Public services

Obstructed

48/100

Documented share of weighted sub-issues: 69%

Assessed under the published rubric (v1.0.0) — Methodology

Healthcare, driving, banking and post — public services whose documented access still turns on where a citizen lives.

What the bands mean

Delivered: 80–100
Partly delivered: 60–79
Obstructed: 40–59
Largely withheld: 20–39
Withheld: 0–19
Insufficiently documented: Insufficiently documented — no score

Healthcare

2 criteria · 2 documented

Access to GESY healthcare

Living in the north55/100Living in the south85/100

Living in the northObstructed55/100

Section 16 of the General Healthcare System Law lists citizen of the Republic among those who may be beneficiaries, then requires ordinary residence in the areas controlled by the Government — or in the Sovereign Base Areas. The Health Insurance Organisation's public guidance says the same. A Turkish Cypriot who is a citizen of the Republic and lives in the north is therefore outside GESY, because the system follows where the Republic administers it, not the reach of the citizenship the Republic issues. The Republic provides free care in public hospitals to Turkish Cypriots who establish Cypriot nationality, under a separate arrangement whose current figures and appeal route remain thin.¹²³⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, section 16; Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights

Sources for this criterion

1. General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amendedA — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus · 2001
2. General Healthcare System Law 89(I)/2001, section 16 — BeneficiariesA — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus · 2001-01-01
3. Who are the beneficiaries of GeSY?A — primary / documentary · Health Insurance Organisation · —
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original
The Republic provides free hospital care to Turkish Cypriot citizens as a matter of policy; GESY is a contributory insurance system and its residence condition applies without distinction between communities.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status partially addressedWeight 4/5Score 55

Living in the southDelivered85/100

A Turkish Cypriot who is a citizen of the Republic and lives in the government-controlled areas is eligible for GESY on the same terms as any other resident. No figure on take-up by this group has been published.¹⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amended; Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights

Sources for this criterion

1. General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amendedA — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus · 2001
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status partially addressedWeight 2/5Score 85

Legal basis of the free-treatment policy

Living in the northInsufficiently documented

The Republic provides free hospital care to Turkish Cypriot citizens outside GESY. A government service page for hospital identity cards is current, and an official index refers to Turkish Cypriot hospital identity cards dated 31 July 2013. The Presidency's 26 January 2024 measures for Turkish Cypriots sit beside this practice. The named statute or Council of Ministers decision that creates the entitlement, a current caseload, and an appeal route are still not retrieved as a series. A 2005 medical-journal figure could not be opened and is not used.⁴⁹¹⁰

Basis and sources

Legal anchor General Healthcare System Law N.89(I)/2001, as amended; the Republic's free hospital-care practice for Turkish Cypriot citizens (instrument unidentified in the register)

Sources for this criterion

4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24
9. Issuance of health/hospital identity card (government service page)A — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus · 2013-07-31
10. Announcement by the Presidency of the Republic on the set of measures for the Turkish CypriotsA — primary / documentary · Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus · 2024-01-26

Status undocumentedWeight 2/5Score Insufficiently documented — no score

Driving and vehicles

3 criteria · 2 documented

Licences and roadworthiness — facilitation

Living in the northDelivered85/100

The Republic of Cyprus makes roadworthiness certificates, authorisations and professional driving licences available to Turkish Cypriots free of charge, on application forms translated into Turkish. The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records the facilitation unchanged. No figure documents take-up.⁵⁶

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2006/126/EC on driving licences; Directive 2009/103/EC on motor insurance; Green Line Regulation (EC) No 866/2004

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30

Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original
Vehicles and drivers entering the government-controlled areas must meet EU roadworthiness, insurance and professional-competence standards, which cannot be certified by authorities in the north; the Republic accordingly offers its own certification free of charge and in Turkish.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status partially addressedWeight 2/5Score 85

Commercial vehicles and buses

Living in the northLargely withheld25/100

Turkish Cypriot commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes can cross into the government-controlled areas only with fully acquis-compliant documents issued by the Republic of Cyprus. Buses carrying EU citizens need the same fully compliant Republic-issued documents. The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records the issue as "yet to be solved"; the wording is unchanged across its reports.⁵⁶

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Green Line Regulation (EC) No 866/2004; Directive 2009/103/EC on motor insurance

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30

Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original
Vehicles and drivers entering the government-controlled areas must meet EU roadworthiness, insurance and professional-competence standards, which cannot be certified by authorities in the north; the Republic accordingly offers its own certification free of charge and in Turkish.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 25

Uptake of the certification facilitation

Living in the northInsufficiently documented

The only take-up figures located are in the Republic's own statement of July 2004: 839 ordinary driving licences issued or renewed and 72,476 temporary road-use licences in the first fourteen months after the crossing points opened. That is the duty-bearer's own figure, and it is two decades old. Nothing current is published.¹¹⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Green Line Regulation (EC) No 866/2004; Directive 2006/126/EC; the facilitation arrangements recorded in COM(2024) 265 final

