Cyprus-Forum.com

by **Marinella** » Sat May 21, 2005 9:35 am

Leon wrote:Well I don't fancy doing military service, put it that way.

Do you think I should apply for Cypriot/dual citizenship AFTER the time in which I would be required to do a military service if I was already a Cypriot citizen.

LOL

What a scenario - your father is Cypriot, but his name isn't on your birth certificate - very odd and could prove difficult for you with regards to getting your dual citizenship.

Even if you do get your Cypriot citizenship, you want to put off coming here until you are 100 to avoid the required National Service.

Best thing is to shit-can the idea and make use of the fact that you can already live and work here legally.

by **andytandreou** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:08 pm

OMG LEON!! Why do you want to become a Cypriot citizen for? There are 450 million Europeans (including you) who can have a life in Cyprus just like any other Cypriot, work freely, buy property, get benefits and THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO THE ARMY!!! Basically THE ONLY THING that would change by becoming a Cypriot citizen is that you would be required to do the army...!!!

Put another way:

Europeans = Cypriots excluded from the army.

Cypriots = Europeans with compulsory army duty

Having said what I've said above I must tell you that changing your birth certificate would be a bad idea right now. You can come to Cyprus freely and nobody will ever require anything of you, unless you make the stupid move and say your father is Cypriot.

For the future: army will probably be cancelled in Cyprus and you can do what you like when you like.

In the not-too-distant Future: Cyprus will sign the "Senchen" agreement (currently only including the original 15 members of Europe) and will not be able to require ANY TRAVEL DOCUMENT OR PLACE ANY TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS from a citizen of the senchen area, which basically means that Cyprus better cancell the army soon or else there will be no way to stop citizens from leaving the country and dodging their army service.

PS. Please do not let us fill your head with propaganda... the army is a great place to make friends and the men of Cyprus are better people because of it. It could be one of the reasons Cypriots are so friendly (since they are all army buddies). OH, and you mostly sit around doing nothing and talk on your phone.

by **cannedmoose** » Sat May 21, 2005 3:18 pm

andytandreou wrote:PS. Please do not let us fill your head with propaganda... the army is a great place to make friends and the men of Cyprus are better people because of it. It could be one of the reasons Cypriots are so friendly (since they are all army buddies). OH, and you mostly sit around doing nothing and talk on your phone.

Andy, just to correct you, it's the 'Schengen' agreement... no offence.

As for your above statement, I wholly agree with you. I think it's one reason why Cypriot society remains generally cohesive. I can't imagine a woman being assaulted in the street and Cypriot guys just looking and walking past, they have largely been instilled with the belief that it is their duty to look out for their fellow citizens. Of course, there are some bad apples, but they exist in any society.

Whilst I'm no fan of military service in purely military terms... I think in the modern world, citizen-soldiers are largely an anachronism and a waste of military resources, but in terms of what it contributes to society, I'm all for it. It's just a shame we don't still have it in the UK, it might knock some sense into today's younger generation who generally seem to be completely lacking in respect for other people and don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.

My only disagreement with the Cypriot system is the length of service, 26 months is too long - it's one of the longest in the world, IMHO it should be reduced to 12 or 18 months maximum. If, one day I go for Cypriot citizenship in addition to my own UK citizenship, I would be happy to do the 6 months requirement.

by **Leon** » Thu May 26, 2005 5:52 pm

Andy, I want to become a Cypriot citizen simply because I'm half Cypriot. It's my origin, it's where I come from, it's who I am :wink:

.

If the compulsary military service is cancelled, then I'll be straight in there getting dual citizenship

.

cannedmoose, you live in Loughborough; I live in Coalville, so I'm right near you. Also, out of interest, do you have children

?

Leon

by **brother** » Thu May 26, 2005 5:56 pm

Marinella careful with this one, i believe Leon is only 14 years old. :wink:

by **cannedmoose** » Thu May 26, 2005 5:58 pm

Leon wrote:cannedmoose, you live in Loughborough; I live in Coalville, so I'm right near you. Also, out of interest, do you have children ?

Leon

I know, just down the road eh... small world. No, I don't have kids yet, 3 or 4 years away (god willing). But since their mum will be Cypriot and we plan to move back in a few years time, any boys will have to do the army (if it's still required in 20-odd years time). Personally, in terms of character-building I view it as a positive experience.

However, in military terms alone, it makes no sense for Cyprus to have the National Guard, it's simply a waste of young men's time and a waste of state resources that would be better spent on a small, highly effective professional army. If the money was used on equipping a 5,000 man/woman force with top-notch equipment, it would be far more useful and potentially effective than having to conscript, equip and train thousands of rookies every year.

Anyway, that's enough railing against the system...