Cyprus-Forum.com

[hopefulx2]

Hi. We are a retired couple, at the moment living in the UK. We plan to move to Paphos next year, intending to stay for a very long time, if all goes well. Looking at the information on this forum we find we need a registration certificate, but on visiting the ministry of the interior web site, there is also mention of an alien registration card.

To add to the confusion, on this site we can download the form MEU1a, and also on this site there is a form very similar, M67. Just what do we need please, and do we need to go to the police also to register.

We understand we need birth certificates, marriage certificate, S1, bank statements, passport photos, passports etc. but it is the other forms which are confusing.

Thank you.

[Sotos]

Hi. We are a retired couple, at the moment living in the UK. We plan to move to Paphos next year, intending to stay for a very long time, if all goes well. Looking at the information on this forum we find we need a registration certificate, but on visiting the ministry of the interior web site, there is also mention of an alien registration card.

To add to the confusion, on this site we can download the form MEU1a, and also on this site there is a form very similar, M67. Just what do we need please, and do we need to go to the police also to register.

We understand we need birth certificates, marriage certificate, S1, bank statements, passport photos, passports etc. but it is the other forms which are confusing.

Thank you.

No need to worry about the forms. As EU citizens you can come to Cyprus whenever you want and deal with any long term residency paperwork later. Basically whenever you are ready you will go to the immigration office in Paphos to set an appointment. There they will tell you which forms you need to fill and you will go back there to submit the forms a couple of weeks later.

[Tim Drayton]

As a British person living permanently in Cyprus, I can confirm what Sotos has said. Initially, you can come to Cyprus and there is a certain period - I think it is three months - within which you are supposed to apply for a residence permit if you want to stay permanently. If you are retired, the only thing you should need is a residence permit, although you will have to go to the tax office as well and get an income tax number and you will then have to submit an income tax return every year (the form is available in English). You won't be able to get a residence permit until you have a tax number. You will have to visit the Immigration Department in Paphos and ask for the form to apply for a residence permit (let them know you are an EU citizen so as to get the right form) and they will also give you a list of the other documents you need. I am not sure if they will give you an appointment or you just turn up and wait with the completed form. If it is anything like the Limassol Immigration Department, I would bring a book along to read and be prepared to spend a long time there waiting. There are also offices operating with names like 'immigration consultancy' who will do all of the work for you, for a fee. The practice with EU nationals seems to be to give a five-year residence permit the first time you apply, and to issue a permanent residence permit when you apply the next time after the five years are over.

[hopefulx2]

Thanks for all the help. Not sure we need the tax number though. We are on a UK state retirement pension which is paid as is, with no tax involved. I could see the point if we were on a private pension that was taxable, but I could of course be wrong.

Is there anybody out there claiming the same sort of pension, with or without a tax number, to help clarify this.

Thanks again.

[Tim Drayton]

Thanks for all the help. Not sure we need the tax number though. We are on a UK state retirement pension which is paid as is, with no tax involved. I could see the point if we were on a private pension that was taxable, but I could of course be wrong.

Is there anybody out there claiming the same sort of pension, with or without a tax number, to help clarify this.

Thanks again.

No, you must register with the tax office and have an income tax number. I am sorry, but if you live permanently in another country, then you fall under the local tax regime. Anybody who is permanently resident in Cyprus must submit a tax return every year and, if you were resident in Cyprus for 183 days or more in the year in question (i.e. more than half the year) you must declare your worldwide income, otherwise you only have to declare income arising in Cyprus. I think you will find that a small percentage of tax is applied to foreign pensions - I think it is 5% above a certain low threshhold. The fact that it is tax free in the UK has nothing to do with it. Even if you have absolutely no taxable income in the year in question, you still have to submit a declaration for the year stating that you have no income.

[Tim Drayton]

I am not an expert, but I think you will find that you will pay tax on your UK pension as follows:

Foreign pensions

Foreign pensions in respect of services rendered abroad are tax free in respect of the first €3,417, thereafter are taxed at a flat rate of 5 percent. Alternatively, if it is to the recipients benefit, he/she may exercise the option every year to be taxed at the normal rates.

http://www.cyprusinformation.com/cyprus ... me_tax.php

[Tim Drayton]

By the way, my mother and father were both retired and living here, and I know they had to submit tax returns each year.

Incidentally, the personal allowance (currently EUR 19,500) is below the basic UK pension, I imagine, so if you opt to be taxed at the normal rates, you should end up paying no tax unless you have other income that takes it above the allowance. You will still have to have a tax number and submit a declaration to the tax office each year though, just to state that you did not earn enough to pay tax on.

These are only things that an expert can really advise you on.

[Lordo]

was this always like this or is it the result of the haircut?

[Tim Drayton]

It is the same in Cyprus as anywhere in the world. If you want to be officially resident in a country then you are liable to pay tax there. I don't see what is so objectionable or surprising about that. That's how it has always been.

[Cap]

Thanks for the clarification Tim.