What the pink slip is and who files it
Key figure: Permit validity1 year
The first permit runs for 1 year and is renewed each year; the Migration Department page gives clergy a longer term.
It is a residence permit for people who support themselves: retirees, owners of income from abroad, family members who do not work in Cyprus. It is not a student permit and not a work permit; both are separate categories with their own forms.
Note
Income threshold
The Migration Department does not publish a minimum income for visitors. You still show that you can live in Cyprus without working, and we build that evidence from your bank statements.
Checked on
Pink slip or yellow slip
Key figure: Yellow slip decision time1 month
Your passport decides: the yellow slip (form MEU1) is for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens only and is decided within 1 month; everyone else files for the pink slip, where the decision takes about 4 months.
A family with mixed passports can end up with both. The EU spouse registers on MEU1, the non-EU spouse and children then apply as family members of an EU citizen, not as visitors. Ask us before anyone files, because the order of filings matters.
Documents you file and papers you get back
Key figure: Permit fee€70
The application is form MVIS8 plus supporting papers, filed with the €70 permit fee while your entry visa is still valid.
We take the document list from the Migration Department page on visitors and match your papers against it line by line: passport and entry visa, proof of accommodation in Cyprus, bank statements showing your means, and a health insurance policy. Anything issued abroad may need a translation, which we list in the quote.
What you hold at the end
A filing receipt on the day we submit, the approval letter once the Migration Department decides, and the entry in the Aliens’ Register that people call the pink slip. Keep the receipt: its reference number is what you quote whenever you or we ask about the file.
What a family of four pays
Key figure: Family includedYes
A couple with two children needs 4 permits, so the permit fee alone is €280 (€70 × 4); with our fee from €900, the known part comes to €1,180.
Two items sit outside that sum. The first entry in the Aliens’ Register is charged separately for each person, as the note to the permit fee states, and health insurance is priced by your insurer. The full table, with renewal, is below.
Closing a company and staying on
Key figure: Work allowedNo
Regulation 14 allows no economic activity at all, which is why the pink slip suits a company owner who is winding down rather than trading.
A typical case: your Cyprus company has stopped trading, your work-based permit ends with it, and you want to stay in the country. We close the company through liquidation and file the pink slip as a separate application. Whether keeping shares in a company that still exists counts as activity is not settled on the Migration Department page, so we look at your structure before filing.
Travel and tax on a pink slip
Key figure: Tax residencyIndividuals: more than 183 days in Cyprus in the calendar year, or the 60-day rule. Companies: managed and controlled in Cyprus, or (from 1 Jan 2026) incorporated or re-domiciled in Cyprus unless a tax treaty provides otherwise.
Tax follows your days, not your permit: an individual becomes Cyprus tax resident with more than 183 days in Cyprus in the calendar year, or the 60-day rule.
Cyprus is in the EU but not in the Schengen area, so the pink slip gives no visa-free entry to Schengen countries. Visa-free travel depends on your own passport, not on this permit.
Pink slip and the road to citizenship
Key figure: Years to citizenship8 years
Naturalisation on the standard route takes 8 years of legal residence, and the pink slip does not shorten it.
How years on a visitor permit count towards that period is not stated on the pages we cite; the Ministry of Interior decides on each application. Plan for this if a passport is your aim.
Who this is not for
The pink slip is a permit to live, not to earn. Pick another route if one of these fits you.
- You hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport: you register for the yellow slip.
- You work remotely for an employer or clients abroad: the digital nomad visa covers that, with an income threshold of €3,500/month.
- You plan to take a job or run a business in Cyprus: you need a work permit.
- You are coming to study: students apply under a separate category.
- Your visa has already expired: the application is filed before it runs out.