Author
The procedure for the civil registration of children born in Cyprus is the same for all, regardless of nationality or status.[1] In order to register the new-born child in the Birth Registry, an application form must be completed and signed by the doctor who delivered the child. A copy is kept at the hospital/clinic records, another copy is sent to the Competent District Administration Office by the hospital/clinic, and a third copy is given to the child’s parents, for them to submit it to the Competent District Administration Office. The registration of the child can take place in any District Administration Office, regardless of the district in which the child was born. If the parents of the child are not married, an affidavit is required by both parents confirming the father of the child.
Birth certificates are issued upon registering the birth at all the District Administration Offices. The fee payable for each certificate is €5, provided that the birth has been registered within the time period determined by the law: 15 days from the birth of the child. If the birth is registered three months after the birth of the child the following is required: the Birth Registration Form; an affidavit in the prescribed form; and a fee of €60 (down from €150 as of 2019).[2]
A birth certificate is required in order to enjoy various rights, such as access to medical care, registration in school, and access to benefits such as child allowance, single parent allowance, and minimum guaranteed income scheme.
There are no reports of difficulties in regard to civil registration of BIPs.
Regarding access to marriage, the Cypriot Constitution safeguards everyone’s right to get married. However, only members of the Greek or Turkish communities (and other recognized minorities of Cyprus) can access religious marriages.[3] Therefore, beneficiaries of International Protection are only allowed to undergo a civil marriage or, since 2015, a civil union. Civil marriages in Cyprus can only occur between one man and one woman.[4] This gender limitation does not exist in the case of civil unions, which have the same effect as civil marriages except in terms of adoption.[5] For a civil marriage or a civil union to be legally entered into, both spouses need to have given their full and free consent to this end[6] and to have reached the minimum age of 18 years.[7]
The prerequisites for a person to apply for a marriage license by the Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior slightly differ when the applicant is a Cypriot/EU National or a Third-Country National. Firstly, when a Cypriot/EU National applies for a marriage license, the form of identification needed is a passport, an identity card and, where applicable, a registration as an EU Citizen in Cyprus.[8] When a Third-Country National applies for a marriage license, the necessary form of identification is a passport. BIPs are exempted from this requirement, as it suffices that they provide the Migration Department with their residence permits and proof of the fact that they handed over their passports to the Asylum Service when they applied for asylum. Secondly, when a Cypriot national applies for a marriage license, a celibacy certificate from the Ministry of Interior, no less recent than 3 months at the time of the application, is required. For EU nationals, this certificate needs to be issued by their member state. Whereas for Third-Country Nationals, a celibacy certificate from the country of origin no less recent than 3 months is required. This certificate needs to be officially translated into Greek or English and be duly ratified. For BIPs the celibacy certificate can be issued by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus by way of an affidavit signed before the court, as it has already been accepted that the person would be at risk if they had to contact the authorities of their country.[9] This exception does not extend to Subsidiary Protection Beneficiaries, who still need to obtain this certificate from their country of origin. In doing so they often face bureaucratic hurdles, communication issues and delays, especially when there is no embassy of their country in Cyprus.
As for marriages performed before Beneficiaries of International Protection arrive in the Republic of Cyprus, only civil marriages are recognized and can be registered.[10] If the country where the marriage took place is a party to the Hague Convention, it suffices that the marriage certificate bears an Apostille seal.[11] If not, the marriage certificate needs to be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of issuance or by an embassy of Cyprus in the country.[12] In both cases, marriage certificates need to be officially translated into Greek or English.
Polygamous marriages are not recognised and, in such cases, the first wife to arrive in Cyprus is considered the spouse. Marriages where one spouse is a minor that took place before entering Cyprus are not challenged in any way and can be recognised as mentioned above.
[1] Article 8 Civil Registry Law.
[2] Article 16 Civil Registry Law.
[3] Article 22, Cyprus Constitution.
[4] Article 3, Marriage Law of 2003 (104(I)/2003).
[5] Article 4, Civil Union Law of 2015 (184(I)/2015).
[6] Article 8(1)(β), Marriage Law and Article 6(1)(iii), Civil Union Law.
[7] Article 17(2)(στ), Marriage Law and Article 5(3)(α), Civil Union Law.
[8] Ministry of Interior, Σύμβαση Πολιτικής Συμβίωσης – Πολιτικοί Γάμοι, available here.
[9] Article 8(2), Marriage Law and Article 6(1)(γ) of Civil Union Law. Both refer to Article 21Γ of Refugee Law which stipulates that when the exercise of any right by a recognized refugee normally requires the assistance of the authorities of a state to which they have no access, the responsible authorities of the Republic of Cyprus will provide this assistance and will issue relevant documents or certificates.
[10] Information provided by the Migration Department.
[11] Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Apostille, available here.
[12] Migration Department, Επικύρωση Εγγράφων, available here.