Sources for this criterion

11. RoC UN Mission statement on movement measures for Turkish Cypriot vehicles (2004 uptake figures)A — primary / documentary · Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations · 2004-07-30
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status undocumentedWeight 2/5Score Insufficiently documented — no score

Banking

4 criteria · 3 documented

Opening a payment account

Living in the north40/100Living in the south—

Living in the northObstructed40/100

The Central Bank of Cyprus stated by circular of 26 April 2023 that Turkish Cypriots holding Republic of Cyprus passports or identity cards are entitled to open a payment account with basic features, provided customer due diligence is satisfied. The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records that Turkish Cypriots continued to report difficulties and that "a very limited number" have been able to open accounts. The same report names restrictions imposed by the Turkish Central Bank on Turkish banks cooperating with banks in the Republic as a further obstacle.⁸⁵⁶

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU (Payment Accounts Directive); Central Bank of Cyprus circular of 26 April 2023

Sources for this criterion

8. Central Bank of Cyprus circular letter to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, 26 April 2023A — primary / documentary · Central Bank of Cyprus · 2023-04-26
5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30

Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original
The Central Bank circular of 26 April 2023 states the legal position and binds credit institutions; the Republic told the Commission it is "working towards the facilitation of opening bank accounts to Turkish Cypriot traders". Individual refusals are attributed to bank-level customer due diligence rather than policy.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status stalled / partially addressedWeight 3/5Score 40

Living in the southInsufficiently documented

No record, complaint or survey isolating the account access of Turkish Cypriots resident in the government-controlled areas has been located. The gap itself is the finding: whether this group can open and use payment accounts on the same terms as other residents is not documented.⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU (Payment Accounts Directive)

Sources for this criterion

4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status undocumentedWeight 2/5Score Insufficiently documented — no score

Transfers across the Line

Living in the northObstructed40/100

The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records that funds still cannot be transferred between banks in the government-controlled areas and banks in the north, and that this continued to hamper Green Line trade. The same report names restrictions imposed by the Turkish Central Bank on Turkish banks cooperating with banks in the Republic as a further complication.⁵⁶

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU; Green Line Regulation (EC) No 866/2004

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 40

Business accounts

Living in the northWithheld10/100

The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records that Turkish Cypriot businesses were still unable to open bank accounts in the government-controlled areas — unchanged from earlier reports. The Central Bank circular of 26 April 2023 addresses individuals holding Republic of Cyprus passports or identity cards.⁵⁶⁸

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU; Central Bank of Cyprus circular of 26 April 2023

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30
8. Central Bank of Cyprus circular letter to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, 26 April 2023A — primary / documentary · Central Bank of Cyprus · 2023-04-26

Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original
The Republic told the Commission it is "working towards the facilitation of opening bank accounts to Turkish Cypriot traders". Individual refusals are attributed to bank-level customer due diligence rather than policy.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 10

Enforcement of the payment-account entitlement

Living in the northInsufficiently documented

The Central Bank's circular of 26 April 2023 states the entitlement. The financial ombudsman's aggregate figures for 2024 count 13 complaints about opening or closing basic accounts, but they are not broken down by community. No supervisory measure against a refusing bank has been identified.⁵¹²⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU (Payment Accounts Directive) and its Cypriot implementing legislation; Central Bank of Cyprus circular of 26 April 2023

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
12. Central Bank/financial ombudsman complaint figures for 2024 (aggregate, not community-disaggregated)C — testimonial · Cyprus Mail · 2025-05-12
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status undocumentedWeight 2/5Score Insufficiently documented — no score

Telecoms and post

2 criteria · 1 documented

Mobile roaming

Living in the northPartly delivered70/100

Cross-Line mobile interconnection has operated since 11 July 2019, with CyTA and Epic named as the operators on the government-controlled side. A rate of EUR 0.29 per minute was reported at launch. Roaming charges still apply: the north sits outside the EU roaming regulation.⁵⁷⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Regulation (EU) 2022/612 (roaming); Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights

Sources for this criterion

5. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
7. Cross-Line mobile interconnection established, 11 July 2019C — testimonial · Cyprus Mail · 2019-07-11
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status partially addressed / undocumentedWeight 2/5Score 70

Postal services across the Line

Living in the northInsufficiently documented

The newest Green Line report, covering 2025, contains no postal section. Cyprus Post's own published material is silent on the north. What happens to mail addressed to the north is not established by any source that could be opened.⁶⁴

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Universal Postal Convention; Green Line Regulation (EC) No 866/2004

Sources for this criterion

6. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30
4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status undocumentedWeight 2/5Score Insufficiently documented — no score

