Procedure for the acquisition and renewal of residence permits

• For the acquisition or renewal of a residence permit to a beneficiary of international protection (recognised refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection) and to his/her family members who are also beneficiaries of international protection, an application (MIPA2) along with all the required supporting documents must be submitted to the appropriate Office of the Aliens and Immigration Unit of the Police of the District where the beneficiary resides or to the Civil Registry and Migration Department (only for beneficiaries residing in Nicosia). To find out whether an appointment is needed follow this link.
• During the submission of the application, and in cases where there is no previous registration, a first registration shall be made in the Aliens Registry and an Alien Registration Card (ARC) will be issued.
• There is no fee for applying.
• Applications for renewing this residence permit must be submitted in time (one month before the expiration of the beneficiary's current residence permit).
• For the issuance of the temporary residence permit capturing biometric data (photo and fingerprints) and the signature of the beneficiary is necessary, which is done with the presentation of the application submission receipt and a valid travel document. The biometric data can be captured at the same time or after the application submission, at the offices of the Department in Nicosia or the district unit of the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Police of the district of residence of the third country national. For persons who have not reached the age of six years at the time of applying only the photo is captured. This data is also captured for the renewal of the temporary residence permit.
• Applications that are not accompanied by all the required documents will not be accepted for consideration.
• Any change in the applicant's data during the examination of the application should be notified immediately to the Department.
• In case the application is approved, the applicant will receive a letter notifying them of how to receive their temporary residence permit.
• In case the application is rejected, the applicant will receive a letter informing them of the rejection reasons.

Examination time
All applications are examined on a strict priority basis based on the date of submission.
Residence permits are issued within three months from the date of the application.
Residence permits can be accelerated only for medical reasons and after the submission of the required medical verifications.

Duration of temporary residence permit

• Individuals recognized as refugees are granted a 3-year residence permit which can be renewed for another 3 years.
• Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection obtain a 1-year residence permit, renewable for 2 years.

Access to the labour market and health care
Beneficiaries of international protection are granted full and automatic access to the labour market.
Beneficiaries of international protection are included in the GeSY.