The permanent residence of citizens of the E.U., E.E.A. and Switzerland (Union) and their family members who are also Union citizens is provided by the Law regarding the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Republic.

Right to submission of application for a Permanent Residence certificate
The application for the issuing of a Permanent Residence Certificate is submitted by Union citizens, after a five-year period of uninterrupted legal residence in the Republic of Cyprus, provided that they can prove with official means that they resided legally for five uninterrupted years and that they have not become a burden on the social assistance system of the Republic of Cyprus during their period of residence.

Submission of application

• The offices where applications can be submitted can be located here.To find out whether an appointment is needed follow this link.
• The MEU3 application must be accompanied with all the required supporting documents, which can be found in the list of supporting documents and which must be officially translated and duly certified.
• In order to proceed with the submission of an application, the required fees (see below) must be paid.
• During the application process a photograph is captured, after presenting the receipt issued for submission and a valid travel document.
• In case of approval, the Permanent Residence Certificate will be issued and sent by post.
• In case of rejection of the application, a letter will be sent at the latest declared address, stating the reasons for the rejection.  Updating their address is the absolute responsibility of the applicants, in order to receive the rejection letter and possible submission of a hierarchical course within the timeline provided by the Law.

Application Fees
The application fees Union citizens and their family members who are also Union citizens is €20.

Examination time of an application
The examination of an application and the issuance of a decision is completed within one month, provided that the application is duly completed and all supporting documents are provided. This time limit shall not apply and the examination time shall be increased, if the application is not duly completed and documents are missing.  During the examination of the application, the authorities may conduct interviews of the applicants, or request further documentation, whenever this is deemed necessary.

Duration of Permanent Residence certificate
Permanent Residence Certificates do not have an expiration date.