Who can get a yellow slip
Key figure: Deadline to apply4 months
Any EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who stays in Cyprus more than 3 months must register within 4 months of entry, on one of three grounds: as a worker, as a self-employed person, or as a person with sufficient resources and sickness insurance.
The yellow slip for non-EU citizens does not exist. A spouse or child who is not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen follows a separate family-member procedure, and a third-country national moving on their own applies for a visitor permit, the pink slip.
UK citizens after Brexit
A UK passport no longer qualifies for MEU1: for this procedure UK nationals are third-country nationals. Residence documents issued to UK nationals who settled before Brexit fall under the Withdrawal Agreement and are outside this page.
Where the time goes, and what can be sped up
Key figure: Decision time1 month
Once the MEU1 file is in, the Migration Department has 1 month at the latest to decide. That period cannot be shortened by anyone, including us.
The wait for an appointment is the part nobody publishes: the Migration Department gives no figure for it. What does speed things up is a file that is complete on the first visit, because a missing document means a second appointment and a second wait.
Our own part usually takes 5–15 working days: checking your documents, filling in MEU1, booking the appointment and filing. If you entered Cyprus some time ago, tell us the entry date first; the 4 months deadline counts to the day you apply, not to the decision.
Note
What you control
The date you start collecting documents and the completeness of the file. The appointment calendar and the decision are set by the Migration Department.
Yellow slip documents: checklist before you file
Key figure: MEU1 fee€20
Every file starts with form MEU1, a valid passport or national identity card and the €20 fee. The rest depends on your ground of residence.
Workers add evidence of employment in Cyprus. Self-employed applicants add evidence of their business activity. Applicants registering on their own means add proof of sufficient resources and a sickness insurance policy that covers them in Cyprus.
The Migration Department page for MEU1 is the binding list, and we check your file against it on the day we prepare it. Translations are not in our package; we tell you which documents need one.
When this applies
Sickness insurance is a condition only for the sufficient-resources ground. Workers and the self-employed register on the strength of their activity.
Validity, renewal and a lost certificate
Key figure: ValidityNo expiry
A yellow slip has no expiry date, so there is no renewal to diarise. Registration certificates in Cyprus do not lapse on a date; you apply once.
A lost yellow slip is replaced by the Migration Department; our fact reference holds no fee or form for the replacement, so we confirm both from the authority before we file for you.
The yellow slip is a residence record, not a travel document. For trips to the UK or Canada you travel on your passport or national ID under the entry rules of that country. Citizenship by naturalisation is a separate route that counts 8 years of legal residence.
Who this is not for
MEU1 is a registration, not a permit you choose. It is the wrong route in these cases.
- You hold only a non-EU passport, including a UK one: the pink slip, a work permit or a startup visa are the routes to compare.
- Your stay is shorter: registration applies to stays of more than 3 months.
- You need a document for travel: the yellow slip does not replace a passport or visa.
- You want Cyprus tax residency confirmed: that is a separate test under tax law, not part of MEU1.