Brexit ready?
The clock is ticking. Expect to have to wait for a couple of months for any appointment at the Department of Transport and/or Immigration unless you are lucky and they have a cancellation. You must start the process to formalise your residency before 31 December 2020 to protect your rights. So please arrange appointments with Immigration and the Department of Transport without further delay and before the holiday period kicks in. Remember Government offices will be closed 24, 25 December, and 1 January.
At the current time, the 4 main things you need to do:
1 Formalise your residency - obtain your MEU1 or MEU3. Please remember that no other residency documentation is now recognised. Remember without formalising your residency you can only stay on the island for up to 90 days and must leave and then cannot return for a further 90 days. Also, without residency, if there is another lockdown, you will not be able to return to Cyprus until that lockdown is lifted.
In addition, you may not be able to join GESY and leave yourself open to a fine of around €2,500 if stopped as from 1 January 2021 you will be a third party national and on the island illegally.
If you do not hold an MEU1, 2 or 3, then when you arrive in Cyprus from 1 January 2021, your passport will be stamped with a 90 day visa. You will be required to leave the island after 90 days, and not return for another 90 days.
2 Change your UK driving licence to a Cypriot one. You will need to visit the Department of Transport off Mesogi Road.
3 Check your UK passport. From 1 January 2021 you must have at least 6 months left on your passport to travel to most countries in Europe. Also check to see if when you renewed your passport last time any unexpired portion was added on - if so, please note that new regulations only permit a passport to be valid for 10 years from date of issue and so you could find that you have less time left on your passport than you thought!
4 If you are an S1 holder, obtain your new EHIC from the UK Government. [If you are not an S1 holder, the portal to obtain an EHIC will open in December - further information follows]
Those in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement who maintain their EHIC rights will be invited to apply for a new EHIC via an online portal opening 10 November 2020. Access to the portal will be staggered and begin with S1 holders.
From 1 January 2021, the current UK European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) may no longer be valid. Visitors and other groups travelling to the EU are already being advised to check their situation and make changes to their travel insurance cover.
A new EHIC has been developed for those eligible under the Withdrawal Agreement to protect the existing healthcare rights of people living, working and studying in the EU prior to the end of the transition period.
These groups are protected under the Withdrawal Agreement, and their new Citizens’ Rights Agreement (CRA) EHICs will be valid for as long as they are covered under the Agreement.
Those people currently holding an S1 form will need to ensure they have registered their S1 locally and then apply for the new EHIC via the online portal.
From 1 January 2021, those covered by the WA who are registered correctly will retain their rights to reciprocal healthcare, including medically necessary state healthcare falling under EHIC.
Groups include:
- UK state pensioners living in the EEA or Switzerland at the end of Transition Period (TP)
- UK students studying in the EEA or Switzerland at the end of TP
Find out more at NHS.UK/EHIC
And at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-cyprus#healthcare
You can apply here
To formalise your residency:
UK National Support Fund
