ARC number in Cyprus
Updated:
ARC stands for Alien Registration Certificate. The ARC number is the registration number Cyprus assigns to a foreign national who registers with the immigration authorities, similar to a citizen's ID number. People call it the alien registration number or ARC ID, and the Migration Department calls the document the Alien Registration Card.
The number confirms your identity and your entry in the Aliens' Register. EU citizens need it once they stay longer than three months, and non-EU nationals receive it with their first residence permit. The ARC is not a permit itself, but it is issued with one.
The ARC number and card are not issued independently. They will be issued along with your:
- Registration certificate (the yellow slip), if you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or
- Residence permit for third-country nationals. The residence permit can be either temporary (e.g., for students) or permanent (e.g., for investors).
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Why do you need an ARC number in Cyprus?
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who stays longer than three months applies within four months of arrival for a registration certificate, the yellow slip, and the ARC number comes with it. The right to live and work here comes from EU free movement law. The certificate records it.
A non-EU national who wants to stay beyond their visa or visa-free period applies for a residence permit. The first application enters them in the Aliens' Register, and the ARC is issued at that point.
Who can obtain an alien card?
Any foreign national who applies to live in Cyprus, on a temporary or a permanent basis. A tourist on a short visit does not get one.
How to apply for an ARC number in Cyprus?
The documents required for the ARC number application may vary depending on the type of residence permit you are applying for.
Typically, the documents will include:
- The application form (varies depending on the residence permit)
- Copy of a valid passport
- Marriage certificate and children's birth certificates, if relevant
- Employment contract, if relevant (for example, you don't need it if you are applying for permanent residence by investment)
- Sales or rent contract for residence
- Bank statement showing account movement
- Health insurance certificate
Every supporting document must be in Greek or English, or officially translated into one of them, and duly certified. A public document issued abroad, such as a marriage or birth certificate, carries an apostille where the issuing country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention.
A non-EU applicant gives a photograph and fingerprints, and signs, on showing the application receipt and a valid travel document. A child under six gives a photograph only. An EU citizen applying for a registration certificate gives a photograph only.
Where to submit the application
Applications go to the Migration Department of the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection. Which office takes yours depends on where you live and on the permit.
If you live in the Nicosia district, you apply at the department's headquarters. Elsewhere, you book an appointment by email with the Aliens and Immigration Unit of the Cyprus Police in your district: Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos or Famagusta.
Some categories are handled at headquarters only, whatever your district. They include Immigration Permits, long-term resident status, staff of companies of foreign interests, the EU Blue Card, the digital nomad visa and the Startup Visa.
The headquarters address is 90 Archbishop Makarios III Avenue, 1077 Nicosia.
Legal aspects of the Cyprus ARC number
The ARC confirms your identity and your registration in the Aliens' Register.
An ARC is not:
- A residence permit
- An employment permit
- Health coverage card
- Visa for entry and/or stay in the Republic
A temporary residency or permanent residence permit must accompany the ARC.
For an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, the registration certificate does.
Where to find your ARC number
Your ARC number is printed on the document issued with it, not in your passport. EU/EEA nationals find it on the registration certificate (yellow slip). Third-country nationals find it on the residence permit card.
Checking an application or a lost number
Cyprus has no public website for looking up an ARC number.
The Migration Department sends an SMS when your residence permit is ready to collect. You collect it from the office where you submitted the application.
If you have lost the document, report the loss to the police, then apply to the Migration Department for the document to be reissued.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ARC number in Cyprus?
The ARC number is the number Cyprus gives a foreign national on registration in the Aliens' Register. It is similar to the ID card number of a Cypriot citizen. EU citizens register once they stay longer than three months. Non-EU nationals are registered with their first residence permit application.
EU citizens get a registration certificate if they work or are self-employed in Cyprus, or have enough resources to support themselves with full sickness insurance. Non-EU nationals apply for a temporary or permanent residence permit.
How long is the ARC valid?
Registration in the Aliens' Register happens once. What expires is the document the number is printed on, and that follows the permit.
An EU citizen's registration certificate has no expiry date. A residence card for a non-EU family member of an EU citizen runs five years. A permanent residence permit (Immigration Permit), including the investment route, has no end date, but its card expires after ten years and is replaced. A temporary permit, such as a Pink Slip, carries the end date of that permit.
How long does it take to process the Alien Card?
The Migration Department gives a time for each permit. An EU citizen's registration certificate is decided within one month at the latest and sent by post. A visitor permit (Pink Slip) is usually decided within four months. Other permits carry their own times on the department's pages.
Check current waiting times with the Migration Department when you apply.
Do EU citizens need an Alien Certificate (Cyprus ARC number)?
Yes. An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen staying longer than three months applies for a registration certificate, the yellow slip, within four months of arrival, and the ARC number comes with it. The fee is €20.
To qualify you work or are self-employed in Cyprus, or you have enough resources for yourself and your family with full sickness insurance. Not applying can cost a fine of up to €2,500.
Is there a fee for the ARC number?
A non-EU national pays €70 for registration in the Aliens' Register, once, with their first residence permit application. The permit fee is charged on top. Anyone already registered from an earlier permit does not pay the €70 again.
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen pays €20 for the registration certificate (yellow slip) and nothing more.
Does my ARC number change when I renew or change my permit?
Registration in the Aliens' Register happens once, with your first residence permit application, and a renewal or a new permit does not start a new registration. The €70 registration fee is charged only that first time, not again on a later permit or when the card is replaced.
Within what timeframe should I apply for an ARC after arriving in Cyprus?
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens apply for the registration certificate within four months of arriving, once they plan to stay longer than three months.
A non-EU national applies for a residence permit before their visa expires, or before the end of the 90 days if their country is on the Cyprus visa-exemption list. The ARC is issued with that first application.
Is enrolling for GeSY allowed with an ARC number?
Your ARC number is the identifier GeSY (the General Healthcare System) uses to register you, so you need it. The number alone does not make you a beneficiary.
An EU citizen qualifies by working in Cyprus or by holding permanent residence. A non-EU national qualifies through employment, permanent residence, refugee or supplementary protection status, or insurance in another EU country. In both cases the family members of a beneficiary are covered as dependants.
A yellow slip or a visitor permit (Pink Slip) gives no access to GeSY on its own.