Press
- Press release reference to the implementation of Directive 2004/38/EC
Laws
- Cypriot implementation law of Directive 2004/38/EC which was passed on 25 January 2007 (written in Greek)
How well has the Directive been implemented?
- Compliance Study (Directive 2004/38/EC): Cyprus (PDF file from 2008)
- Table of correspondence for Directive 2004/38/EC: Cyprus (PDF file from 2008)
Schengen
- Schengen Visa Rules and Border Entry for family of EU citizens. “Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania do not yet implement the Schengen acquis in full.”
freedom of movement in the EU 
Comments
You might want to add http://www.kisa.org.cy/EN/index.html – KISA – Action for Equality Support and Antiracism in Cyprus.
House harmonises residency laws for EU citizens
THE HOUSE PLENARY on Thursday unanimously approved a bill, which harmonises Cyprus law with the acquis communautaire and Directive 2004/38/EC, as regards the right of the citizens and the members of their families to move and reside freely within all member states of the European Union.
The Directive merges into a single instrument all the legislation on the right of entry and residence for Union citizens, consisting of two regulations and nine directives. This simplification will make it easier for the general public and public authorities to exercise their rights. The Directive also sets out to reduce to the bare minimum the formalities, which Union citizens and their families must complete in order to exercise their right of residence.
Myria Andreou, a member of the Interior Ministry’s EU department, yesterday told the Mail that non-EU nationals are also covered in the bill, as long as they are part of an EU citizen’s family. This means a partner from a non-EU Member State can be facilitated.
The new measures are designed, among other things, to encourage Union citizens to exercise their right to move and reside freely within member states, to cut back administrative formalities to the bare essentials, to provide a better definition of the status of family members and to limit the scope for refusing entry or terminating the right of residence.
Furthermore, Union citizens acquire the right of permanent residence in the host member state after a five-year period of uninterrupted legal residence. This right of permanent residence is no longer subject to any conditions.
The same rule applies to family members who are not nationals of a member state and who have lived with a Union citizen for five years. The right of permanent residence is lost only in the event of more than two successive years’ absence from the host member state.
Andreou told us that with the passing of the bill, “people’s lives will be made much easier and they will have to deal with far less bureaucracy for obtaining needed documentation, for example, PINK SLIPS.”
The Plenary called on the government to submit as soon as possible a bill that provides the members of the families of the citizens of the Republic the same rights provided with the new law to the citizens of the other member states.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
I am Ukrainian. Cyprus Migration Dept. issued for me PINK SLIP although my wife is Latvian. We got married three years ago in Cyprus, we applied for five years residence certificates three years ago. She got unlimited “yellow slip” just two months ago! I got “pink slip” (valid for NINE MONTHS) couple of days ago!
Dear Sirs/Madams,
We represent the thousands of non-EU Citizens who are married to EU Citizens and live in the Republic of Cyprus, and need you attention because we face serious difficulties in our everyday lives.
The Civil Registry and Migration Department (CRMD), Ministry of Interior, ignores the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As we know from our internal source in the CRMD the Director of the Department, Mrs. Annie Shakalli, insists on issuing residence permits of different validity to non-EU Citizens who are spouses of Union citizens residing in Cyprus, depending on whether the marriage took place in Cyprus, (in which case the validity is 1 year or less), or, in another country, (in which case the validity is 5 years).
The fundamental and personal right of residence in another Member State is conferred directly on Union citizens by the Treaty of the European Union. The conditions governing the exercise of this right are laid down in the provisions of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004. The Directive was transposed into the Cyprus national legislation with Law 7(I)/2007.
Article 3(1) of the Directive – under the title “Beneficiaries” – provides that the Directive “shall apply to all Union citizens who move to or reside in a Member State other than that of which they are a national, and to their family members … who accompany or join them.”
Further to the above, the Directive provides that:
(i) all Union citizens, given that some conditions are met, have the right of long term residence on the territory of another Member State and that, this right extents to their family members who are not nationals of a Member State, “accompanying or joining.. (them). ..in the host Member State.” (Article 7).
(ii) the right of residence of family members of a Union citizen who are not nationals of a Member State shall be evidenced by the issuing of a document called “Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen” and that, this document shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance (Articles 10 and 11).
The Immigration Department’s position is that according to Article 3(1) of the Directive – which corresponds to Article 4(1) of Law 7(I)/2007 – non-EU citizens who are the spouses of Union citizens residing in Cyprus, do not draw rights from the Directive, if they arrived in Cyprus independently of their spouses and the marriage took in Cyprus at a later stage.
