Mystery over why ID cards stopped for non Cypriots

AS OF last Friday, Cyprus ID cards are no longer being issued to European and foreign residents of Cyprus but no one in the Interior Ministry is able to say why.

It is also unclear whether this is a permanent move or not. Following complaints from Paphos residents who were told they were no longer able to apply for ID cards, the Cyprus Mail contacted Paphos district officer, Andreas Christodoulides.

He said he was unaware of any changes in the law, but after investigation, confirmed that a circular had been sent out to all offices in Cyprus suspending the issue of ID cards to non Cypriots.

He said: “We have received a notice from the government department of population registration in Nicosia which says that issuing of ID cards to all European and foreigners was stopped from April 4.”

He added: “This applies to all of Cyprus not just Paphos. The general registration will now make some changes in the law, but I don’t know what they are, or if cards will be issued again.”

Christodoulides said that he had attempted to contact the government official responsible for this matter, but that the responsible official was away from the office until Monday.

No-one at the interior ministry was able to supply any further information.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.