Paphos Life

Went yesterday morning for interview,no probs,amazed at some expats still not having correct docs and being turned away.Arrived 7.45am and were there about an hour,only got appointment 2 weeks ago.So,third time for us,pre EU(aliens card),MEU1 and now MEU3.
Pretty straightforward really.Whats next?

Have copied this post by Discobolus » Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:22 pm as it may get more response in this section:

Went to Immigration in Paphos to make an appointment to apply for the Meu3 to be told no appointment time for Brits just turn up to be given a number, place was heaving must have been 30 odd people waiting looks like an 8am job otherwise could be a 3/4 hours wait, nothing on the small slip of paper about whether they want originals or copies of the 5year evidence, will the banks provide a summary of bank accounts or do you have to provide 120 odd pages of accounts ???

Thanks to Discoblous for posting the information about Immigration. I am saddened that the process has been made more difficult, especially for those who do not live in Paphos. My wife, after a year of illness (although, happily, on the mend) is not currently able to stand in a queue for hours. So where does this leave us?

We contacted the “Red Tape” service over three weeks ago but have not yet had a reply.

Hi really surprised that all of a sudden loads of people applying for the basic MEU1.Have they all been living here illegally,cannot believe the all arrived just three months ago!

tonee wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 6:44 pm Hi really surprised that all of a sudden loads of people applying for the basic MEU1.Have they all been living here illegally,cannot believe the all arrived just three months ago!

Anecdotal evidence suggests that lots of people have been flying under the radar for years. We applied for our MEU1 in 2012, shortly after we arrived, and have done everything by the book since. My accountant tells me she is overwhelmed by people hoping “to sort out their status at short notice”.

Let’s hope for the best.

MacManiac wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 6:02 pm Thanks to Discoblous for posting the information about Immigration. I am saddened that the process has been made more difficult, especially for those who do not live in Paphos. My wife, after a year of illness (although, happily, on the mend) is not currently able to stand in a queue for hours. So where does this leave us?

We contacted the “Red Tape” service over three weeks ago but have not yet had a reply.

Perhaps you could go to Immigration with your Passports and make an early morning appointment so then you would both be seen 'on time'. Not necessary for your wife to accompany you to make the appointment according to other comments on FB. I believe Gwenny is unwell from posts I have read on other sites.

galexinda wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:33 pm

MacManiac wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 6:02 pm Thanks to Discoblous for posting the information about Immigration. I am saddened that the process has been made more difficult, especially for those who do not live in Paphos. My wife, after a year of illness (although, happily, on the mend) is not currently able to stand in a queue for hours. So where does this leave us?

We contacted the “Red Tape” service over three weeks ago but have not yet had a reply.

Perhaps you could go to Immigration with your Passports and make an early morning appointment so then you would both be seen 'on time'. Not necessary for your wife to accompany you to make the appointment according to other comments on FB. I believe Gwenny is unwell from posts I have read on other sites.

The whole point was that there were no longer going to be appointments for UK residents. Hence turn up, get a number and wait ...

If it is possible to take both passports along to get the form with the list of documentation on, that would be great.

As far as Gwenny is concerned, I was under the impression there were staff as well. So no response was disappointing to sa6 the least. I’ll call into Immigration and Gwenny’s in person next week and see what the situation is.

Many thanks for your helpful response.

Go to Gwenny's office in person, her phones are ringing off the hook.

We have just done our MEU3 and did use Gwenny. I know we could have done it ourselves but to be honest I'd rather pay someone to get me in and out as quickly as possible. Gwenny met us there at noon and we were in and out in approximately one minute. Our MEU3 will be mailed to us in approximately 6 months.

We have an appointment next week , no's 34,35 ...any idea what sort of time we should arrive?
Don't want to wait for hours .....

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:46 pm Impossible to say. You just can't gamble. If you do it through an agent like Gwenny you will be given a precise time to turn up. Gwenny then marches into the offices like she owns them, will call you in, and you will be out again a minute or two later, done and dusted. The thought of hanging around in that congested melee for an hour or two would do my head in.

Yep, we did it Friday and it was lovely not having to queue. All done in one minute!

So,who,s prepared to say how much they paid the agent?

It all sounds a bit underhand to me , with those prepared to pay , running roughshod over others....
" Backhanders and corruption" ...Maybe...

Went to immigration last September for our MEU3 and still haven't received it yet.
Does anyone know a phone number we can call to check why we haven't got them yet?
Is there anyone else still waiting this long.
Thank you in advance.

We filled in the form provided and they gave us a date and time to get a MEU3 certificate, we duly arrived ten minutes before our appointment we were shocked to see so many waiting not just for MEU3's but for other immigrants necessities like us I guess, most came with agents that made the room look full to bursting BUT we were seen almost to the minute our appointment said, we did not spend very much time in the office, after a photo session we were after paying our €20 each we were then told our MEU3 would arrive by post within a month, they did, we were back home within an hour. This is how it went down for us, a very easy procedure unusual for Cyprus, no complaints at this end.

I think the same can be said for many, if not all of the Government offices..