Cyprus begins issuing residence permits to Belarusians with expired passports

Cyprus has been granting and renewing residence permits to Belarusian citizens holding expired passports since May 2026, according to the office of the country's deputy migration minister, which shared the information with RFE/RL's Belarusian service, Radio Svaboda.

The policy also covers children born in Cyprus to Belarusian parents who are unable to obtain Belarusian passports for them. Such children can receive a residence permit based on their Cypriot birth certificate, as long as both parents hold Belarusian citizenship.

Officials in the deputy minister's office said they could not confirm whether time spent in Cyprus under a residence permit issued on the basis of an expired passport would count toward the residency period required for Cypriot citizenship, directing that question to the Interior Ministry, which oversees naturalization.

Travel remains difficult

Radio Svaboda pointed out that the new rule does not resolve a key issue: a Cypriot residence permit is not a substitute for a passport or other travel document, so it does not by itself help Belarusians with expired passports leave the country.

Since September 2023, Belarusian embassies and consulates abroad have stopped issuing new passports and renewing existing ones. Anyone needing a new or renewed passport must now travel to Belarus, a step that can expose government critics and emigrants to the risk of criminal prosecution.

This has created serious complications for Belarusians living abroad. In one instance, a bank in Poland refused to open an account for opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya because her Belarusian passport had expired. By contrast, some countries, including Spain, continue to recognize Belarusian passports even after they have expired.