Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

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mike strand2
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Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by mike strand2 »

My friend has an appointment for 10am today. Got ticket number 45 from Reception. Sat for 15 mins with no movement of people. Person next to my friend had No.10 so we went out for a coffee, coming back 75mins later. No.10 still sitting waiting patiently! Lady next to us said she was No.7 & had been there from 7:15am waiting for gate to open. Apparently agents were going in with numerous clients. I queried with Reception why the agents seemed to have preference? His answer was they didn't take a number, though in his opinion, they ought to! Is there something fishy here?

Will not go back until the New Year.
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Dominic
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Dominic »

I am seriously thinking of banning reference to agencies, as it is probably making the situation worse.
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mike strand2
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by mike strand2 »

Dominic wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 3:16 pm I am seriously thinking of banning reference to agencies, as it is probably making the situation worse.
They need shaming Dominic.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Varky »

mike strand2 wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:56 pm My friend has an appointment for 10am today. Got ticket number 45 from Reception. Sat for 15 mins with no movement of people. Person next to my friend had No.10 so we went out for a coffee, coming back 75mins later. No.10 still sitting waiting patiently! Lady next to us said she was No.7 & had been there from 7:15am waiting for gate to open. Apparently agents were going in with numerous clients. I queried with Reception why the agents seemed to have preference? His answer was they didn't take a number, though in his opinion, they ought to! Is there something fishy here?
Will not go back until the New Year.
My wife and I were also there today to start the MEU3 process. We arrived at 07.45 after having an appointment obtained 6 days previously and being advised to arrive at 08.30. We got ticket no.29. Tickets 01 to 05 went into the inner sanctum 'relatively' quickly, but then a series of agents arrived who went into the inner office and took their many clients into the inner office, calling them from nearby coffee shops as and when they had dealt with the paperwork in the inner office hidden from view. At 10.30 the number had reached 06. The gentleman holding ticket 07 only wanted to restart his registration process as the necessary tickets had been lost in the post. At this time I went to the registration desk and found out that the office closed at 14.00hrs and that any unseen 'clients' would be sent away and told to come back the next day and start the process all over again.
It was then apparent that we stood no chance of being seen before close of play we decided to give up and go do something productive lke shopping :lol: .I gave my ticket to a local gentleman who had a higher ticket number and wished him luck.

As the Cypriot authorities have previously announced that they will be accepting registrations up until the end of 2020, I will postpone any further visits to that organisation until sometime next year. I have better things to do with my time, like contemplating my navel.

If other people on this forum wish to use agencies, that is their prerogative and good luck to them, but surely this goes against the British grain of not queue jumping.
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MacManiac
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by MacManiac »

This is a potential “hot potato” issue as I found out yesterday when the thread I started was locked by Dominic as he felt the agency I had mentioned was getting enough free advertising on this site. It is his forum and he has the right to do this.

But ... I always felt that forums existed to share information and helpful advice about all the issues arising from living in Cyprus, and this immigration process throws up all sorts of questions. We have made a couple of visits to Immigration and (no matter the time) it would have been unlikely we would have been seen on the day.

Yesterday we were advised to meet our agent at 07.30 at the immigration offices. By this time the queue had stretched out of the full office, around the corner and down the stairs. We went into the office area where a very kind gentleman noticed my wife had a walking stick and was unsteady on her feet, and immediately offered her his seat. If this had not happened we would not have been able to stay.

As I explained in the other thread three of the four people who dealt with immigration were on sick leave. As we had travelled for an hour to get there, it was agreed that we would be seen. A number 8 ticket was procured and we were ushered into the office and the deed was done. There were software problems on the computer, and the camera was proving reluctant to take a good photograph.

The staff were cheerful and friendly (although not so to the pregnant African lady who was also in the room). At the end of the process we reviewed our decision to use an agent. Without help my wife would not have lasted the course and for this alone we happily paid for the services of the agent. Of course it is slightly immoral but, in our case, needed to be done.

If you were one of the many people who queued to be seen, and weren’t seen on the day, then you have every right to be angry with the system. I looked at it in the same way that I pay for private healthcare if it suits us, and is needed. Not everybody can afford to pay to see a surgeon privately, which in effect jumps the queue. But that is the way of the world.

I sincerely hope that all who are trying to get their permanent residence can achieve it more easily than the people there yesterday and today.
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Dominic
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Dominic »

That's all ok provided it is above board. We don't knowingly allow grey-economy businesses to advertise on our site and be in the directory.

But if these agencies are in effect bribing officials to queue jump, then I don't care whether it is the accepted norm in this country, I don't want to promote it here.

Private health care is legal. Bribing officials is not. If the agencies are using legitimate and legal channels, then fair enough. If not, it is a nono.

To paraphrase Gandhi, I want to be the change I would like to see...
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Varky
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Varky »

Macmaniac,
In my opinion there is a difference between going via a private hospital for health services, which is a matter of choice, and doesn''t impact on the public health services and accessing a government immigration department where there is no alternative and you (not you personally) are in fact pushing in front of someone else. Having said this I appreciate that your situation is different with your wife's mobility problem and under the same circumstances I would have done what you did.
Actually the major problem is that the immigration office in Paphos is not fit for purpose both operational-wise and facilities. If the office was in larger, manageable premises (with disabled access) and with an increased number and more considerate staff most of the problems would go away and the stress on clientele would also be reduced markedly.

