Cypriot passports are issued to citizens of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Every Cypriot citizen is also a

Commonwealth citizen A Commonwealth citizen is a citizen of a Commonwealth of Nations member state. Most member countries generally do not treat citizens of other Commonwealth states any differently from foreign nationals, but may grant limited citizenship rights ...

and a citizen of the European Union. The Cypriot passport, along with the Cypriot identity card, allows for free right of movement and residence in any of the states of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As of October 2024, Cypriot citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 178 countries and territories, ranking the Cypriot passport 13th in terms of travel freedom according to the

Henley Passport Index The Henley Passport Index is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom allowed by those countries' ordinary passports for their citizens. It was launched in 2005 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index and was updated ...

. Cypriot citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty. The

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

was formed in 1960. All persons who were citizens of the Republic of Cyprus at this time are entitled to renew their citizenship and passport, whether living on the island or abroad within the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. Their descendants, whether living on the island or abroad, are equally entitled to obtain Cypriot citizenship and passport. These citizens include the Greek and Turkish people, as well as the much smaller communities of Jewish and Armenian heritage.

Language

All current and earlier Cypriot passports are inclusive, and so contain text in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, Turkish as well as English. Since 1974, the

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

community live mainly in the north of the island where the official language is Turkish (Cypriot dialect) and the

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

community live mainly in the south of the island where the official language is Greek (Cypriot dialect). Many people are trilingual. Over 4 decades, many citizens of the Republic of Turkey have moved to

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

to contribute to the labour force. As non-citizens of the island in 1960, this generation of workers are not entitled to Citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus.

Physical appearance

Biometric passport A biometric passport (also known as an electronic passport, e-passport or a digital passport) is a passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip, which contains biometrics, biometric information that can be used to authenticate ...

s have been issued since 13 December 2010 and include text in all official

languages of the European Union The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which three English, French and Germanwere considered "procedural" languages, but this notion was abandoned by the European Commission (whereas the European Parliament accepts all offic ...

. They carry a microchip containing biometric data such as fingerprints, a biometric photograph, and a digital signature. Inside, on different pages, there are images of a statue of the goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

on display at the Cyprus Museum, a dove carrying an olive branch, a symbol of peace, and the Cypriot

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

Visa requirements

As of July 2023 Cypriot citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 179 countries and territories, ranking the Cypriot passport 12th in terms of travel freedom according to the

. Image:Britcolpass.jpg,

Application

The Civil Registry and Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for issuing and renewing Cypriot passports.

Revocation

Passport revocation took place for 26 individuals in 2019 for the first time after a Reuters investigation on Cyprus citizen-by-investment program, where foreign individuals are granted citizenship after investing €2 million worth of real estate in Cyprus. Simultaneously, the Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides opened an official investigation to all investors granted a Cypriot citizenship prior to 2018.Bangkok Post: Cyprus revoking 'golden passports'
(consolidated version)

References

Cyprus and the Commonwealth of Nations Passports by country

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...