Ministry of Interior grants citizens choice regarding parents' names on biometric ID cards

The Cypriot Ministry of Interior has announced that citizens will soon be able to choose whether or not to include their parents' names on their new biometric identity cards. This decision follows significant feedback and concerns raised by members of the public and political parties after the initial policy was announced on July 31, 2026.

In response to these objections, the Population Archive Department has been working with the contractor to implement the necessary technical adjustments to the ID issuance system. The Minister of Interior was informed in mid-September that the upgrade process is already underway. Technical modifications are expected to be fully completed by the end of November 2026.

Once the system is updated, individuals will have the flexibility to exercise this choice during the application process. Furthermore, the Ministry has confirmed that those who have already received their new IDs without their parents' names will have the opportunity to update their documents to include this information if they so desire after the system adjustments are finished.