Cyprus long-term resident status after five years

Long-term resident status is the settled end of the temporary permit road in Cyprus. It is open to non-EU nationals who have lived here lawfully for five years, and it carries equal treatment with Cypriots on employment, education, social security and access to goods and services.

This guide sets out who qualifies, the two examinations, the documents, the fees and what the status is worth once you hold it.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not use this route. They reach permanent residence in Cyprus after the same five years on form MEU3, which is a different application with a different fee. See Yellow Slip in Cyprus for that procedure.

Family members from outside the EU who are married to an EU citizen have their own version of form MEU3 and their own ten-year card, covered on the same page. Everything below is for third-country nationals outside those rules.

Key takeaways

Long-term resident status is permanent once granted, subject to the rules on its loss and withdrawal. Getting it takes five years of lawful and continuous residence and, in all but exceptional cases, proof of Greek at level A2 and of basic knowledge of the political and social reality of Cyprus, usually through two examinations.

• The status of long-term resident is permanent. The document proving it is not: the long-term residence permit runs for five years and is renewed automatically on application. From 1 January 2027 that application is filed online only, through gov.cy.
• Status and permit are lost in different ways. The permit lapses if you do not renew it. The status itself falls away only in the cases set out in Cap. 105, and it can be regained.
• The status applies to third-country nationals ("TCNs"), persons who are not citizens of the European Union ("EU").
• The applicant sits two examinations, not one. The first is Greek at A2 level. The second covers basic elements of the political and social reality of Cyprus, and is a separate paper with its own fee, its own dates and its own application route.
• The application fee is €30. The Migration Department gives an examination time of 6 to 12 months for a first application.

The law behind the status

The rules sit in the Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105, at articles 18ΣΤ to 18ΚΗ. Those articles were inserted by Law 8(I)/2007, which brought Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 into Cyprus law.

A recast of that Directive was proposed on 27 April 2022 and is blocked in the Council. Negotiations with the Parliament broke down in early March 2024 over a blocking minority of member states, and none have been held since. The Parliament's Legislative Train still listed the file as blocked on 20 September 2026.

What is a long-term resident in Cyprus?

A long-term resident is any TCN with long-term resident status: a TCN who has resided legally and continuously in the Republic of Cyprus for five years before applying. "Legally" means with a valid residence permit.

According to the Directive, a TCN is any person who is not a citizen of the Union.

European Union citizenship is defined in Article 20 of TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). According to Article 20, "every person holding the nationality of a Member State is a citizen of the Union". Citizenship of the Union is additional to national citizenship. It does not replace it.

Any person not holding the nationality of a Member State is a TCN.

What conditions must I fulfil to get long-term residence in Cyprus?

You must have lived in the government-controlled areas legally and continuously for the five years immediately before you apply, holding a valid residence permit throughout.

Years on a work permit issued through the Business Facilitation Unit count: employment is not among the kinds of residence the law leaves out, as long as the permit is not officially restricted. Whether time on a Cyprus Pink Slip counts is not settled: the law does not name a visitor permit among the kinds of residence it leaves out, but it does leave out residence on solely temporary grounds.

You need stable and regular resources, enough to keep you and your dependent family members without turning to the social welfare system, and health insurance. You must not be a threat to public order or public security, and the file includes a criminal record certificate issued by the Republic.

The two examinations

The applicant sits two examinations, not one. The first is Greek at A2 level.

The second covers basic elements of the political and social reality of Cyprus, and is a separate paper with its own fee, its own dates and its own application route.

Both are run through the Examinations Service of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth. In exceptional cases the Immigration Control Committee can exempt an applicant from both conditions, under article 18Θ(2) of Cap. 105.

Translations and certification

Form MLT3 goes in with the documents listed below. Everything must be in Greek or English, or carry an official translation into one of those two.

A translation counts as official if a sworn translator did it. A consular authority of the country that issued the document can certify it instead, and so can one of that country's government departments.

Public documents from a country that has ratified the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention must carry an apostille. From other countries they need diplomatic certification: the issuing country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies the document and the Cyprus embassy or consulate there certifies that signature. The Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds the last certification.

Where Cyprus has no embassy or consulate there, the chain runs through a third country. Documents from Russia or Serbia need no certification under bilateral agreements, if properly signed and sealed by the issuing authority.

