Can the application form for applying for a biometric card be collected from the citizens service centre .
Tried to download it on the net with no luck . Every day I hate computers more and more .
lefkes .
application form for applying for a biometric card
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
Lefkes,,,when you get to my age you dont know comptuters are,its took me an hour to post this 
Gone are the days when when you could pick up the phone and speak to a human being who could make a decision
Gone are the days when when you could pick up the phone and speak to a human being who could make a decision
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clive of payia
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2016 3:38 pm
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
As I understand it, obtaining a Biometric card by August 2026 is NOT compulsory...YET for UK residents in Cyprus. A Biometric Card is very convenient if you are a frequent flyer to countries in the Schengen Zone and as an ID card in Cyprus, but many organisations still want to see your passport and Yellow Slip.
For Cyprus UK residents to travel to the UK and Ireland, all that is required is your passport and Yellow Slip, as it has been for some time. Check with the High Commissioner yourself if you wish.
Many of us hold pre-Brexit Yellow Slips with no end date that form part of the aforementioned international agreement. Many of us are reluctant to surrender pre-Brexit (No End Date) Yellow Slips for the Biometric card, which expires after ten years and could be cancelled. Hopefully the situation will become clear in the near future.
For Cyprus UK residents to travel to the UK and Ireland, all that is required is your passport and Yellow Slip, as it has been for some time. Check with the High Commissioner yourself if you wish.
Many of us hold pre-Brexit Yellow Slips with no end date that form part of the aforementioned international agreement. Many of us are reluctant to surrender pre-Brexit (No End Date) Yellow Slips for the Biometric card, which expires after ten years and could be cancelled. Hopefully the situation will become clear in the near future.
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
The yellow slip is not surrendered when you get a Biometeric card. i dont know why anyone thinks they are but an awfully lot of people assume that is the case.clive of payia wrote: ↑Mon Oct 06, 2025 7:31 pm As I understand it, obtaining a Biometric card by August 2026 is NOT compulsory...YET for UK residents in Cyprus. A Biometric Card is very convenient if you are a frequent flyer to countries in the Schengen Zone and as an ID card in Cyprus, but many organisations still want to see your passport and Yellow Slip.
For Cyprus UK residents to travel to the UK and Ireland, all that is required is your passport and Yellow Slip, as it has been for some time. Check with the High Commissioner yourself if you wish.
Many of us hold pre-Brexit Yellow Slips with no end date that form part of the aforementioned international agreement. Many of us are reluctant to surrender pre-Brexit (No End Date) Yellow Slips for the Biometric card, which expires after ten years and could be cancelled. Hopefully the situation will become clear in the near future.
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
yellow slips are also not part of the international agreements
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clive of payia
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2016 3:38 pm
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
Exactly my point, Mark. As UK residents in Cyprus, we can freely travel throughout Europe with our passport and our present Yellow Slips. A Cyprus issued Biometric Card is not recognised in many EU countries, hence the good old Yellow Slip has to be retained. The same Cyprus-issued Biometric Card is also not legally recognised as an Alien Cyprus Identity Card. So the Biometric Card is reduced to being a convenient travel card between Cyprus/UK and Ireland.
Let's wait and see if Cyprus does eventually join Schengen, many in the travel industry on the island are against it.
Let's wait and see if Cyprus does eventually join Schengen, many in the travel industry on the island are against it.
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
Clive – you may have misunderstood me.
I am not a UK resident in Cyprus – I, and I suspect you, are UK Nationals resident in Cyprus.
Your yellow slip is irrelevant when travelling in Europe (other than Cyprus). It may not appear that way, but it is.
A Cyprus issued Biometric card is recognised in all EU countries. But as I explain below, as of now, the Biometric card has no relevance when crossing borders (other than Cyprus).
You are quite right in saying the biometric card is not an ID card – it never has been, nor is it designed to be. The numbers on the yellow slip and the biometric cards are often used as substitutes for the ID number in Cyprus but, as you say, the biometric card is not an ID card.
The Biometric card issued by Cyprus currently has no relevance when crossing UK or Irish borders.
Whether or not Cyprus joins Schengen is irrelevant to the arguments over whether one should retain the yellow slip and/or get a new biometric card – the advantage of the Biometric card when crossing EU borders is that UK nationals that hold a biometric card are exempt from the EES and the ETIAS once these systems are fully operational.
Further details
UK Nationals (whether they are residents in Cyprus or not) can travel throughout the Schengen area with the normal “90 in any 180 days” rule applying. The Yellow slip that was issued to UK Nationals that were resident in Cyprus before 31 Dec 2020 has no impact whatsoever on the ability and restrictions upon UK Nationals traveling in the Schengen area.
