Car Insurance & Passports ...

[MacManiac]

I have insured our car with Abbeygate for the last four years. Normally they send an email with details and the premium for the following year's policy, and I look at this and email them I accept the offer. The day before the expiry of my insurance I telephone them and pay the premium over the phone.

This year I received an email that they could not process my insurance without seeing my passport. I emailed back and pointed out that they had a copy of my passport, and that I do not have a valid passport - as I have not yet renewed it. They asked me to call in and said they would copy it, as no record of my passport could be found. The very pleasant young lady then said the underwriters would not authorise a claim if the passport was not valid.

In any event a copy was taken, a couple of phone calls were made and I was assured that all would be fine. Hmm ...

[Devil]

Why the heck would an insurer need to see a passport? I'm sure ours has never asked for one in 20 years.

[jeba]

When taking out insurance they accepted a copy of my yellow slip as a substitute for a passport.

[WHL]

Might have something to do with residency ...just guessing?

[MacManiac]

I seem to remember taking in my residency form, passport, driving licence, proof of no claims' bonus and the kitchen sink when I first insured my car with them in 2013. The "thick plottens"

[josef k]

I suspect it is all to do with maintaining proof of identity. Nothing more or less.

If any ex-pats in Cyprus do not have a current valid passport then they are breaking the law.

[jeba]

If any ex-pats in Cyprus do not have a current valid passport then they are breaking the law.

Unless they have another form of legal ID, such as an ID card (which is way cheaper than a passport).

[MacManiac]

I suspect it is all to do with maintaining proof of identity. Nothing more or less.

If any ex-pats in Cyprus do not have a current valid passport then they are breaking the law.

Well that's a surprise if it's true ...

[trevnhil]

I wasn't aware that I was forced to have a valid passport.

Trev..

[Devil]

If any ex-pats in Cyprus do not have a current valid passport then they are breaking the law.

Not true for Europeans! There is even an EU stipulation that passports are not obligatory on condition that a photographic proof of identity can be furnished. I have not had a valid passport since 2010. I have used my ARC as proof of identity many times, including obtaining the house deeds, without difficulty. As I no longer need to travel, why should I need a travel document?

[josef k]

I know I saw this was a requirement by the Cyprus government somewhere but I can't lay my hands on it. I'll post it when I find it.

[DavidatLWH]

Whilst on the BoC web site recently, the bank asked me to update my details. My passport had changed a couple of years ago, but I hadn't bothered to tell them. I couldn't continue with internet banking until they had my details (presumably a Cypriot ID number would have been sufficient, but I don't have one). Not sure if I gave a fictitious passport number, date etc. it would have worked.

This seems to suggest that you are assumed to have either a passport or a Cypriot ID card.

[Rita Sherry]

Slight problem here if one does not already have a Cypriot ID card there is no possibility of obtaining one as they are no longer issued. So far as passports go when I was dealing with my Title Deeds the authorities would not accept my renewed passport but required the one I had used when first coming into Cyprus. Explaining this was not a valid passport met with the the requirement that I needed to produce the details of the original one I had used and was on their records - crazy or what? To travel etc requires a valid up to date passport and I feel it is necessary to have such a document for us ex Pats as an insurance the more so as and when we leave the EU.

Rita

[trevnhil]

It is only the plastic Cypriot ID card that you cannot get. If you are living here you are supposed to register with immigration and then you will have a number..
Of course a number of people don't bother doing this.

Trev..

[DavidatLWH]

Not sure if I gave a fictitious passport number, date etc. it would have worked.

This would not be a particularly smart idea, because in some emergency in future you might be required to identify yourself to the bank by way of giving your passport number. Don't know if they still do it now, but CYTA invariably used to ask for your passport number when you called them regarding your landline, mobile or internet account.

I agree, HiC, about the fictitious number. It only crossed my mind at the time as I didn't have access to my passport when online the first time of asking. I needed to check something urgently and couldn't progress until they had the info.

I think Cyta still require passport info, certainly when you visit their offices.

What I wonder, though, is what is wrong with having a valid passport. You might not have any intention of travelling abroad, but the need for urgent travel does arise. In my life, anyway!

[Rita Sherry]

It is only the plastic Cypriot ID card that you cannot get. If you are living here you are supposed to register with immigration and then you will have a number..
Of course a number of people don't bother doing this.

Trev..

Hello Trev

From whence does one get a Cypriot ID card then? One would be useful as easier to carry around. I did register with immigration within a few months of arriving in Cyprus and obtained the "yellow slip" Is the number on that document which you are referring to? I would prefer a ID credit card if possible for ease of carrying.

Rita

[trevnhil]

As Hudswell has said the plastic ID cards are no longer available to ex pats. Although the existing ones are accepted.

The number on mine is the same as on my licence and on my yellow slip. And on my car log book..

Trev..

[jeba]

What I find strange is that when we renew a UK passport it has a different number. Surely it would make more sense for the same number to follow you throughout your life.

A reason for that may be that keeping the same passport number throughout your life could cause mix ups. E. g. when a passport gets lost or stolen and needs to be recorded as such on the database or if you want another passport.

[josef k]

Cyprus stopped issuing ID cards to "aliens" a few years ago because people kept trying to use them for travel instead of a passport. The ID cards issued to Cypriots are valid for travel, the alien one's were not. As only passports are accepted by the UK, I suspect the travel attempts were made by other nationals, but the decision affected us all.
I agree that a card is useful and I still use my expired alien card when I can. Interestingly, domestic workers are now given a card instead when they renew their pink slips. Perhaps other groups will follow in due course.

[Kili01]

I intend to continue to keep my passport up to date. To my way of thinking if one lives abroad it is essential as there may be occasions when there is an urgent need to travel. Such as in case of an emergency situation arising on this island. Don't forget that in 1974 it became imperative for many foreigners to leave the island . Without a passport one would be unable to leave. Passports are essential to prove ones nationality as well as for identification.
Dee