Cypriot citizenship status of photographer Bora Markovic

Serbian-born photographer and content creator Bora Markovic has lived on Cyprus for approximately 30 years, arriving on the island at the age of ten in the 1990s. Despite his long-term residency and work promoting the island's natural beauty, his applications for Cypriot citizenship have been repeatedly denied. AKEL MP Christos Christofides recently raised the issue with Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, citing a bureaucratic gap in Markovic's residency documentation from his time as a minor during the 1990s as the primary obstacle. Christofides urged the government to consider granting citizenship by exception based on humanitarian, symbolic, and public interest grounds. Minister Ioannou confirmed that Markovic's most recent application, submitted on November 28, 2019, was formally rejected on May 3, 2023. The minister stated that there is currently no active application from the photographer under consideration. Ioannou noted that the ministry cannot take further action at this time but indicated that a new application would be reviewed if it complies with current legal requirements and criteria.