The Yellow Slip issued to UK Nationals resident in Cyprus is not a valid document in any country other than Cyprus. If you present it at a border other than Cyprus it should not have any impact on your ability to enter or exit that country as that country will not recognise it as a valid document.
The Biometric card on the other hand is recognised as a valid travel document by other European states, indeed all EU States and some states outside the EU have signed up to be able to issue the Biometric card in a standard format. It will start to have an impact when EES starts (roll out to start this month at some (air)ports).
Now just like the Yellow Slip, the Biometric card is irrelevant at any other border except Cyprus. Just like the Yellow Slip, if you present your Biometric card at a border other than Cyprus it should not have any impact on your ability to enter or exit that country. That country should recognise it as a valid document, but it is irrelevant when entering or exiting that country.
The Biometric card will however have an impact when traveling to other countries that have signed up for the EES when the EES system is fully operational.
The same will be true when ETIAS is introduced and fully operational.
At that time, if you hold a biometric card and present your biometric card when at a border you will not have to give your fingerprints etc on entering and existing the country. Other UK nationals that enter an EES country for the first time who do not have a biometric card will need to provide fingerprints etc.
It remains to be seen how this will play out in the queuing system at (air)ports. Will UK passport holders with a biometric card be allowed to join the EU queue? Initially this is unlikely as UK passports should still be stamped during the EES roll out phase. Once EES is fully operational there will be no stamping of UK passports as details of entry and exits will be held on a database.
On the 26 August 2026 something very weird will happen.
Anyone with an MEU1/3 (the Yellow Slip), that does not have an expiry date, anywhere in Europe will find that these cease to be a valid MEU1/3 on 26 August 2026.
All UK Nationals who obtained their yellow slips before 31 Dec 2020 will have yellow slips that have no expiry date.
A lot of people have put these two facts together and are stating that the yellow slips held by UK nationals will expire on 26 August 2026. They are wrong.
My understanding is that from 26 August 2026 the only individuals in the whole of Europe who will have a reason to hold onto yellow slips (that have no expiry date on them) are UK Nationals who prior to 31 December 2020 were and continue to be residents in Cyprus.
For these individuals the yellow slip will continue to be a valid document. It will remain a document that shows the individual was resident in Cyprus before 1 Jan 2021 and the Cypriot government has said and legislated that that the yellow slip is enough to show that the holder has rights under the Brexit transitional arrangements.
The Cypriot Government is the only EU state that chose to go down this route.
The Yellow Slip held by UK Nationals will not be a valid MEU1/3 from 26 August 2026. But, it ceased to be a valid MEU1/3 on 1 Jan 2021. On 1 Jan 2021 UK Nationals ceased to be EU citizens and could no longer hold a valid MEU1/3. But the fact that the yellow slip is not a valid MEU1/3 is irrelevant because of what the Cypriot Government has said and the legislation that it has passed about UK Nationals establishing their rights under the withdrawal agreement.
UK Nationals that hold yellow slips have no rights or obligations under the MEU systems as they are not EU citizens or married to EU citizens (unless of course they are also EU citizens / married to EU citizens etc – in which case all this is irrelevant).
UK Nationals that hold yellow slips have rights under the withdrawal agreement because of how the Cypriot Government has decided to implement the withdrawal agreement. Other EU states implemented it differently.
Holders of the Cyprus Biometric card can show that they have rights and obligations under the withdrawal agreement because this card is the standard way across the EU to show that. So for example, UK Nationals in France and Germany will have the same format for the Biometric card even though the French / German and Cypriot governments implemented the withdrawal agreement in different ways.
I am not a UK resident in Cyprus – I, and I suspect you, are UK Nationals resident in Cyprus.
Your yellow slip is irrelevant when travelling in Europe (other than Cyprus). It may not appear that way, but it is.
A Cyprus issued Biometric card is recognised in all EU countries. But as I explain below, as of now, the Biometric card has no relevance when crossing borders (other than Cyprus).
You are quite right in saying the biometric card is not an ID card – it never has been, nor is it designed to be. The numbers on the yellow slip and the biometric cards are often used as substitutes for the ID number in Cyprus but, as you say, the biometric card is not an ID card.
The Biometric card issued by Cyprus currently has no relevance when crossing UK or Irish borders.
Whether or not Cyprus joins Schengen is irrelevant to the arguments over whether one should retain the yellow slip and/or get a new biometric card – the advantage of the Biometric card when crossing EU borders is that UK nationals that hold a biometric card are exempt from the EES and the ETIAS once these systems are fully operational.
