Cyprus grants citizenship to mixed-marriage children born in Turkey but not in occupied north

Cyprus denies citizenship to children born in the Turkish-occupied north when a Turkish Cypriot woman is married to a Turkish citizen, yet grants it if the same couple has a child abroad, MPs heard.

This inconsistency was revealed during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Control by MP Irene Charalambidou, with public officials confirming the practice.

Charalambidou said she discovered the policy while at a district administration office renewing her husband’s identity card.

There, she met a pregnant Turkish Cypriot woman who explained she was travelling to Turkey to give birth so her child could obtain Cypriot citizenship, which would be denied if the birth occurred in Cyprus.

When Charalambidou questioned an official about cases where Turkish Cypriot women with Turkish husbands give birth in Cyprus, the official confirmed that such children are not registered as Cypriot citizens. However, if the child is born abroad, they are considered Cypriot.

The committee heard that provisions were previously approved to prevent children of Turkish settlers from being registered as Cypriot citizens.

Committee Chairman Zacharias Koulias stated that if such a legal gap exists, legislation regarding mixed marriages must be amended, and he pledged to pursue this direction.

(in-cyprus.philenews.com)