General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amendedA — primary / documentaryRepublic of Cyprus · 2001The Republic of Cyprus's General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amended.General Healthcare System Law, N.89(I)/2001, as amended
General Healthcare System Law 89(I)/2001, section 16 — BeneficiariesA — primary / documentaryRepublic of Cyprus · 2001-01-01Section 16 ("Beneficiaries") of the General Healthcare System Law 89(I)/2001.Law 89(I)/2001 s.16, consolidated (ordinary residence in the government-controlled areas; citizen of the Republic is a listed status)https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/ind/2001_1_89/section-sc28bc6731-844e-79c2-7b7b-9b70be8968d4.html
Who are the beneficiaries of GeSY?A — primary / documentaryHealth Insurance Organisation · —The Health Insurance Organisation's public guidance page "Who are the beneficiaries of GeSY?"HIO public eligibility guidance (ordinary residence in the government-controlled areas or the Sovereign Base Areas)https://www.gesy.org.cy/el-gr/hiobeneficiaryeligiblility
Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open sourceCyprus Rights · 2026-08-24Cyprus Rights' own internal reference corpus of registers tracking Turkish Cypriot rights issues and the applicable legal framework.Cyprus Rights reference corpus, compiled 24 August 2026: internal/reference/rights-issue-register-turkish-cypriot.md and internal/reference/legal-framework-register.md. Cited for duty-bearer positions as the registers record them and for documentation-gap statements; each register entry carries its own underlying sources
Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentaryEuropean Commission · 2024-07-04The European Commission's twentieth annual report on implementation of the Green Line Regulation, covering 2023.COM(2024) 265 final, Brussels, 4 July 2024https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/6d75c643-ca97-44ff-a2d0-7d452a729423_en?filename=COM_2024_265_1_EN_ACT_part1_v3_0.pdf
Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentaryEuropean Commission · 2026-06-30The European Commission's twenty-second annual report to the Council on implementation of the Green Line Regulation, COM(2026) 324 final.Twenty-second report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, COM(2026) 324 final, 30 June 2026, covering 1 January-31 December 2025https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7e0f3950-fcfa-49a1-913c-fe6ce245141f_en?filename=COM_2026_324_1_EN_ACT_part1_v4.pdf
Cross-Line mobile interconnection established, 11 July 2019C — testimonialCyprus Mail · 2019-07-11A Cyprus Mail news report on the establishment of a cross-Line mobile phone interconnection between the two sides of Cyprus.Cyprus Mail, 11 July 2019 — first call over the cross-Line mobile arrangement; south-side operators named (CyTA, Epic); roaming rate EUR 0.29/min reportedhttps://archive.cyprus-mail.com/2019/07/11/mobile-phone-links-established-between-two-sides/
Central Bank of Cyprus circular letter to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, 26 April 2023A — primary / documentaryCentral Bank of Cyprus · 2023-04-26A circular letter from the Central Bank of Cyprus to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, dated 26 April 2023.Central Bank of Cyprus, circular letter of 26 April 2023 to all credit institutions, on the laws on comparability of fees, payment account switching and access to payment accounts with basic featureshttps://www.centralbank.cy/en/licensing-supervision/financial-conduct/directive-on-the-comparability-of-fees-related-to-payment-accounts-payment-account-switching-and-access-to-payment-accounts-with-basic-features
Issuance of health/hospital identity card (government service page)A — primary / documentaryRepublic of Cyprus · 2013-07-31A gov.cy government service page for the issuance of health/hospital identity cards, dated 31 July 2013.Service page for hospital identity cards; related index refers to Turkish Cypriot hospital identity cards of 31 July 2013https://www.gov.cy/service/ekdosi-taftotitas-kartas-nosileias/
Announcement by the Presidency of the Republic on the set of measures for the Turkish CypriotsA — primary / documentaryPresidency of the Republic of Cyprus · 2024-01-26An announcement by the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus on a set of measures for the Turkish Cypriots, dated 26 January 2024.Fourteen unilateral measures, 26 January 2024, including examination of pending citizenship applications within the February 2007 Council of Ministers frameworkhttps://www.gov.cy/en/commissioners/announcement-by-the-presidency-of-the-republic-on-the-set-of-measures-for-the-turkish-cypriots/
RoC UN Mission statement on movement measures for Turkish Cypriot vehicles (2004 uptake figures)A — primary / documentaryPermanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations · 2004-07-30An official statement by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations on movement measures for Turkish Cypriot vehicles.Official RoC statement, 30 July 2004 — the duty-bearer's own figures for April 2003-June 2004: 839 ordinary driving licences issued or renewed; 72,476 temporary road-use licences; a stated position and historical baseline, not a current figurehttps://www.cyprusun.org/?p=890
Central Bank/financial ombudsman complaint figures for 2024 (aggregate, not community-disaggregated)C — testimonialCyprus Mail · 2025-05-12A Cyprus Mail news report on 2024 bank-customer complaint statistics from the Central Bank/financial ombudsman.Cyprus Mail, 12 May 2025 — 2024 complaint statistics: 13 complaints (8%) on opening/termination of basic accounts (31 in 2023); aggregate figures with no community breakdownhttps://cyprus-mail.com/2025/05/12/loan-issues-dominate-cyprus-bank-client-complaints-in-2024