The implicated authority supports that in these cases, the family members of the Union citizen do not meet the condition set in the Directive that they “accompany” or “join” the Union citizens in the host Member State, and, consequently, they are not entitled to the residence cards with 5 year validity which the Directive provides for. Thus, the implicated authority issues (to them) residence permits with shorter validity, as it is provided by the Immigration Legislation which applies solely for non-EU Citizens.
Relevant to the above is a recent, dated July 25th 2008, Judgment of the ECJ in the case C-127-08. The case was referred for Preliminary Ruling by the High Court of Ireland and, with regard to a question that concerned the interpretation of article 3(1) of Directive 2004/38, the ECJ ruled the following:
“Article 3(1) of Directive 2004/38 must be interpreted as meaning that a national of a non-member country who is the spouse of a Union citizen residing in a Member State whose nationality he does not possess and who accompanies or joins that Union citizen benefits from the provisions of that directive, irrespective of when and where their marriage took place and of how the national of a non-member country entered the host Member State.”
In view of all the above, We kindly ask you to protect our rights by exerting your influence on the CRMD and using all your power and authority, to oblige the Director of the Migration Department to change the soonest possible its practice towards non-EU Citizens who are family members of Union citizens residing in Cyprus, in a way that it will be compatible with the interpretation given to the Directive by the ECJ in the abovementioned Ruling.
Yours faithfully,
Community of non-EU Citizens
Family Members of Union Citizens in Cyprus
19.11.2008
Cyprus
I AM WAS MARRIED TO CIPRIOT NOW DIVORST,I STATE ON CYPRUS ALLREADY 5 YEARS.I AM HAVE TWO KIDS ONE ITS CIPRIOT 4 Y.OLD AND OTHER UKRANIAN 11 YEARS.MY OLDERST [UKRANIAN]CHILD STUDY AT CYPRUS GOVERMENT SCHOOL AND CATEGORY OF HER RESIDENCE ON CYPRUS ITS PUPIL.TWO MOUNTH AGO WE APPLY FOR VISA EXSTE NTION , [,PINK SLIP],BUT TWO DAYS AGO WE HAVE FONCALL FROM EMIGRATION OFFICE AND THEY TELL ME TO BRING MEDICAL INSSUARENCE FOR MY UKRANIAN CHILD,WHICH THEY NEVER ASK BEFORE.I WAS REALY STRESSED OF THIS NEWS,HOW I AM SINGLE MOTHER WHO GROW ON MY ONE TWO YOUNG KIDS,PAY RENT,ALL LIVING EXPENSIS,WITH SALARY 220 EVRO PER MOUNTH [I WORKING PART TIME]PLAST WE GET PUBLIC ASSISTENCE]HOW AND WHERE FROM, I CAN GET THIS EXSTRA MONEY TO PAY FOR THIS PAPER?i am cant go back with my kids to my country becours i have for my cipriot child stop list which put her papa after divorst,and i am cant to let somebody to take my ukranian child and send her back to Ukraine ,becours of some new changes ,in some laws[which take care only of money and papers, not of humans lifes or rights].WHAT WE CAN DO?DID ITS ANY WAY FOR US TO FIX THIS PROBLEM? THANK YOU .
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have a question to which I am seeking an answer.
I am a British citizen living in our residence (our home) in Cyprus, my wife is Russian, we married in Cyprus on 7th April 2000. We are currently on a 4 month holiday in South America. My wife suddenly stated that she would loose her residency if she was out of Cyprus for more than 3 months.
On my yellow civil registry and migration department yellow form MEU 6A it states the following:-
1. This permit is in force for as long as the holder continues to full the conditions set out in paragraph (b) of sub section (2) of section 58 of the Free Movement and Residence of Nationals E.U. Member States and the Members of their Families Law 2003
2. A person who remains on the territory of the Republic after the expiry or termination of this permit, is guilty of an ofence punishable with a fine not exceeding CYP 5000,00.
On my wifes similar form (MEU 7D) the only typed comment is as follows:-
This document has the same validity as the residence permit granted to the national of a member state with the following particulars:
Name and surname:- ROY DUKE HARTLEY
Category of Residence permit = MEU.6.A
EU05-04712 / 5346125 on whom the holder of this document is dependent.