Do the five years of previous legal stay cover everyone living in Cyprus?

No. There are categories of people who may reside legally in the Republic for five years, yet that period of residence will not be considered. These categories are:

• Students or persons residing in the Republic for vocational training;
• Persons permitted to reside in the Republic on the grounds of protection other than international protection or have applied for such permission;
• Persons who have applied for international protection and whose application has not yet been finally decided;
• Persons residing in the Republic solely on temporary grounds. Article 18Ζ(2)(γ) of Cap. 105 names unpaid domestic helpers, seasonal workers, salaried employees of a cross-border service provider, cross-border service providers themselves, and holders of a residence permit that has been formally restricted;
• Persons whose legal status is governed by the Vienna Conventions of 1961 on diplomatic relations, of 1963 on consular relations, and of 1975 on the representation of states in their relations with international organisations of a universal character.

Documents you file with form MLT3

The Migration Department publishes the list and refuses any file that arrives short of it. What follows is that list in plain English.

• A passport or other travel document valid for at least two years, with certified copies of every page showing arrivals in and departures from the government-controlled areas.
• A copy of your current residence permit.
• An employment contract of open duration or for at least eighteen months. If you are self-employed, a written statement describing the intended work and the income you expect from it.
• An original criminal record certificate issued by the Republic of Cyprus, not by your country of origin.
• A health insurance policy covering you in Cyprus for in-patient and out-patient treatment.
• A short curriculum vitae with your email address and telephone number.
• True copies of academic and vocational qualifications, confirmation of previous experience, and any professional licences, officially translated into Greek or English.
• The Greek language certificate at level A2 for foreigners, issued by the Ministry of Education.
• The certificate on the political and social reality of Cyprus.
• Bank account statements covering twelve months.
• Certificates of income and an income declaration for anything you earn outside employment, with an affidavit where one is needed.
• Title of ownership of your home. Where the title has not been issued yet, the contract of sale lodged with the Department of Lands and Surveys and proof of payment. A valid rental agreement works instead, with twelve months of payment receipts and the utility bills for the property.
• Tax declarations for the last five years and a tax clearance certificate.
• VAT declarations for the last five years, where you are registered for VAT, with a tax clearance certificate.
• Statements of your contributions to the Social Insurance Fund for the last five years.
• Marriage or divorce certificates, certified and translated.

Stamp duty and the employment contract

The Migration Department's published list, in a file dated 6 March 2025, still asks for the employment contract to be stamped by the Stamps Commissioner. Cyprus repealed the Stamp Duties Laws by Law 239(I)/2025 with effect from 1 January 2026, and the department's own announcement of 29 January 2026 says a document signed from that date is not subject to stamp duty.

For contracts signed on or after January 1, 2026, no stamp duty is payable. For contracts signed before 2026, the correct duty is paid to the Tax Department before registration.

If you hold a Cyprus EU Blue Card

A holder of a valid Cyprus EU Blue Card who reaches this status through long-term Blue Card mobility files a shorter version of the same list.

Tax and VAT declarations cover the last two years rather than the last five, and so do the social insurance statements. The passport pages you copy are the ones showing arrivals in and departures from the EU, rather than from Cyprus alone. You add a copy of the Blue Card itself, or of a national permit for highly qualified employment, a researcher permit, or a permit held as a beneficiary of international protection in another member state.

Taking the Greek language test

The usual route to the Greek certificate is the Εξετάσεις Πιστοποίησης Ελληνομάθειας, the Greek proficiency certification examinations, at level A2 (basic knowledge).

The examination is taken at the Ministry of Education in Nicosia. The paper is set in Greece by the Centre for the Greek Language ("Centre for Greek Language", in Greek called Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, ΚΕΓ).

Location and contact details of the examination

The Ministry of Education is acting as Examination Centre No. 35703. The address is 23 Megaron Street, Strovolos 2032, Nicosia, and the contact phone numbers are 00357 22582900 /05 and 00357 22582926 /29. The Examinations Service can be reached at [email protected].

Find the link on Examination centers - greek-language.gr.

Dates, applications and procedure

The examination and registration dates for each level are set by the Centre for the Greek Language, and they can be found on their website.

For candidates in Cyprus the examinations are held once a year, in May, on the same dates in Greece and abroad. In 2027 the A2 paper is on Tuesday 11 May, at midday.

