Most people reading this blog in the UK will never need to worry about getting a tourist visa for Cyprus. For most readers in the UK, Europe and much of the Western world, visas are something you rarely think about - however they most definitely are still a thing, and recently we had to go through this process in order to obtain a visa for Cyprus for somebody who requires it to enter the territory. With long-haul travel still unlikely for a few months to come, European travel is the go-to right now and a trip to Cyprus is on the cards.

Applying for a Cyprus visa wasn’t straight forward. Like most visa applications, even during Covid-19, in-person appointments are still preferred to confirm identity and process the visa. To add to difficulties, there was no visa appointments available for a month and when there was availability it seemed to only have 2 appointments available on those days. But, the Cypriot Embassy have allowed visitors to the island to submit visa applications via post since February to the London office. The application administration is processed by VFS Global, who appear to have a near-monopoly on this industry having experienced them for Denmark, India, Russia as well as Cyprus. My difficulty in this was how little information is actually on their website for submitting by post - the below is the extent of information they provide, which is pretty ridiculous, with the link simply going to a schedule of optional services.

After several emails back and forth, I finally was able to confirm with the VFS what you need to do in order to send the application by post.

Making your application

First, collate all of your original documents with photocopies. This includes all of the following:

• passport

• UK residence permit card

• proof of funds (credit card, bank statement showing enough funds for £50 per day)

• proof of employment (pay slip) AND a letter from your employer confirming you work for the company

• proof of ticketed return travel (i.e. your itinerary with a reservation code with the airline from UK to Cyprus and back)

• proof of accommodation (a confirmation from a hotel booking site with the applicant’s name on will suffice)

• AND finally, the completed application form (found here) has to be printed and filled out using pen, not digitally (unfortunately). A new photograph within the required dimensions must be glued to the application itself.

The documents need to be sent to:

• Cyprus Visa Application Centre, 66 Wilson Street, EC2A 2BT, London, United Kingdom

Please, please, please do not send by low cost postal service - you are sending sensitive documents that are expensive to replace, so spend more and don’t just opt for 2nd Class post. I would recommend going for Royal Mail Special Delivery 1pm. This will arrive by 1pm the next working day and the price is not too expensive, around £7, which ensures end to end tracking at every delivery office and scan as well as compensation for lost postage if necessary. The extra cost for Special Delivery 9am is likely overkill as was quoted at almost three times the cost over 1pm - for only guaranteeing delivery four hours earlier.

The items arrived by post to VFS the next working day and by working day 2 after arriving, we received a call asking to make payment by credit card over the phone. They had sent receipt of the payment as well as the DX tracking codes for the passport and residence permit. On working day 3, we received back the residence permit by DX Secure Delivery, which was a relief.

Then the wait begun for the visa to be created and passport returned. In all, we received notification on working day 12 that it had been processed and that it would be delivered the next day. In total, it was a little shy of three and a half weeks from sending the documents at the Post Office to receiving it all back - which is an okay amount of time for processing.

Advice for applicants of Cyprus Visa in the UK

If you already have a Schengen Visa that is valid, then you do not have to get a separate Cyprus Visa. The Cypriot Government recognise the Schengen Visa for entry to the island despite not being part of the pan-European border free zone. You should note this does require some hoops to jump through:

• It must be a multi-entry type C Schengen Visa rated for double or multi-entry

• You must be visiting Cyprus during the validity period i.e. you would not be able to enter Cyprus on the 1st April on a Schengen Visa if it was not valid until the 1st May - even if you fulfil the multi-entry requirement

Although I have no proof, I do not believe that entry into Cyprus would count towards your Schengen Visa entries if you had a double entry type - this owes to the fact you would not be entering the Schengen zone.

If you live in the UK and do not have automatic visa-free entry into Europe, I recommend the following. Book a couple of European holidays within the Schengen zone, preferably with points and miles or with flexible booking options in case you need to cancel, hoping that you are issue with double or multi entry type visa. Then also book a trip to Cyprus that is within the validity time, this will mean you can bypass having to go through the laborious process of getting another visa - I hadn’t been so organised at planning.

A final note

Whilst I am writing this to help others in similar situations, please double check with VFS Global or the Cypriot Embassy before applying to double check what the requirements are. I will not be responsible if there is any issues in your application by following this guide although I hope it helps clear up any ambiguity from the process that is inaccessible from their respective websites.