REMINDER - UK EXPATS & NON-EU RESIDENTS - CONVERSION OF RESIDENCY TO BIOMETRIC - allow around 8 months for the process!!

         

IMMIGRATION AT THE AIRPORT

Please note that the processing of your passport through a terminal at the airport, and receipt of a printed image of the main pages [to hand to Immigration officials] is  NOT collection of biometric data.  Currently this is a process to assist the Immigration officials.

BIOMETRIC RESIDENCY 

CYPRUS MIGRATION DEPARTMENT - UK EXPATS & NON-EU RESIDENTS - allow at least 8 months for the process [4 month wait for appointment and around 4 months for receipt of the card]

UPDATE - for anyone who has mobility issues and/or issues with technology

Anyone who has mobility issues or issues with technology and needs some assistance, can they please email [or ask someone to email for you if needed] Wendy at info@crpg.com.cy, with details of your name, phone no and, if you have one, email address.  Wendy will then organise someone to assist you through the process, including making your appointment at Immigration and taking you there.

You will be aware that if you are a holder of a paper yellow slip confirming your residency, this will not be valid after mid 2026.   It is recommended that you upgrade your residency to biometric residency as soon as you are able as this will make travel within the European Union simpler.  For example once the European Entry/Exit system [EES] comes into effect [being introduced now for 100% implementation Spring 2026], if you do not have biometric residency, you will need to have your fingerprints taken on entry to a European country [not Cyprus or Malta at this stage].  As a third country national, if you have the biometric residency, your residency card plus your passport will be sufficient for entry purposes and you will not need to have your fingerprints taken at the border.

FULL UK ETA ENFORCEMENT ANNOUNCED FROM 25 FEBRUARY 2026 FOR NON-VISA NATIONALS

  mondaq December 2025

On 24 November 2025, the Home Office confirmed that from 25 February 2026 the UK will move to full enforcement of the ETA scheme for non-visa nationals.

UNDERSTANDING HYBRID WAR

 Cyprus Mail 18 January 2026 - by Euripides L Evriaviades

Hybrid war is the coordinated use of multiple instruments of pressure, with the emphasis on non-military means

What it is, what it is not, and why it matters

The recent leaked video alleging campaign finance violations by President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates has thrust the terms “hybrid warfare”, “hybrid war”, and “hybrid attack” into Cyprus’ public discourse. Yet for many, these terms remain poorly understood and are often used interchangeably. Some dismiss them as exaggeration or conspiracy; others see them as a convenient label used to deflect legitimate criticism and avoid accountability.

In simple terms, hybrid warfare is about using different tools together – sometimes including military means, but mostly information manipulation, cyber activity, economic pressure, or diplomacy. Hybrid war describes the broader situation that develops when such methods are used repeatedly over time. A hybrid attack refers to a specific incident within that wider context.

WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE STEPPING BACK FROM THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION

Cyprus Mail 18 January 2026 - by Alexandra Theodorou

Young people are not disengaging from public dialogue out of indifference, but because they feel politically invisible.

That is the central finding of new research by the Cypriot NGO AKTI Project and Research Centre, carried out together with the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and the environmental organisation Nature Trust FEE Malta, under the European project RESIsles.

Using climate change as a lens through which to examine democratic participation, the project engaged more than 3,500 young people across Cyprus, Malta and Crete.

FYTIRIS ON THE LARNACA INCIDENT - 'RAPID RETURN PROCEDURES FOR FOREIGNERS WHO BREAK THE LAW' - LARGE OPERATION UNDERWAY, 30 ARRESTS SO FAR

 Filenews 18 January 2026

"Accelerated return procedures for foreigners who break the law," announced the Minister of Justice Kostas Fytiris, against the backdrop of the shootings in Larnaca and other criminal actions. Since this morning, he says, a nationwide operation by the Aliens and Immigration Service and the Police has been underway, as a result of which 30 people have been arrested.

The Minister called on the people to help fight crime. It is very important, he says, to provide information to the Police, even anonymously.

CHRISTODOULIDIS ON LARNACA SHOOTINGS - 'IN CASE OF FOREIGNERS, THEY WILL BE DEPORTED AND PUT ON THE STOP LIST'

 Filenews 18 January 2026

The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, described the incidents that took place in Larnaca as "unacceptable" and announced drastic measures.

In his statements on Sunday to journalists, Mr. Christodoulidis on the sidelines of a national memorial service at the Episcopate, President Christodoulidis said that he has been in communication with the Minister of Justice since Saturday night, while he stated that he is not going to embellish any situation.

CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Live 18 January 2026

A case of premeditated murder, with a 41-year-old victim, is being investigated by the Police in Paphos.

Around 11.40 p.m. yesterday, information was received by the Police about a clash of persons in the area of Pegeia. Members of the Police went to the area, where they found a 30-year-old person outside a house, while a parked car was nearby with a damaged front and shattered the rear window.