The United Kingdom has added Northern Cyprus to its visa application system

A new option — “Northern Cyprus” — has appeared in the official visa system of the United Kingdom. Previously, applicants could choose only “Cyprus”, but now, when filling out the section “Your citizenship or nationality”, the option “Northern Cyprus” is available.

This means that citizens can now indicate their country directly when submitting visa applications to the United Kingdom.

The change caused a negative reaction in Greek media. Publications in the Republic of Cyprus stated that the update “raises questions” and may be seen as a “signal toward recognition” of Northern Cyprus.

As a reminder, in June of this year a draft bill on direct flights between the United Kingdom and TRNC was submitted to the UK Parliament. The initiative by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Sammy Wilson also drew strong criticism from the Greek Cypriot community at the time.