Further details
UK Nationals (whether they are residents in Cyprus or not) can travel throughout the Schengen area with the normal “90 in any 180 days” rule applying. The Yellow slip that was issued to UK Nationals that were resident in Cyprus before 31 Dec 2020 has no impact whatsoever on the ability and restrictions upon UK Nationals traveling in the Schengen area.
The Yellow Slip issued to UK Nationals resident in Cyprus is not a valid document in any country other than Cyprus. If you present it at a border other than Cyprus it should not have any impact on your ability to enter or exit that country as that country will not recognise it as a valid document.
The Biometric card on the other hand is recognised as a valid travel document by other European states, indeed all EU States and some states outside the EU have signed up to be able to issue the Biometric card in a standard format. It will start to have an impact when EES starts (roll out to start this month at some (air)ports).
Now just like the Yellow Slip, the Biometric card is irrelevant at any other border except Cyprus. Just like the Yellow Slip, if you present your Biometric card at a border other than Cyprus it should not have any impact on your ability to enter or exit that country. That country should recognise it as a valid document, but it is irrelevant when entering or exiting that country.
The Biometric card will however have an impact when traveling to other countries that have signed up for the EES when the EES system is fully operational.
The same will be true when ETIAS is introduced and fully operational.
At that time, if you hold a biometric card and present your biometric card when at a border you will not have to give your fingerprints etc on entering and existing the country. Other UK nationals that enter an EES country for the first time who do not have a biometric card will need to provide fingerprints etc.
It remains to be seen how this will play out in the queuing system at (air)ports. Will UK passport holders with a biometric card be allowed to join the EU queue? Initially this is unlikely as UK passports should still be stamped during the EES roll out phase. Once EES is fully operational there will be no stamping of UK passports as details of entry and exits will be held on a database.
On the 26 August 2026 something very weird will happen.
Anyone with an MEU1/3 (the Yellow Slip), that does not have an expiry date, anywhere in Europe will find that these cease to be a valid MEU1/3 on 26 August 2026.
All UK Nationals who obtained their yellow slips before 31 Dec 2020 will have yellow slips that have no expiry date.
A lot of people have put these two facts together and are stating that the yellow slips held by UK nationals will expire on 26 August 2026. They are wrong.
My understanding is that from 26 August 2026 the only individuals in the whole of Europe who will have a reason to hold onto yellow slips (that have no expiry date on them) are UK Nationals who prior to 31 December 2020 were and continue to be residents in Cyprus.
For these individuals the yellow slip will continue to be a valid document. It will remain a document that shows the individual was resident in Cyprus before 1 Jan 2021 and the Cypriot government has said and legislated that that the yellow slip is enough to show that the holder has rights under the Brexit transitional arrangements.
The Cypriot Government is the only EU state that chose to go down this route.
The Yellow Slip held by UK Nationals will not be a valid MEU1/3 from 26 August 2026. But, it ceased to be a valid MEU1/3 on 1 Jan 2021. On 1 Jan 2021 UK Nationals ceased to be EU citizens and could no longer hold a valid MEU1/3. But the fact that the yellow slip is not a valid MEU1/3 is irrelevant because of what the Cypriot Government has said and the legislation that it has passed about UK Nationals establishing their rights under the withdrawal agreement.
UK Nationals that hold yellow slips have no rights or obligations under the MEU systems as they are not EU citizens or married to EU citizens (unless of course they are also EU citizens / married to EU citizens etc – in which case all this is irrelevant).
UK Nationals that hold yellow slips have rights under the withdrawal agreement because of how the Cypriot Government has decided to implement the withdrawal agreement. Other EU states implemented it differently.
Holders of the Cyprus Biometric card can show that they have rights and obligations under the withdrawal agreement because this card is the standard way across the EU to show that. So for example, UK Nationals in France and Germany will have the same format for the Biometric card even though the French / German and Cypriot governments implemented the withdrawal agreement in different ways.
Last edited by mark4007 on Thu Oct 16, 2025 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
Thanks Mark , have an appointment for early January Lefkes .mark4007 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 06, 2025 3:00 amtry this link
https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/All ... penElement
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
When I looked at this link (as I'm trying to help my British neighbour), I noticed that it says "MEU3" in the top right corner. Can it be used by UK nationals holding a MEU1 only?lefkes wrote: ↑Tue Oct 14, 2025 12:40 pmThanks Mark , have an appointment for early January Lefkes .mark4007 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 06, 2025 3:00 amtry this link
https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/All ... penElement
Re: application form for applying for a biometric card
It can if you are applying for a UKW3
The link below is a link to a website that provides links to the application forms for UKW1 , UKW2 and UKW3
https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/All ... enDocument
The link below is a link to a website that provides links to the application forms for UKW1 , UKW2 and UKW3
https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/All ... enDocument
