Nicosia court annuls ministry failure to process citizenship application

The Nicosia Administrative Court has ruled against the Cypriot Ministry of Interior for failing to process a citizenship application for an 11-year-old child born in Strovolos in 2015. The applicant, born to a Turkish Cypriot mother and a Turkish father, submitted his application in September 2018. Despite his older brother, born in Ankara in 2010, having received citizenship in 2011, the ministry provided no response until an appeal was filed in June 2021. The ministry defended the delay by citing a backlog of applications from individuals of Arabic origin claiming Turkish Cypriot descent. The court rejected this justification, noting the applicant's mother is a Cypriot citizen born in Nicosia and the child was born in Cyprus. In April 2022, the ministry acknowledged the applicant met all criteria but stated the file would be sent to the cabinet and placed on a waiting list. The court ultimately annulled the ministry's inaction, finding the delay unreasonable.