Cyprus Mail - article by Evie Andreou 27 September 2018
The interior ministry has published on its website a document explaining how Cyprus intends to implement the Brexit withdrawal agreement covering the residence rights of UK nationals and their family members.
The withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK on citizens’ rights, ahead of the country leaving the bloc on March 29, 2019, protects those UK nationals and their family members who have already exercised or will exercise their free movement rights in Cyprus before January 1, 2021 when the transition period ends.
During the transition period that starts on March 30, immediately after the UK leaves the EU, and ends on December 31, 2020, the free movement of UK nationals and their family members will continue, the interior ministry said.
In line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement published in March, the interior ministry said that its implementation will mean that UK nationals and their family members who, by December 31, 2020, have been continuously resident in Cyprus for five years will be eligible for permanent residence.
It added that UK nationals and their family members who already reside in Cyprus or arrive by December 31, 2020, but will not yet have been continuously resident in Cyprus for five years, “will be eligible for residence, enabling them to stay until they have reached the five-year threshold, allowing them to apply for permanent residence”.
UK nationals and their family members who are covered by the withdrawal agreement, it said, “will be able to continue their lives in Cyprus, with the same access to work, study, benefits and public services that they enjoy now, subject to the specific provisions provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.”
The document may be found here: http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf/All/C482CD407E0903D8C225830E00384072/$file/IMPLEMENTING%20THE%20WA_PUBLISHED%20V.1.pdf
