Cyprus-Forum.com

[wantoosoon]

Hello, I could use some advice, please.

I've recently moved to Cyprus from the UK and I'm having some difficulty with the Department of Labour and Social Insurance.

My wife and I both applied for self-employed status (as required by the Immigration Department for our MEU1 applications). However, we have been rejected as apparently we don't meet the requirements for such status under Cypriot law. Please see the letter here: https://imgur.com/a/paYikZz.

This doesn't make sense to me as we have both been self-employed for several years. I would like to know:

1 Have I understood the letter correctly? I auto-translated it.

2 Has anyone else experienced this? How did you get around it? The letter doesn't tell us why we don't meet their requirements.

3 Do I need to supply further evidence of self-employment? I sent them a contract the last time around. It's very difficult for my wife to do the same, as she's a beauty therapist and doesn't have contracts, plus she hasn't been able to work recently due to Covid restrictions.

I will of course go to their offices and ask for more information but it's difficult to get past the receptionist, who doesn't seem to know anything.

Thanks!

[Get Real!]

I guess you need to get a copy of the legal details (In Greek it’s called the Nomo-shedio) of what constitutes “self employed”.

Keep in mind that the self employed need to have been paying Social Insurance during the year to qualify as such... maybe your wife wasn’t.
http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/sid/sidv2.n ... enDocument

Also, keep in mind that the Cyprus Ombudsman is your last option when you disagree with a government decision and are seeking justice.

Their website is only in Greek but I’m sure you’ve figured out how to translate a page to English in a browser...

http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/ombudsman/o ... nt&lang=el

[wantoosoon]

I guess you need to get a copy of the legal details (In Greek it’s called the Nomo-shedio) of what constitutes “self employed”.

Keep in mind that the self employed need to have been paying Social Insurance during the year to qualify as such... maybe your wife wasn’t.
http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/sid/sidv2.n ... enDocument

Also, keep in mind that the Cyprus Ombudsman is your last option when you disagree with a government decision and are seeking justice.

Their website is only in Greek but I’m sure you’ve figured out how to translate a page to English in a browser...

http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/ombudsman/o ... nt&lang=el

Thank you, those links are interesting reading. I'm not sure I fully understand them though, to be honest. The more I read, the less I seem to understand. I might get an accountant to do all this for me. It seems like an extreme measure just to get set up here, but I'm keen not to waste any more time!