To obtain citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus by naturalization, foreigners must pass two exams: in the Greek language and knowledge of the realities of the country. And if the language test is considered quite feasible, then the second exam, according to those who took it on July 4, 2026, contains too confusing and specialized questions.
According to the rules, applicants for citizenship must prove their knowledge of the Greek language at the B1 level. This is an intermediate level that allows you to communicate on everyday topics.
It is also necessary to pass an exam on knowledge of modern political and public life in Cyprus. It consists of 25 multiple choice questions, and 15 of them must be answered correctly to be successful.
Cyprus Mail believes that this exam has become overly difficult. Many questions are formulated in such a way that they can confuse even people who have been living on the island for a long time.
Example. Which statement about Cyprus is wrong?
1) Military service is mandatory for male citizens of Cyprus.
2) The Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone in 2008.
3) The political system of Cyprus is a parliamentary democracy.
4) Cyprus has a sub-ministry of Shipping, not a Ministry of Shipping.
— It’s not so easy to give the right answer. All four statements sound so plausible that candidates may well begin to doubt themselves. Was it really 2008 or 2007? Is military service mandatory for all young men, or may there be non-obvious exceptions? — notes Theo Panayidis, author of an article in Cyprus Mail titled Trying to trick people with cheap gotchas: the Cyprus citizenship exam, which can be translated as “Cyprus Citizenship exam: an attempt to trick people into small things.”
The exam is conducted in Greek. The term προεδρευόμενη δημοκρατια’ (“parliamentary democracy”) It is very similar to προεδρική δημοκρατία (“presidential democracy”). And if the candidates don’t speak Greek very well, they may misunderstand the question. Statement No. 3 is incorrect, since the Republic of Cyprus is a presidential democracy.
The exam lasts 45 minutes. It is conducted by the Ministry of Education. Those candidates for citizenship who answer at least 60% of the questions correctly will be awarded a “Certificate of sufficient knowledge of the basic elements of the modern political and social reality of Cyprus for third-country nationals.”
A language exam usually requires knowledge of Greek at the B1 level, defined as an intermediate level that allows you to communicate “on familiar topics.”
— But the B1 level will not be enough to understand many questions in the cultural exam, — the Cyprus Mail journalist believes. — The vocabulary used does not make any concessions. It includes words such as αξιωματούχος (“official” or “functionary”) and κατάληψη (“occupation”, for example, of a city by the army), which will almost certainly be unfamiliar.
One of the questions is, “Which ministry does it belong to?”
— This is an unpronounceable name that most will find difficult to pronounce, let alone identify it as a Hydrocarbon Service, — the author of the article notes.
If you do not take into account the language barrier, then some questions are difficult even for native speakers.
“I tested this on several Cypriot colleagues and asked them if they knew the answers,” Natalia (name changed), who took the exam on July 4, told Cyprus Mail. — My Cypriot colleague answered the same number of questions correctly as me. He didn’t know the answers to the questions I didn’t know.
Another question from the exam list: “Which of the following peaks is not part of the Pentadaktylos mountain range: Papoutsa, Kantara, Kiparisovouno or Agios Illarionas? The correct answer is Daddy.
— The Cypriots know that the second and fourth peaks belong to the Pentadaktylos range. But almost everyone who is not a forester or an avid tourist will have to guess which of the other two. And what does all this have to do with the “political and social reality of Cyprus”?
Natalia grew up in Cyprus. According to her estimates, there were about five “very simple” questions — for example, “Which of these checkpoints is illegal?”, with three possible answers in the Republic of Cyprus and one in the occupied northern part of the island — and about 10 more questions, which “if you, like me, speak well If you speak Greek and have lived here long enough, you will know the answers.”
Thus, she was able to answer 15 questions correctly. In her opinion, she passed the exam with difficulty. Its results have not yet been announced.
“In fact, she did a little better thanks to a few lucky guesses,” said Theo Panayidis. — But why should the citizenship test be so difficult for people who have already demonstrated their devotion to Cyprus and overcome many other obstacles that even a long-time resident of the island has difficulty passing it?
That’s a big question. On the one hand, citizenship is the holy Grail, and proving a connection to the politics and culture of the island is extremely important. One of the bitter lessons of the scandal with the “golden” passports is the inadmissibility of granting citizenship solely on the basis of money to people who do not like Cyprus and do not want to stay here.
On the other hand, the goal should not be to trap people. The state must act honestly. Anyone who wants to become a Cypriot should know what all Cypriots know — and a thread on Reddit (in r/cyprus) two years ago indicates that at that time the cultural exam really tested this level of knowledge.
About 7,000 people took the language exam.
The issues listed in that long-standing thread on the Reddit platform are, in the opinion of the Cyprus Mail author, “elementary.”
“In which region is the Policy located?” — In Paphos.
“How many Cypriot MPs are there in the European Parliament?” — Six.
“When is Cyprus Independence Day celebrated?” — October 1.
Many of the questions from two years ago tested knowledge important for life in Cyprus. For example, the emergency contact number (112), the cost of a visit to a family doctor at GeSY (free of charge), or the maximum speed allowed on the highway (100 km/h).
“This is what people need to know if they want to become citizens,” the Cypriot journalist believes. — Is the cultural exam deliberately complicated for political reasons in order to reduce the number of successful candidates? And if that’s the case, can it be considered unfair? Not obligatory. After all, any country has the right to set its own criteria for obtaining citizenship.
It should be taken into account that the candidates themselves have become better prepared. At the moment, there are no official preparatory courses. But there is a private online application with a remarkable name Hallouminati, which helps to prepare for the exam.
The Cyprus Mail has contacted the Examination service of the Ministry of Education for comments, but has not received a response at the time of writing.
— Two things seem pretty unfair. First of all, the language of the questions in the cultural exam is much more difficult than Greek, which is expected in the language exam. It’s just contradictory and confusing. Secondly, it is based on, in fact, little—known issues, such as the peaks of the Pentadaktylos ridge or the Hydrocarbon Service,” admits Theo Panayidis.
Another question: “Is the house of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios in Nicosia now an art gallery, restaurant, craft center or museum?” The correct answer is a museum.
“It’s a bit insulting to treat potential citizens who have lived here for many years, fulfilled the conditions and, as a rule, are highly paid corporate employees with in—demand skills, as simple opportunists who can be caught and exposed,— the Cyprus Mail journalist believes.
Whether citizenship should be cherished as a precious stone reserved for the elite is another matter. But let’s say it’s worth it. Of course, the bar needs to be raised higher, but ask important questions that Cypriots need to know the answers to (even if they don’t know them). Ask about history, such as the execution of Cypriots, or about everyday rules such as the Rent control act. Even this may be too demanding. But it’s better than trying to trick people with cheap tricks.
https://evropakipr.com/istorii/ekzamen-na-znanie-realiy-kipra-dlya-polucheniya-grazhdanstva-okazalsya-slishkom-slozhnym
