I REFER to the article in the Sunday Mail (March 26). I am the former vice-president of the Cyprus International Businesses Association (CIBA) and the author of the CIBA Immigration Manual for International Business Companies in Cyprus. To compile this manual (we had all relevant EC directories at hand, translated the relevant Cyprus laws in English and had numerous meetings with a whole range of officers at the civil registry and migration department, including abundant information and assistance from the director, Anny Shakalli.
The 112,000 non-Cypriot EU nationals now living in Cyprus do not have to ask the new minister of interior, nor anyone else, whether or not they are illegal aliens. They only have to see which kind of documents they have in their possession.
For EU nationals living in Cyprus there are only two possibilities: the first, a MEU1 certificate of registration; the second, an immigration permit.
The so-called ID cards which the Cypriot authorities issued in the past, mainly to British citizens, were and are in violation of EU regulations and international law: Cyprus can issue ID cards only to Cypriots, not to citizens of another country or ‘aliens’. Aliens include two different groups: EU citizens and third country nationals.
We can only criticise the Cyprus authorities for not organising a mass replacement of these ID Cards by MEU1 certificates of registration back in 2007. But we also know how many new laws had to be chased through parliament just before and after becoming a full EU member, resulting in some more than usual chaos in the various government offices and departments.
The MEU1 certificate of registration has been created following the transposition of the European Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states. This was done, in Cyprus, in 2007.
Every EU citizen moving to another member state with the intention to stay there for more than 90 days is obliged to apply for a MEU1 certificate of registration within four months of arrival in that member state. The procedure is very simple: the applicant has to prove that he or she has sufficient income or financial means not to become a burden on the welfare of the host member state, that he or she contributes to social insurance (if employed) and has a place to stay and live with his/her family (owned or rented). This is a ground rule which is being applied in every EU member state (and in most non-EU member states) for any category of immigrants.
The MEU1 certificate of registration is issued immediately upon application (provided that all necessary documents are submitted) by the district aliens and immigration branch and it has no expiry date.
European Union citizens who are married to a Cypriot national have to do exactly the same: they have to apply for a MEU1 certificate of registration. After completing three years of marriage and harmonious cohabitation they can initiate the procedure to obtain the Cyprus nationality, if they wish so.
If a – or the – members of the family of an EU citizen, holder of – or applicant for – an MEU1 registration card are third country nationals they have to apply for a MEU2 residence card. This process is a little more complicated: the MEU2 will not be issued on the spot; it can take up to six months and it will have a validity of five years. One of the reasons for this delay is that most marriages between EU citizens and third country nationals are being investigated for their authenticity. Truly married couples don’t like this kind of treatment, but we should be aware that it is officially estimated that more than one quarter of marriages concluded between an EU citizen and a third country national are “marriages of convenience”.
After residing five years in Cyprus the holders of a MEU1 certificate of registration or a MEU2 residence card can apply for a MEU3 permanent registration certificate (EU citizens) or a MEU3 permanent residence card (third country national members of the family of an EU citizen). This is not an obligation, it is a possibility and it has advantages.
An MEU1, for example, is issued based on proof that the applicant has financial means or a job, pays social insurance contributions and provides a roof about the head of his family, while a MEU2 is issued based on a marriage with an EU citizen. But if the conditions for issuing the above are no longer existing (job loss, divorce) the MEU1 or MEU2 can be revoked and the holder can be requested to return back home. This is what France, for example, started to do on a regular basis and other EU countries are slowly following this practice. A MEU3 however can only be revoked if the holder is to be absent from Cyprus for a period exceeding two consecutive years.
The immigration permit is a domestic permit which was created in regulation 5 of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations of 1972. After Cyprus’ EU membership the immigration permit was accepted as the Cyprus National Immigration Permit by Brussels. There are several categories of immigration permits, going from A to F, depending on the status of the applicant. The most widely used are the immigration permit category E (employment) or F (retirement).
One of the advantages of an immigration permit is that it continues to be valid and does not need any renewal as long as the status of the holder remains unchanged. This means that an immigration permit category E will automatically become void upon the moment that the holder is no longer employed by the company where he/she worked when the permit was issued. It is now mostly used for third country nationals who are employed by international business companies.
A large number of retired people are in possession of an immigration permit F: this permit remains valid as long as they continue to be retired and there is no need for them to apply for any other permit (such as a MEU1).
To apply for an immigration permit however is a bit complicated and the whole procedure can take up to 12 months. During the whole duration of this application procedure, the applicant has to be in possession of a valid residence title (or remain abroad in the case of category F). This means that newcomers will have to ask for a MEU1 registration certificate first and can apply for an immigration permit only after that. But then the question arises: if one has a MEU1 in hand, what is the need for an immigration permit?
In conclusion, all non-Cypriot EU citizens living in Cyprus have to be in possession of a MEU1 certificate of registration or a valid immigration permit, no matter how long they are already here, no matter if their ancestors were Cypriots or not. This is not exactly the fault of the minister of interior or the director of the civil registry and migration department but due to European Union law which, in case of conflict, supersedes national laws.
A lot of confusion is also being created by giving different names to certain permits, or by for example referring to a “permanent residence permit” or “permanent resident status” which (legally) do not exist.
Ronny Verhoeven is the former vice-president of the Cyprus International Businesses Association and the author of the CIBA Immigration Manual for International Business Companies in Cyprus
Application forms can be downloaded at the website of the civil registry and migration department at www.moi.gov.cy/crmd Application forms can also be downloaded from www.ciba-cy.org under “Migration” and all instructions to complete them and which documents to be submitted are shown on the application forms.
