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Yes they are about to shorten the time period criteria for permanent residency

Interesting update, thanks. We got temp residency in April 2024. Noone told us it was for more than 12 months, so we went to renew for this April, only to be told that our permits had been extended until end December 2025. No problem or so we thought. We have used up our 90 days allowance to be off the island in the year since April 2024 and we're expecting a new 90 days to start. But as they had extended the visa we asked for prorata days but they have refused saying they will not give any more days so we are stuck here until January 2026. Massive problem as my daughter is getting married in the UK and we have a new grand-child arriving in August. How many days were you given? Many thanks!

Hi Toon, any idea when this will actually come in? Also We applied for Cat F in December 2023 and we heard some time ago that they started to process applications from 2019...any idea where they maybe up to now. I can't get any info from immigration. Thanks

What time period should you start your renewal for permanent resendancy  and what is the procedure a form ?

@tonyjphilip59

Sorry Tony I have no idea as they seem to be in a mess of their own making.

I know the new legislation is in the making now so it may be some time before it hits the streets.. I published the details I have in an earlier thread in the last week or so

@jonathonkennard

There are changes coming to the permanent residency ..again it's in an earlier post.

From Solicitors yesterday - They have, however, started to examine applications submitted a few years ago for category F they are currently reviewing application applications that were submitted in 2018

Point of clarification

Citizenship is different from permanent and temporary residency (all have different criteria)

Hi Toon,

We’ve just applied for our first TCN Temp Residency renewal and told we may be given 18 months.

I had a look at the Long Term official guidance for when we hit 5 years and found a tick list of what’s required.  This includes:-

LONG TERM RESIDENCE PERMIT

‘Certificate of knowledge of the Greek language (level A2) for foreigners, from the Ministry of Education. Certificate of basic knowledge of Greek language AND Certificate of Cyprus political and social reality.’

Am I correct in thinking the LONG TERM RESIDENCE PERMIT is for when we’ve exhausted the Temp Residence route?

We haven’t submitted a CAT F application due to the massive backlog etc.

Thanking you in advance.

Having looked at this ..the 90 days absence ..is only applicable of it's continuous..if your absences are not continuous you should be ok.

Long term residency is a different path, terms and criteria to permanent residency. They are not the same....

Further, I believe  that PR is set to change to 3yrs legit residency rather than 5yrs...new legislation due just don't know when

@Toon

Apologies, I find it all so confusing. 

So after 5 years Temp Residence (based on our pension income) should we apply for Permanent Residence rather than Long Term?

Just read your reply - 3 years would be great but appreciate nothing happens quickly.

It doesn’t help when researching the official website I keep receiving Error 404 pages :-(

@magc3257 are you using the new website (confusing as both are active)

@Toon

Thanks Toon - and for your message regarding the 90 days.

@telf - many thanks for the link, much appreciated.

@tonyjphilip59

you could always fly from Ercan airport and back that way. You would not be seen to have left the country so long as you ask them not to stamp your passport

@pete21

Will they do that though ... If asked ...

Best not to test it...

@tonyjphilip59

it is no problem at all. Not an issue

Hello all.

Have been living here since 2021 with a temporary residency permit - Visitor, and submitted most recent renewal in April.

Received a nice leter from the Immigration Department in Nicosia stating that my application requires more information regarding my financial status - both "sufficient" funds in the Cyprus account and evidence of funds abroad to support living here, etc.

No biggie, except that the letter stated that I had 15 days to provide this evidence or the application would be rejected, and the letter arrived in my mailbox on day 15.

I sent a whack of support material to the e-mail address on the letter over the weekend, but since it is impossible to call and follow up, I fully expect to receive the rejection letter in the next 2 weeks (we live in a small village with no formal post office, and the local "postie" only delivers mail in Saturdays.)

Big Question: What happens to my status during the rejection period before I can appeal or re-apply?

Immigration website only says I will receive a letter and reason for rejection, but not the consequences of my continued presence here.

Do I need to leave the island and re-enter as a tourist? (Am a Third country National which doesn't need a visa to visit no more than 90 days in 180)

Am I automatically granted a 90 day tourist visa in order to appeal or re-apply?

I have been  here more than 90 days since the renewal, so will that count towards the 90 in 80 rule and get me barred from re-entry when I am scheduled to leave the island in a few weeks for a family visit, but won't be out more than 90 days to reset the clock?

none of the immigration law websites even touch this topic, so I'm hoping fellow expats can provide some guidance here.

Hello again.

After reading these posts, I have a few more little questions about the residency permits.

Is there a limit to the number of times you can renew a temporary residence (Visitor) permit?

I made my first application for temp residency in 2021, and thus have been temp resident for 4 years+ Some posts seem to indicate a 5 year limit, and then permanent residency has to be applied for. I am aware of the LongTerm Resident-EU permit, as our children received this after 5 years when we were living / working in mainland europe, so I understand what that involves.

Any guesses if our most recent renewal (assuming it is succesful) will be valid for 18 months?

we renewed in April, 2025.

Any guesses on how long the Cat F Permanent processing time is if we submitted that application now?

We didn't bother to apply after we bought the house (re-sale, does not qualified for Fast Track) since nothing has been done with them since 2018/19.

