By Bejay Browne.
A Cyprus government website aimed at providing information on Brexit is being promoted by the Press and Information Office, ahead of the transition period that come to an end on December 31.
www.brexit.com.cy holds the latest information for British residents in Cyprus, and is focused on this particular group, although a Greek version is also available, a member of the PIO, (Press and Information Office).
The site is a collaboration of the PIO and the Cyprus ministry of foreign affairs and a print and social media campaign is underway.
A major aim of the website is to provide up-to-date information about the residency rights of British nationals in Cyprus after the transition period.
UK nationals and their family members that have residence rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, but haven’t applied for residence documents by the end of the transitional period, (December 31,2020), will continue to have the right to apply within a new procedure that was initiated as of January 1, 2021, provided they can submit documentary evidence of residency prior to the end of the transition period, the website explains.
The website first went online in April 2019, but has mostly been ‘inactive’ since February as there have been ‘no new developments regarding Brexit’, the PIO said.
It is mostly focused on British permanent residents living in Cyprus and new content has just been added.
In addition, a new platform, EAS.CRMD.MOIGOV.CY, is also now live.
This contains information about how to obtain the new residency documents. These will replace the current scheme, MEU1, MEU2 and MEU3. The new MUKW1, MUKW2 and MUKW3, will contain biometric details of the holder, such as a photograph and fingerprints.
At present, Cyprus is not obliging British residency permit holders to apply for the new documents
“The government of the Republic of Cyprus greatly appreciates that UK citizens have been undoubtedly contributing to Cypriot society. Taking this valued contribution into consideration, and in addition to the fact that these UK citizens have been residing in Cyprus in their capacity as EU citizens, the government’s clear priority is to ensure that the rights of UK citizens are safeguarded,” the website notes.
