i believe you apply, and then you get one. there is no set period of stay in the roc in order to get one. and once you get one you can continue to live in the north. many uni students, tcs, applied for their citizenship rights, got a passport and moved to london to study. i also believe dektashes grand kids are holders of roc passports. the traitors
this is done as to separate the illegals from the true cypriots.
what the north is asking is not the same. you are a foreigner even if you live there until you apply for citizenship. this means you cannot live in the south and be classified as a citizen in the north.
but why am i telling you all these, you already know it?