Maybe a local newspaper should do an article on this?
Last edited by Varky on Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
trevnhil
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by trevnhil »

Surely after all the years immigration have been there it would have been better for them to have moved to a much bigger office... Look at the queues there used to be in town at the electric offices.. Now in new premises it is much better.
The Citizens offices are often busy, but they have rows and rows of chairs for customers...

I think different premises would make a big big difference, maybe with more staff as well.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by PhotoLady »

Maybe they should have different staff to deal with the Agencies, assuming that everyone is being seen by the same staff, that is?
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Kili01
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Kili01 »

Immigration Dept here have always been something of a law unto themselves! I can only tell all those who are complaining now that when we first arrived in Paphos in 1999 Immigration was in far worse small cramped offices on the first floor of another building in Paphos. We used to have to queue up outside on a metal staircase in all weathers. One had to arrive early. We would arrive at about 7am, but already there would be people there waiting. When the doors opened at 8am, the queue surged forwards. The first 20 people to get there would receive a ticket with the knowledge that they would be seen that morning.. It wasn’t a friendly sort of place. If your documents weren’t correct or if they needed to see something else, you were dismissed and told to come back another day.
This isn’t England and one just had to put up with it..
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PhotoLady
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by PhotoLady »

Similar to Limassol in 2004... We had three visits before we got ours but we never queued so early in the morning.
Very much like the hospital, we found going that bit later meant less time in a queue.
Immigration though was going through a number of new phases after joining the EU and the two times we were sent away were due to paperwork changes, of course 😉
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Varky »

Kili01,
I don't mind queuing as long as my place in the queue is based on an even playing field. It seems nothing has changed over the last 20 years then. Progress indeed!
Last edited by Varky on Wed Oct 23, 2019 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Varky »

PhotoLady wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:09 pm Maybe they should have different staff to deal with the Agencies, assuming that everyone is being seen by the same staff, that is?
A good idea but a bit difficult when there appears to be only one or two staff dealing with things.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Dominic »

There is no alternative to using MAG boxes. If there was regular paid-for UK tv coverage available here then it would be a different matter. But there isn't.

I don't have an issue with people providing legitimate services, and for all I know the agencies at Immigration might be legitimate. If the staff at Immigration have quotas to fulfil it is easy to understand why they would prefer a bunch of applications all correctly filled in rather than a constant trickle with errors submitted by people who haven't read the procedure properly. It must make their jobs a lot easier.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Kili01 »

Quite true Lloyd,
For all the time that I have been here agents have been used by foreigners to help them with certain problems, usually involving various Govt depts. It is not illegal to use one to help sort things out for you. From experience, one realises that it makes sense to use one when faced with beurocracy.
I think that this forum exists to pass on useful info and advice which may help others. Whether one takes it or not is a personal thing.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by DavidatLWH »

Dominic wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:12 pm
But if these agencies are in effect bribing officials to queue jump, then I don't care whether it is the accepted norm in this country, I don't want to promote it here.

Private health care is legal. Bribing officials is not.
Is there any evidence that agencies are bribing officials? I doubt it. I would have thought that the agency staff have been around for years and know the officials very well, who think that because people have paid extra, they have a good reason to be seen sooner.

No, it's not the ex-pat way of doing things, but this isn't the UK.

Live with it. It's the Cypriot way of doing things. It's frustrating, but it's not the end of the world.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Dominic »

It may hinder others though.
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galexinda
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by galexinda »

Quite simply the current system cannot cope with the numbers of people and the Immigration Office in Paphos needs to move to larger premises and employ more staff - From my most recent visit about 10 months ago nothing has changed since I first registered in 2004 apart from the fact that the system is now computerised.

If people had registered with Immigration for MEU1 status in accordance with the legislation there would not be such a bottleneck this year.

Even now there are still people who are not aware that the MEU1 and MEU3 are the only recognised documents for UK Expats - in spite of media coverage, BHC Nicosia announcements and meetings and numerous topics about it on various forums and other social media for well over two years. Highlighted most recently by a forum member who is unable to register for GESY as residence documents are out of date/invalid.

Edited to include another category: the people who own holiday homes in Cyprus who are registering for MEU1 status in the lead up to Brexit so they're not limited by the proposed 90 days in 180 days visits if they do not have MEU1.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Anarita John »

Edited to include another category: the people who own holiday homes in Cyprus who are registering for MEU1 status in the lead up to Brexit so they're not limited by the proposed 90 days in 180 days visits if they do not have MEU1.
[/quote]

We went today for our MEU1 's. Arrived 7:15am and the queue was already to the top of the stairs. When the door opened we all waited in an orderly line and we were No 11. Finally got in at 9:15am. The lady we saw dealt with our application but was multi tasking so we were in the inner office for around 20 minutes. We did it ourselves so saved ourselves a few hundred pounds which has gone towards our health insurance, which was needed for our application.

My advise, do it yourselves. We had everything we needed at hand and by getting there early we were seen without an horrendous wait.
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Re: Immigration today (Weds 23/10/19)

Post by Varky »

Obviously some good days. The day we were there ticket, 07 had not gone in to the inner sanctum by 11.30.
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