Same-sex and heterosexual couples are officially married by the State with abbreviated procedures, without the need to perform a religious or civil marriage and with expenses that do not exceed €200. All they have to do is make an appointment at the relevant District Administration
Political symbiosis shows an increasing trend in Cyprus. That is, the agreement of two adults, regardless of their gender, by which they organize their cohabitation so that they are officially considered a couple and husband and wife. With abbreviated procedures and with costs not exceeding €200, one can legally bind his/her partner and be officially considered husband and wife by the State without having to perform a religious or civil marriage. It is enough for them to make an appointment at the relevant District Administration and for the cohabitation agreement to be signed in front of the relevant district. Entering into a civil partnership has the same effects and consequences as if a marriage had taken place.
A person is prohibited by law from entering into a cohabitation agreement if he has not reached the age of 18 or is incapable at the time of entering into the civil partnership to perceive and appreciate his act due to a mental or mental disorder or deficiency or due to a cerebral or other condition or illness or due to dependence on addictive substances or due to mental health problems. It is also forbidden to enter into a cohabitation agreement between blood relatives up to the 3rd degree of consanguinity.
The cohabitation agreement is offered to same-sex couples in order to regulate their property and inheritance rights. However, official figures provided to us by the Home Office reveal that most civil partnership agreements were made by heterosexual couples. The tables we publish from 2016, when the cohabitation pact was instituted until the end of 2023, are sufficiently enlightening.
The process
Persons intending to enter into a civil partnership appear in person before the prefect of the province in which one of them resides, or in case they do not reside permanently in the Republic, of the province of their choice, and submit the civil partnership form, duly completed and signed by them , which can be printed from the website of the Department of Population and Immigration Records. In addition to the completed form, interested persons should also present the following documents:
* Valid and valid identity card or passport or other equivalent travel document.
* Affidavit that they have not entered into a valid marriage or civil partnership.
*Duly certified original or copy of certificate of freedom issued within a period of time not exceeding three months prior to the submission of the form for civil cohabitation. Citizens of an EU member state other than the Republic who intend to enter into civil cohabitation with each other and nationals of a third country who enter the Republic for tourist purposes to enter into civil cohabitation with each other are exempt from the obligation to present an official certificate or certificate of freedom.
Based on the existing legislation, the competent authorities of the Republic may, for the purposes of checking the authenticity of the intended civil partnership, conduct a personal interview and investigation with each of the persons who intend to enter into a civil partnership.
The prefect, after being satisfied with the documents to be submitted, invites the persons intending to enter into a civil partnership to make a statement in front of him that they agree to enter into a civil partnership, reads the declaration to them and signs the civil partnership form. In the presence of the persons intending to enter into a civil partnership and the prefecture, the civil partnership form is signed by two witnesses who have reached the age of 18 and are of sound mind. The presence of other persons in the process may be allowed after consultation with the relevant District Administration. However, the process cannot be conducted in a way that adversely affects the proper functioning of the public service.
After the prescribed fee is paid, the prefecture issues the certificate of civil partnership in three duly authenticated copies and registers the original signed certificate of civil partnership in the register of the Provincial Administration. In case the parties or one of them is a citizen of a country that has an embassy or consulate in the Republic, the prefecture sends a certified copy of the civil partnership certificate to the embassy or consulate of that country.
Civil cohabitation solution
As it is easy to draw up, it is just as easy to annul the cohabitation agreement, without, in fact, requiring a divorce. In particular, the solution of a civil partnership is achieved in the following ways:
*With a written joint declaration of the spouses which is made in person in the presence of the prefect before whom the civil partnership has been concluded and at least two witnesses who have reached the age of 18 and are of sound mind. Witnesses show a passport/identity card or any other personal document that can be used as a means of identifying their details and age.
*By decree of the court of the province in which it has been concluded at the request of one of the partners and served on the other partner.
* Automatically, in the event that a marriage is concluded between the partners.
*With the death of one of the symbiotes or both symbiotes.
what does it cost
The fees provided for by the Law on Civil Cohabitation are as follows:
– Conclusion of a cohabitation policy – €90
– Additional certificate issue – €15
– Issuing a certificate of freedom (per person) – €34.17