Deal or No Deal ?

Without sounding too much like Noel Edmonds I am intrigued to find out the consensus on a few topics.

We spent a week visiting Cyprus last month looking to buy a retirement pad.

Sadly BREXIT has forced us to speed up our plans - Perhaps.

We were on a “Viewing Trip” and went round a lot of locations looking mainly at New build properties but with the odd resale thrown in.

While we were there, we met up with their tax and immigration specialist. He informed us that you no longer need to re apply annually for an MEU1.

Can anyone confirm that this is true or not.

He and the sales agents + some expats who were selling their home told us that if we were to purchase a resale or sign up to a new build, that we could apply for the MEU1 and the Cypriots would probably grant it without us having to live there at the moment  - As long as it is our intention to settle and we visit every couple of years.

Again has anyone heard that one ?

Lastly if there is a No Deal, is it true that everyone currently holding an MEU1 will retain the right to stay permanently ?

The UK press release is saying that the “Transition” is still a negotiation, and thus if there is a No Deal, then nothing is set in stone.

October is the big deadline to see if a deal can be done, but there is infighting with the press saying the Labour Party will vote out any deal that is done.

So in essence we have from perhaps October to 19th March to buy a place.

interested to know what people think

yes its true you apply for the MEU1 and its currently without an expiry date you can after 5 yrs provable legitimate residency apply for MEU3 permanent residency

Not quite as long as you have the yellow slip before B day (Bidet) the Cyprus Government have said that you will retain the rights to stay under the withdrawal agreement/deal, however they havent stated clearly what their plans / intentions are under a no deal scenario..... any newcomer to the island post Brexit  would become TCNs and treated differently in terms of MEU1 residency applications ie the requirements are different for residency ...plus who knows what else????.. also think about if you need to work and may need a permit too - medical / healthcare requirements S1 reciprocal care, driving licences. importing of cars etc etc all of which could change or be affected in some way,.......all of it is a little worrying

cant say ive heard of anyone applying for the yellow slip in advance of living here...  they need quite a few documents now and some of them need to be apostilled (legally verified from your homeland).

just remember once you are registered with a yellow slip you are also obliged to register for tax as well with annual tax returns,,,,   

I think the deadline now is november as it was put back  - but as things move forward i d like to think there would be no brexit  but in reality i think its 50/50 for no deal or a questionable deal with serious impacts and restrictions for UK nationals in EU countries. and of course vice versa... plus as you say under no deal there will be no transition..... and i suspect all bets are off

However putting that aside.. do your research
make sure its what you want first - living like a local and not in holiday mode....doing what you would normally do in UK but here in sunny cyprus manage your expectations - know what it is you want from the experience.. this changes as you get older and they also change from location to location.... rent first for 6-12 months minimum, as things change, areas change, facilities and services change neighbours (renters owners) change give yourself time to assess and re-assess, do not rush into buying ..it could be an expensive mistake .... get to know the island the villages and what they offer for you...and of course what they dont offer you = certain areas have surefire barking dogs issues (peyia for sure) complexes have issues especially the larger ones - then when you are happy consider buying if thats your goal..... dont worry or beat yourself up about making mistakes we all do it - listen to as much advise and as many viewpoints as possible - consider everything ignore nothing do the research then decide and plan and finally have an exit strategy if it doesnt work out the way you thought it would.

Buy if you want, rent if you want - but in both cases do your homework and use reputable recommended sources.... know the difference between "deeds available" and "with deeds"


good luck from me....

some links for you - they assume there will be a transition but if no deal occurs then there will not be a transition period  - https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/09/27/mini … st-brexit/http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf … 0E00384072

Thanks Toon

We had considered me coming across and renting and commuting back and forth to my job in the UK.

So me using Cyprus as my main home while applying for the slip.

We would register the house, bills etc in both our names and open bank accounts etc

My job would allow me to commute but my girlfriend would have to pop across for long weekends.

But I like your idea of renting as a way of seeing the different areas - It makes a good deal of sense.

I know about importing a car within a year of arrival.

It would be a long title early in the scheme of things, but probably worth doing as I could always take it back out of Cyprus if things did not work out.

The official word is that there will be a meeting on 17th - 18th Oct and that an extra day has been added to try reach an agreement.

Then they speculate that if there is no breakthrough then, that then they will not hold a fallback meeting in November or December.

I think most people are fed up with it, but at least it stops us all worrying if a large asteroid is heading our way.

Bday - I like that !

I prefer Bidet myself... its a mess ,maybe people are sick of it but hey it impacts heaviest on those who have exercised their FoM rights and had planned to do so and those who like me had planned to do more of it later in life.... ah well we shall have to wait and see

Please believe me renting is the way to go before buying... dont take the risk - there are many things to consider when choosing an area as the dynamics of an area changes depending on time of day - kids to and from school, workers to and from work, night shifts, early shifts, farmers, hunters and their dogs barking  - we moved after 7 months of hell due to the 14 hunting dogs around us barking from 3am till 11pm every day

complexes too have issues such as owners not paying  their share of communal expenses, leading to higher costs as those who do, end up bearing the extra to keep their properties and complexes in good repair - long and short let renters being noisy or disrespectful, holiday makers not respecting permanent residents taking over the pool in summertime  - we left a complex because of that too.... lol...

we have now found exactly what we were looking for but it took us 25 months to do so....   we ve now been here just over four years and have had four different properties in that time....... two of those years in this 2 bed bungalow with a basement and pool, drive fruit trees in the garden etc and have another four years of our fixed rent contract to run so we are very happy... great landlord and fab agent too

Interestingly the French senate have proposed not 'lowering its standards' by reciprocating Britain's apparent stance on immigration, i.e. in the event of a no deal. Brexit is Britain's mess, but it's not the fault of those expats who were deprived even a vote.  https://twitter.com/The3Million/status/ … 7933121536

Difficult to imagine Cyprus taking a harder line than France, but on the other hand France are underlining that this falls foul of 'the values of the Republic'.