Can you please advise me as soon as possible, because my wife is extremely worried, that whe will require a visa to get back to our home in Cyprus. For information we are both travelling together and should return to Cyprus on 27th February 2009 we left Cyprus on the 2nd November 2008 (in total just less than 4 months)
Awaiting your reply
Roy & Galina Hartley
If you are in Cyprus legally, then your wife has a legal right to be with you (in almost all cases).
If you have been living in Cyprus for less than 5 years, then your (and your wifes) residence rights could lapse after 6 months away from Cyprus. In no case can they lapse in less than 6 months. If you have both been living there for longer than 5 years, then I think it is a year away.
Worst case you can just reapply for her Residence Card once you arrive back in Cyprus.
The status of you and your wife are both regulated by Directive 2004/38/EC
Respectable,
sir or madam,i am having PAKISTANI national but residing in LITHUANIA married with lithuanian girl and have 1 baby girl witch is eleven month and six day now.And also having LITHUANIAN identity card issued by LITHUANIAN governement.Another side i was living in CYPRUS for 3 years and depoted from cyprus in 2007 January.And after got married as mention above.After all these i arrived to CYPRUS with my wife and daughter in may 2008.But on CYPRUS international airport IMMIGRATION not allow me to enter again at CYPRUS and they depoted again back to GREECE because we arrived from GREECE.BUT IMMIGRATION allow my wife and daughter to enter freely in.After my wife and daughter stayed for one month in CYPRUS and come back.All these wat i write meaning that wat will be sugession for me to enter in EU country for example (CYPRUS) again.
sencerely AHSAN ALI
Dear Sir,
I have an indian passport and my wife is greek cypriot we both live and work in UK. 6 months before I applied for my residence card, that has not been issued yet. AS we had to travel to cyprus for some important reason, so we requested home office to send our travel doucment back that they have done.
now I talked to cyprus embassy london, they told me they won’t be able to give me visa for cyprus or entery without visa as I donot have a valid Visa to return to UK.
I told them that I will apply for EU family member permit in Cyprus but they insisted that this is the rule that you should have valid visa to return to uk.
they also ask me to get sponsorship letter from my in laws
my employment letter
my bank statement and a valid visa to come back to uk
Please advise what to do in this case and what are the new EU laws for us.
Many Thanks
Shaz
You should contact the EU’s citizen signpost services http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights . They will tell you that you have a right of free movement in the EU because you are married to an EU citizen who is exercising her treaty rights. That means that even going back to her home country you can use those rights.
Also immediately contact Solvit to get their help. More information is at https://eumovement.wordpress.com/help-eu-solvit/
i want to know how long time immigration in cyprus take to give yelow slip to eu citizen and if you get maried in cyprus how long u must to wait to get ur yelow slip as non eu citizen and how many years you can get
What is a yellow slip?
It’s a colloquial name for the “residence card/certificate” as it is issued in a form of an A4 yellow sheet in Cyprus.
Click to access cyprus_compliance_study_en.pdf
Conformity Study for 2004/38/EC
i am a british citizen with cypriot residency and had planned to move to cyprus with my civil/same sex partner (married in spain). my partner was refused cypriot residency and we were told to re-apply once he has his british passport as they do not accept this union as legal. Have mailed to the British Embassy , the ILGA , the European Court, the Cyprus Government to be told that Cyprus does not accept a same sex marriage and as such does not have to honour my right to a family life. How can a country join the EU and then be allowed to interpret the basic rules of EU membership as suits it without having to answer for not meeting basic european rights of free movement and human rights to family life. if i were rich perhaps i could take them to court but it seems like we just have to wait the 18 months for his british passport and then he would be accepted in the right rather than as my partner.
i agree,cyprus dont belong to the eu family,administration is huge and slow,not polite staff,rude ,xenofobic,many many problem for the non eu citizen regard the pink slip,citizenship etc…someoone from eu council need to know that cyprus is not europe ,in any level and cypriot don t care about this…gay people are without any rights the same like third country citizens that live in cyprus….horror
I have a question are from romania are married to a Russian citizen, I applied for the yellow slip 6 months ago and have not received any response, I was the migration department and I explained that we wanted to go to Romania for 3 months people there told me that there’s no way to go in Cyprus until my wife will get yellow slip …. I asked to try to do something that we do not have jobs during winters and want to go and get back to summer again we were told that we can not if we want them gives us a yellow slip with a duration of 6 months but after we get out of Cyprus, will remove the yellow sleep. Now we do not know what to do can not leave or to stay as we are not able to stand without money … what can we do?