Paphos Life

Many long-term UK citizens living in Cyprus I talk to are confused and uncomfortable about surrendering their permanent (No End Date) Yellow Slips for ten-year Biometric Cards. Yes, at the moment these Biometric cards make it easier to travel around the EU’s Schengen area, something Cyprus and Ireland are not members of: Cyprus due to border issues with the Turkish north, Ireland declined to join in 1985.

The current paper Yellow Slips is about residency, nothing to do with travel in the EU. Their legal status is enshrined in the Brexit Withdrawal Treaty. The question is will you lose that permanency once you have surrendered your Yellow Slip for the Biometric Card? Biometric Cards are compulsory for Cypriot citizens, but are only advisory for resident UK Yellow Slip holders in Cyprus. What guarantee do you have that after ten years the EU or Cyprus decides certain UK citizens are no longer welcome to stay because their financial status doesn’t meet new regulations, their health requirements are now a burden on the state etc. Will Biometric Cards suffer the same fate as the credit card style identity cards we were issued with some years ago only for them not to be renewed?
It seems Cyprus will continue not stamping non-EU residents’ passports on the production of your Yellow slip despite the planned implementation of the much delayed EU’s imposed Entry/Exit System (EES) by the end of this month. The Cyprus Immigration site still shows Error 404, so something is afoot! Does anybody have any ideas?

When we got our biometric cards earlier on this year we didn't have to surrender our yellow slips. We provided copies of the yellow slips and passports.

On the point of health care.

The S1 from UK covers you once in receipt of State Pension (Benifit LOL). Plus your dependants -well it did before Brexit!
Not sure of the system now?
This means your health care is paid by the UK to Cyprus. That is my understanding. Think there is more to worry about if Labour wants to make changes to this arrangement.

On the MUKW3 Biometric Card it states:

TYPE OF PERMIT

ARTICLE 50 TEU

REMARKS

UKW3
ISSUED UNDER ARTICLE 18(4) OF THE AGREEMENT 2019/C 384 I/01

Points to note..

EES now delayed (again) (its a shambles) - no set date for introduction other than it will be phased (whatever that means).. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgey0vvxxw7o

Withdrawal agreement is the key document - and the biometric cards are issued in accordance with that. Cyprus has chosen decolaration system see https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/ukn ... have%20the

At present Yellow slips will NOT expire (ignore all the stuff on other websites about them expiring in August 2026 etc - people confuse yellow slips with ID documents, which they are not)

Those UK nationals presenting Yellow slips entering / exiting Cyprus will continue not to have passports stamped in Cyprus. The introduction of EES and ETIAS will not impact on this.

For these individuals it could be argued that the plastic residence card will be useful in the future for those travelling to other EU countrys.. The plastic card will allow you to be exempt from both EES and ETIAS when entering / exiting those countrys. How much a practical advantage that actually is we will find out whenever these new systems are introduced.