Bill wrote:I went to the immigration last June and got my aliens card ~ although not what I expected it was quite a painless procedure as all they seemed to want was my £25
.
As far as I'm concerned I've done what I was supposed to do according to the law in Cyprus and if they bring out something new that's their problem not mine ~ I'm a citizen of the EU and have the right to live here after initially complying with their ( at the time) version of immigration conditions.
The one gripe I have is that I expected to be accepted without any restrictions or fuss as my wife is a Cypriot .
I was treated just like any other EU citizen wishing to retire to Cyprus ~ no account was taken of my marriage to a Cypriot and my right to be here through her.
I did ask ( many times ) that surely being married to a Cypriot entitles me to live here in the same way that my wife was entitled to live in the UK through her marriage to me but was told it makes no difference what so ever and this doesn't apply in Cyprus
Much the same as the Customs and Excise the Immigration seem to make the rules up to suit their mood on the day.
I was initially asked by the immigration guy if I was going to work whilst in Cyprus ~ I replied "no I wouldn't be working for the time being but may consider it later" ~ I was then given the form for a retired person wishing to live here and told I'd have to reapply if I decided to work ~
of course this means paying another £25 
.
I'm sure that if I was a tall blonde Russian hostess
type girl being sponsored by a cabaret owner the procedure would have been a lot easier .
As it is I'm a grumpy old bastard wanting his rights with no chance of actually achieving them .
But as I said I've got my aliens card and as far as I'm concerned I'm here legally ~~ and they won't be getting any more money out of me ~ no matter how little it is.
One funny thing that happened whilst I was applying for my aliens card was the immigration guys insistence that I bring my wife and she applies at the same time ~ this is after I'd told him that I'd expected the procedure to be different as I was married to a Cypriot ~ I told him again my wife is Cypriot ~ his reply "well she should apply too".
That's when I lost it a bit and told him that in my opinion he hadn't a clue what he was doing except for demanding the fee of £25 as he seemed pretty good at that ~ I did say that if he really insisted I would bring in my pet rottweiler ( the wife ) but assured him it wouldn't be a pleasant experience and one he may regret as she wouldn't be to pleased being asked to register considering she is a Cypriot passport holder.
My aliens card was handed over without comment , given a really dirty look and was told " you can go now" in a very curt manner.
Now applying for a ID card was totally different ~ the lady at the ID card office couldn't have been more helpful even though she was trying to deal with about a dozen Turkish Cypriots at the time all demanding their ROC cards.
Nothing like the obstructive indifference shown by the immigration dept.
Note ~~ conversation overheard in immigration
english guy
I would like to extend my maids work permit .
immigration
I'm sorry sir I can't do that
english guy
why not
immigration
because if we do that she will under EU law probably gain the right to stay here permanently.
english guy
is that such a problem ?
immigration
just because you let everybody in to your country doesn't mean we should do the same ~ look what it's done to the UK ~ do you want us to end up with the same problems .
Perhaps the immigration dept has a point there.
Bill ~~~~~~~ Legally in Cyprus ~~ I think
