Northern Cyprus nationality law governs the acquisition, transmission, and loss of Northern Cyprus citizenship. Naturalized

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Rec ...

citizens are persons granted

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

by the ''de facto''

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

, which is recognized only by

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Viewpoint of the Republic of Cyprus

It has been the policy of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus to encourage non-Greek immigration into the country, as decided upon shortly after the

Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence from the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on 15 November 1983. Eight years after the Turkish Federate ...

to increase their numbers relative to the population of the Greek-Cypriots in the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. Most of the immigrants come from the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

region of Turkey, but a few others from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

come to live in Northern Cyprus in order to take advantage of property sales. No immigration is permitted, however, that would threaten the

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

status of the ethnic Turkish majority. It is estimated that Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus and their children currently make up about 50% of the population in the ''de facto'' state, but the number of naturalizations remains unknown. The Government of the

views the immigration policy of Northern Cyprus as a means to upset the island's demographics, and as a theft of Greek-Cypriot owned property. They, therefore, officially regard any naturalized Northern Cyprus citizens as 'illegal settlers', who would be subject to

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

in the event of Cypriot reunification. It is the policy of the Republic of Cyprus to refuse naturalized Northern Cyprus citizens entry into the Republic of Cyprus through the Green Line checkpoints since they have entered into Cyprus through what is considered as an unlawful port of entry. The refusal of entry to the Republic mainly applies to the Turkish settlers, as Turkish citizens of Turkey are permitted to enter the Republic of Cyprus, only through the lawful ports of entry. The Republic of Cyprus has declared any Northern Cyprus seaport or airport to be an unlawful port of entry; however, in practice, Ercan Airport is used as the principal civilian airport of Northern Cyprus, and the same applies to the ports of

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under t ...

and

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

. Furthermore, the government of the Republic of Cyprus considers the immigration policy of Northern Cyprus to be in violation of Article 49 of the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in Augu ...

of 1949 ("Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War"), which prohibits the transfer by an occupying power of its own civilian population into the territory it is occupying. Also, in Resolutions 33/15 (1978), 24/30 (1979) and 37/253 (1983), the United Nations General Assembly deplored "all unilateral actions that change the demographic structure of Cyprus".

Practical difficulties

As a Northern Cyprus passport is not recognised by most national governments (much like the republic itself), naturalised citizens have to resort to other nations' passports in order to travel internationally.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and the

accept a Northern Cyprus passport. Many Turkish Cypriots who are born in Cyprus with parents who can trace their Cypriot and legal residence before the partition applied for and received a

Cypriot passport Cypriot passports are issued to citizens of Cyprus. Every Cypriot citizen is also a Commonwealth citizen and a citizen of the European Union. The Cypriot passport, along with the Cypriot identity card, allows for free rights of movement and res ...

from the recognised Republic of Cyprus. That said, some individuals, particularly children, have had difficulties in accessing Republic of Cyprus citizenship. In 2021, Turkish Cypriot officials were stripped of their ROC passports. Also, any citizen of Northern Cyprus is entitled to citizenship of Turkey and to receive a Turkish passport.

Recent policy changes

In 2005, after an increase in both

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

and

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

, the previously unrestricted immigration policy for Turkish migrants was tightened. In the wake of this new policy, a number of Turkish migrants have been deported and immigration procedures have changed to allow Northern Cyprus to better screen migrant applicants. Turkey itself regards policy change as a heavy-handed reaction, thus causing the first major area of disagreement between Northern Cyprus and Turkey.

References

{{Nationality laws Law of Northern Cyprus Nationality in Cyprus Cyprus dispute

Viewpoint of the Republic of Cyprus

Practical difficulties

Recent policy changes

See also

References