Documents

Original + translation. Ordered in the country of birth. A translation into Greek by a certified PIO translator is required.

The original will be needed during both submission and the interview — they will check it against the copy and return it to you.

If the father’s or mother’s surname in your birth certificate differs from the one currently in their passport (for example, if the mother changed her surname after marriage) — you will need an affidavit confirming that it is the same person (here is an example affidavit of what it might look like). It is signed in court on the same day as form M127 and requires ≈€4 of revenue stamps, which are sold in the same place.

Higher education diploma with translation. If there is no diploma, the alternative is: tax declarations for 2+ years confirming work experience in the specialty.

Only a Cypriot certificate is required — you do not need to request one from your country of citizenship. Original, valid for 6 months. Issued by the Cyprus Police — contact a police station (e.g. Limassol Central Police Station) or apply online at https://www.gov.cy/en/service/criminal-certificate-issuance/. Sometimes it is issued immediately; other times you need to wait a few days.

Cost — €20. To apply in person at the station, bring:

• the completed application form — it is better to fill and sign it at home in advance to avoid queuing twice
• a copy of your passport
• a copy of your residence permit

Usually, the certificate is issued immediately, in about 10 minutes, but sometimes they schedule a separate collection day. Reception hours vary by station — for example, in Limassol it is weekdays from 07:30 to 13:30.

Copies (front and back) of all residence permits during your time in Cyprus are required, not just the current one — arrange them in order, starting from the most recent. If any permit was taken back during renewal, a receipt is acceptable instead. The type of current permit must correspond to the program category (work visa or visa of a working spouse).

You should bring the original with you during submission, but in practice, they rarely ask for it — the officer usually only needs the passport.

Original + translation, if the marriage was registered outside Cyprus. The original is only needed to check against the copy — make sure it is returned to you.

Birth certificates of children: if the child was born in Cyprus, a copy is sufficient; if abroad, a translation is required.

The procedure for obtaining citizenship for children is separate and is initiated after the parent receives approval — details in the Children section.

Spouses of applicants can apply for naturalization at the same time as the main applicant, even if they do not work in a BCS company. The main condition is that the spouse must also have lived in Cyprus for the required 4/5 years.

Please note that this is not a joint application: the spouse fills out a separate M127 form and collects their own full package of documents.

Submission of documents also occurs separately. For this, you will need to book two separate slots (appointments) — one for each applicant. Read more about the process in Booking an Appointment.

Collect all passports from your time in Cyprus, including expired ones — copies of all pages are required, including blank ones.

If stamps are missing, verify with flight tickets, boarding passes, or bank statements. If old passports have not been preserved, contact the migration department for archival data.

Tip: highlight the stamps on the copies with a marker — this will make it easier for the reviewer not to miss any.

From this, you need to compile a table of arrivals and departures — see Days in Cyprus.

One of the options: rental agreement + payment receipts, sales contract + payment receipts, or utility bills in your name.

The rental or sales agreement must be stamped at the tax office (Income Tax) — an oval stamp on the first page and a rectangular stamp with the stamp duty amount on the signatures page. You can pay the stamp duty with revenue stamps on the spot or online via taxportal.mof.gov.cy (which also has a calculator for the amount).

If the agreement lists only one spouse, the second can add a self-declared statement in English about residing at the same address, certified by a mukhtar. Tip: if applying together, list both spouses in the agreement and split utility bills between different names — this makes it easier for each to confirm the address separately.

Water and electricity bills in your name, at least for the last 6 months, and ideally for the entire period of residence. Plus payment confirmation: receipts from the landlord or bank transfers for rent, or payment confirmation and title deed if purchased.

Employment contract, payslips for the last year, social insurance statements, and tax declarations — recommended for 5 years, bank statements — for at least 6 months, and ideally for the entire period. Officially, the volume is not regulated — the more proofs, the better.

Social insurance statements cannot be downloaded online — request them by email (e.g., veveosislim@sid.mlsi.gov.cy), attaching a scan of your passport and ARC. Print tax declarations from the Taxisnet portal for each year of residence.

For bank statements, Cypriot banks are preferred (Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic/Eurobank, Alpha Bank, Astrabank); statements only from electronic banks (Revolut, Wise, Viva) are a risky option on their own.

• First, ask colleagues (or former colleagues) who have already applied — someone may already have the certificate.

• Contact the HR or legal department of the company where you work.

• If nothing else helps — request the certificate from the Department of Population and Migration by writing to migration@md.mip.gov.cy. The response usually arrives within a few weeks.

A2 or B1 exam certificate — where to take it and what is accepted as an alternative, see Greek Language. Submit copies, bring the original to the submission for verification, and again to the interview.

If the exam has been passed but the physical certificate has not yet arrived, you can request an electronic version from the examiner by email (e.g., ellinomatheia@komvos.edu.gr).

A separate certificate with a result of ≥ 60% — details and what you need to know, see Culture and Politics Exam. Submit copies, bring the original to the submission for verification, and again to the interview.

Two passport-sized photographs certified by a mukhtar — the stamp and signature are placed on the reverse side.

You can find your mukhtar: for Limassol — on the municipality website, for other districts — on the gov.cy portal.

You need two consecutive issues of a newspaper containing an announcement of your intention to apply for naturalization.

How to arrange: write to ads@politis.com.cy, attaching a copy of your passport — the editorial office will send an invoice; after payment and confirmation of transfer, publication dates will be scheduled for you. Cost — €26 for two announcements.

Example email:

Subject: Publication for naturalization

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to place a two-day newspaper announcement regarding my naturalization application. Please find my passport copy attached. My address is: [full address].

Could you kindly send me an invoice so I can arrange payment?

Thank you in advance.

After the newspaper is published, buy the issues and make a copy of the page so that the date and text of the announcement are clearly visible — the announcement itself is usually printed in small font, so it is worth highlighting it with a marker. Announcements are valid for 3 months — plan publication considering your submission date.

If applying together with a spouse, each needs their own separate announcement; the newspapers can be different.

Official application for naturalization (“ΑΙΤΗΣΙΣ ΧΟΡΗΓΗΣΕΩΣ ΠΙΣΤΟΠΟΙΗΤΙΚΟΥ ΠΟΛΙΤΟΓΡΑΦΗΣΕΩΣ”), certified in court.

You can fill it out directly here on this website — in the interactive form: some fields are pre-filled, and the completed PDF is built automatically without manual re-typing. When filling in names, the form automatically replaces Latin characters with Greek characters. Open the form on the Form M127: How to Fill page.

If you want to fill it out manually, the blank form is on the official gov.cy website, or download it here along with a completed example. It is recommended to fill it out in Greek.

Paid on-site after documents are checked during submission — by card or cash.

If you pay by card, warn your bank in advance and check your transaction limits; take cash as a backup in case the card does not go through.

Read more about the submission process in Submission.

Optional but useful documents to show links to Cyprus and strengthen the application:

• CV in English or Greek — a list of education and workplaces, aligned with the employment contract, social insurance, and declarations from “Proof of Income”
• A cover portfolio in free form about your life in Cyprus and your participation in its social, cultural, or professional life

In the portfolio, you can attach: certificates of training and language courses, participation in conferences, membership in clubs or organizations, letters of recommendation, documents on property or Cypriot driving license. Specific ideas on what to show are in the Integration section.