Starting November 2025, prepaid SIM card holders in Cyprus will be required to undergo identification

Starting from November 2025, tens of thousands of prepaid SIM card holders may lose their numbers if they do not complete mandatory identification. This was announced during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, where new regulations were being discussed. Committee chairman Marinos Mousiouttas warned mobile operators: if they fail to identify subscribers, they risk losing customers.

According to the operators, very few users have been identified so far: Cyta — 17%, Epic — less than 5%, Primetel has just started the process, and Cablenet — about 4%. There are 417,631 registered prepaid cards in Cyprus, half of which belong to Cyta customers. Only 4% of adults use prepaid SIM cards, as most prefer contract plans with unlimited services.

The total number of contract subscribers exceeds 1.5 million, while the population is 923,000, indicating that individuals often have multiple SIM cards. Prepaid cards are commonly used by youth, migrant workers, tourists, and alarm systems.

The government believes the new rules will help combat crime. Providing false information may result in fines of up to €50,000 or up to 5 years in prison. Minors will be able to obtain a SIM card only when accompanied by their parents. All user data must be processed in accordance with the European GDPR regulation.