The Ministry of Education sends candidates to the Centre for the Greek Language's website for the dates and the application.

Registration for May 2027 runs from 1 February to 14 March 2027. The A2 fee is €90.

Structure of the test

The A2 paper has four parts, each worth 25 marks: reading takes 30 minutes, listening 25, writing 45 and speaking 12 minutes for each pair of candidates.

• Reading: true or false, matching sentences, multiple choice with four options, and filling in the gaps, each on a text of 120 to 140 words.
• Listening: matching descriptions to pictures, multiple choice with three options from a dialogue, true or false from a monologue, and taking notes from a formal dialogue.
• Writing: two texts of about 80 to 100 words each, a friendly text or a description first, then a less friendly text closer to formal.
• Speaking: simple questions about you, such as your name, where you live, your school and your family, followed by a short monologue. The last part is a role-play between two candidates. No preparation time is given, except about two minutes to read your role.

You can find sample papers at https://www.greek-language.gr/.

The Cyprus political and social reality test

The second certificate is the one applicants miss. Its full name is the Certification of Sufficient Knowledge of Basic Elements of the Contemporary Political and Social Reality of Cyprus, and article 18Θ(1)(α1) of Cap. 105 puts it on the same footing as the language requirement.

The Examinations Service of the Higher Education Directorate runs it twice a year, on dates it announces at the end of the preceding year alongside the syllabus.

The paper lasts 45 minutes and is made up of multiple-choice questions. It is sat in Greek. Questions cover customs and traditions, public figures and institutions such as ministers and members of parliament, important dates and holidays, well-known places, and matters in the political and social news.

Applications are made online through JCC Smart once the fee is paid. The fee is €20 per candidate.

Results are published on the Examinations Service website against each candidate number. After the results come out, successful candidates are told how to collect their certificate.

Where you file and what happens next

Form MLT3 and the original documents are filed only at the Migration Department's offices in Nicosia. An application that arrives without every document on the list is not accepted for consideration, so the file goes in complete or not at all.

Biometric data and a signature are taken against your submission receipt and a valid travel document. That happens at the department in Nicosia or at the district unit of the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Police where you live. If you have not yet been given one, this is the point at which your ARC number matters.

Decision and timing

The Immigration Control Committee decides the application. Tell the department at once if any of your details change before that decision lands.

Examination takes 6 to 12 months. An approval arrives as a letter telling you how to collect your residence permit. A refusal arrives as a letter setting out the reasons.

Renewing the permit online

Renewal is a separate application, and the renewed permit runs another five years.

The law asks for it at the latest three months before the current permit expires, under article 18ΙΒ(2). Letting the permit expire does not cost you the status itself.

From 1 January 2027 renewals of long-term resident permits go in only online, through the government portal gov.cy, and the Migration Department's service points stop taking them in person. The online service has been open since July 2026. It is for renewals only: a first application still goes in at the department in Nicosia.

The service opens 90 days before your current permit expires and closes 30 days before. The law's three months run out at about the day the service opens, so file on the first day the service accepts your application. The steps:

1. Sign in with a verified CY Login account. An authorised representative, such as a law firm, can file for you and needs a verified CY Login account too.
2. Fill in the application and upload the documents.
3. If the department's review is completed successfully, pay the €30 fee online.
4. Within seven days of paying, you must visit the service point you chose for your signature and biometric data.

What the application costs

The government side of a first application comes to €140. The fee for filing form MLT3 is €30. The two examinations account for the rest, €90 for Greek at A2 level and €20 for the Cyprus reality paper.

Renewal of the status on form MLT3 costs €30 again. Renewing the plastic card on form MLT2 is a further €30. Legal fees for preparing and running the application are quoted separately.

The bottom line

Long-term resident status is the settled end of the temporary-permit road, and it is not quick to reach. Five years of clean residence, two examinations, five years of tax declarations and five years of social insurance statements stand between an applicant and the certificate.

What it buys is a permanent status, equal treatment on employment and education, an end to annual renewals, and a route into another member state that a national permit does not give.

Each renewed permit runs another five years. The status behind it is permanent and survives the paperwork, which is the point of holding it.

If you are weighing this route against Cyprus permanent residency by investment, or looking further ahead to Cyprus citizenship, our Cyprus immigration lawyers will tell you which one your circumstances actually support.