a ten-year window Within the ten years immediately preceding that final twelve-month period, the applicant must have accumulated at least seven years of legal residence. Eligibility is therefore not simply seven years in total. The different residence and language rules for qualifying highly skilled employees and family members must not be substituted for this ordinary baseline. Evidence: conditional. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/). Source location: Ordinary criteria (b); separate highly skilled employee section under Article 111B(2). ## Greek B1, with specified education evidence The ordinary route requires sufficient Greek at CEFR B1. The Ministry accepts the specified Greek Language Centre examination or a University of Cyprus School of Modern Greek certificate. Holders of a high-school diploma from a recognised institution taught principally in Greek, or an academic degree from a programme taught in Greek, have the stated exemption from presenting an examination certificate. The checklist also mentions A2 because it covers other applicant categories; A2 is not the ordinary-route standard. Evidence: conditional. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/); [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: M127 accompanying documents: current linked checklist](https://www.gov.cy/media/sites/21/2025/10/List-of-Supporting-Documents-Application-M127-EN.pdf). Source location: Ordinary criterion (d), Greek-language evidence section and exceptions; checklist item 9. ## Civic-knowledge examination Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of contemporary political and social conditions in Cyprus. The Ministry requires a certificate showing at least sixty percent in the relevant evaluation examination administered by the Ministry of Education's Examination Service. This is separate from the Greek-language requirement. Evidence: conditional. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/); [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: M127 accompanying documents: current linked checklist](https://www.gov.cy/media/sites/21/2025/10/List-of-Supporting-Documents-Application-M127-EN.pdf). Source location: Ordinary criterion (e), political/social knowledge evidence; checklist item 10. ## Character, accommodation, resources and intent Good character, suitable accommodation, stable and regular resources sufficient for the applicant and family, and an intention to reside in the Republic are cumulative requirements. The current checklist calls for a Cypriot clean criminal-record certificate, residence and travel evidence, and documents supporting housing and financial resources. Meeting the residence clock alone does not establish eligibility. Evidence: conditional. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/); [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: M127 accompanying documents: current linked checklist](https://www.gov.cy/media/sites/21/2025/10/List-of-Supporting-Documents-Application-M127-EN.pdf). Source location: Ordinary criteria (c), (f), (g), accommodation/resources evidence; checklist items 2–7 and 11–12. ## M127 through the local District Administration The ordinary application is submitted to the local District Administration Office using M127, signed in the presence of a Registrar and supported by properly certified and translated documents. The checklist includes two consecutive daily-newspaper notices of the application and certified photographs. Highly skilled applicants have additional employer evidence and a separate optional accelerated examination procedure. Evidence: documented. [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: Naturalisation due to years of residence: Form M127](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/documents/acquisition-of-cypriot-citizenship-by-naturalization-due-to-years-of-residence-form-m127/); [Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior: M127 accompanying documents: current linked checklist](https://www.gov.cy/media/sites/21/2025/10/List-of-Supporting-Documents-Application-M127-EN.pdf). Source location: Application submission section; checklist items 8 and 13–16. ## Scope and limitations - General information, not personal eligibility advice. This is the Republic's ordinary adult route, not a statement about all residents of the island, Northern Cyprus, special documents or every nationality-acquisition route. - The Ministry describes its current naturalisation framework as effective from 19 December 2023. No processing guarantee, universal absence allowance for every earlier year, renunciation exemption or permission from another citizenship country is inferred from this page. - The published language level is retained without inventing a breakdown of tested skills or converting another applicant category's A2 option into the ordinary B1 requirement. Fees and short-term procedural deadlines are not included. ## Explore this passport - [Passport rank and travel access](https://multipassrank.com/passport/cyprus) - [Tax residence & income](https://multipassrank.com/passport/cyprus/taxes) - [Country-profile JSON, including sources and scoped requirements](https://multipassrank.com/api/v1/country-profiles/CY) - [Multiple-citizenship policy guide](https://multipassrank.com/dual-citizenship-countries) [Canonical page](https://multipassrank.com/passport/cyprus/citizenship)