Visas and residency

You must register as a Cypriot resident if you plan to stay in Cyprus for more than 3 months.

You can apply for temporary residency status from the Ministry of the Interior, Civil Registry and Migration Department.

After living in Cyprus for more than 5 years, can apply for permanent residency status.

Additional support

UK nationals who are resident in Cyprus and need help to complete their residence application or registration, can get support from organisations funded by the UK Nationals Support Fund.

This support is only available to people who need additional help to secure their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. They may include pensioners, disabled people, people living in remote areas or people who have mobility difficulties. Support available includes:

• answering questions about residence applications, such as the documents you need and how the application process works
• guiding you through the process, if necessary
• support if you experience language barriers or difficulty accessing online information and services

If you, or someone you know, are having difficulty completing residence paperwork or have any questions, contact the organisation that covers the region where you, or they, live.

SSAFA: The Armed Forces Charity contact details:

• visit the SSAFA website

• hotline: 800 77058 (freephone), available Mon - Fri 09.00 - 17.30

• for UK-based enquiries call +44 (0) 800 193 0474

• email: ukvie.support@ssafa.org.uk

CRPG: 800 09009 (freephone)

hotline available contact details:

• hotline: 800 09009 (freephone), available Mon – Fri 09.00-13.00
• email: contactus@cyprus-crpg.org

Passports and travel

You should carry your residence document, as well as your valid passport when you travel. If you have applied but not yet received your document, carry your certificate of application.

If you have not yet applied for a residence document, you should carry evidence that you are resident in Cyprus. This could include a tenancy agreement or a utility bill in your name, dating from 2020.

If you cannot show that you are resident in Cyprus, you may be asked additional questions at the border to enter the Schengen area, and your passport may be stamped on entry and exit. This will not affect your rights in Cyprus.

Passports

You must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland). This requirement does not apply if you are entering or transiting to Cyprus, and you are in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement.

If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.

Renew your passport before booking your travel. if you do not have enough time left on your passport.

As a non-EEA national, different border checks will apply when travelling to other EU or Schengen area countries. You may have to use separate lanes from EU, EEA and Swiss citizens when queueing. You may also need to show a return or onward ticket.

If you’re travelling to the north of Cyprus, their administration advises that your passport should be valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry to the north.