Was pleased to see that the Cat F process is moving, but not overly optimistic it will be a solution if there is a limit to the number of years you can be temporary.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

At 5 years completed of temporary residency you have the obligation and right to apply for permanent residency with all the financial evidence of living expenses here in addition to proving sufficient regular income to support yourself

As for being over the limit on days in your case and there are mitigating circumstances beyond your control I don't think the dept are too strict on that.. just keep.all the evidence  to prove what has happened.

Thank you for the response.

When you say "obligation" to apply for permanent residency (which in this case I assume means Long Term residency - EU permit), does that mean that I can not apply for another Temporary Residency Permit after my 5 years here are up next year?

Kind of makes a mockery of the 10 year validity of the Bank Guarantee then.

No Long Term Residency is a different route and has different criteria to that of Permanent Residency..

At completion of 5 years legit temporary residency you are obligated to apply for PR.. You may have good  valid reasons not to do so ... But why would you want to continue on a temporary basis when with PR is cheaper as it's a one off for a 10 year permit and you can legally join and benefit from GESY.

There used to be but with the many and often change I don't know at the moment if that rule still exists as there was a hefty liability to a €2500 financial penalty if you didn't do so.

That may have changed. So it might be advisable to check that

Just noted on your profile you are French and thus an EU national so probably would not be followed up on.  Many EU nationals haven't bothered to go down the change from temporary MEU1 to permanent MEU3 route and still use their MEU1 daily.. it doesn't seem to be enforced... And I know for sure that the obligation to go to PR rule existed even when UK were in the EU as full members and did apply but I suspect was never followed up. I certainly do not recall anyone being penalised.

However when you do renew you are likely to be forced down the line of MEU3 route with biometric card..plus if you have only complete the MEU1 FORM renewal and should have completed the MEU3 FORM then delays and failed appointment may ensue. So be aware and ask these questions at the official dept ...

Remember things change, rules change as do the people who conduct your appointment and what might be accepted by one may not be accepted by another..  WELCOME TO CYPRUS

Not an EU National. Am Third Country National. ½ûÂþÌìÌà System automagically  put France as my country when I signed up since I had my VPN set to France so I could watch the Tour de France. Didn't see it apparently.

We are familiar with the Long-Term  (EU) vs Permanent Residency, but the term Permanent gets gets used as the catch all term in many places. Thanks for clarifying that you actually do mean Permanent Residency.

Which to me is Cat F and Fast Track (300k EUR in some sort of qualifying investment)

We contemplated Permanent Residency when we bought our home here, but never submitted the application for the obvious reason that the Cat F applications were collecting dust in Nicosia since 2018.

that might change now that the dust has settled, so to speak, but the new caveats on the Cat F according to a Cyprus immigration Legal firm state that it can be revoked if you have Permanent Residency elsewhere.

Looked at the new various fast track options last year, but balked at most of them, not so much the amount required as we spent that on our resale house, but the quality of the investments were less than ideal.

Most of the eligible houses we looked at over the past 4 years were, to put it politely, "crap-tastic".

Didn't want to buy Commercial Real Estate (which is also crap-tastic in terms of construction) and be a slum lord.

Wasn't going to start a business and hire 5 people to sit around and do nothing while I justified my permanent existence here, and I could not get a straight answer from anybody as to what constituted a "qualifying" investment for that option.

Is the short answer as to why we would continue on a temporary basis.

This is the first I have heard of the OBLIGATION to become Permanent after 5 years of temp-ing.

Any chance you can point me in the direction of where that is written on the Immigration website?

You wouldnt have qualified for fast track PR on a purchase of a resale anyway as it's new builds only.. unless of course you contracted a dodgy lawyer with contacts  ..lol they do exist and are slowly but surely being weeded out  which might put into question any of their less than perfect applications...

As mentioned in my editted response earlier you may well find as a TCN they push you down the PR route.. they don't seem to have enforced it on EU nationals so far anyway

Thanks.

The whole "must be a PR" has never been mentioned by immigration.

Guess I'll go into Limassol and try my luck at the counter to get useful information.

Not accurate, but hopefully useful.

@notlost-justlookingaround

Feel free to share what you find out ..we all know how difficult it is to find accurate real time day to day information...and it constantly changes

    <---SNIP--->

Just noted on your profile you are French and thus an EU national so probably would not be followed up on. Many EU nationals haven't bothered to go down the change from temporary MEU1 to permanent MEU3 route and still use their MEU1 daily.. it doesn't seem to be enforced... And I know for sure that the obligation to go to PR rule existed even when UK were in the EU as full members and did apply but I suspect was never followed up. I certainly do not recall anyone being penalised.

<---SNIP--->

First time I've even seen any Residency visa requirement at all for EU Nationals - thought that EU Nationals had the right to live/work in any EU state unrestricted..... 😱

@shotokan101

AS LONG AS THEY CAN PROVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO LIVE AND WORK HERE...ONE MUST BE LEGALLY RESIDENT TO LEGALLY WORK HERE

Even EU nationals must apply for residency for stays  beyond 90 days and must be a resident to be able to work legally... No residency means you are not legal.to work here ... And employers have every right to demand the evidence...

Labour dept do check on workplaces to ensure non cypriot workers are legally here and are legal to work

This has always been the case even when UK was in the EU