The azure color of the sea, cities with ancient history and incredible picturesque landscapes open before tourists when visiting the island of love - Cyprus. Once the patroness of these lands was Aphrodite herself. Nowadays, Cyprus is one of the most popular places for recreation and youth parties. But like any other country, Cyprus has its own visa rules. Therefore, before purchasing a tour or plane tickets, you must carefully study the options for entering the territory of eternal summer.
Regarding Russian and Belarusian tourists, a visa is required. But it is worth considering that the political stop in Cyprus is still unstable, since the northern part of the island is still Turkish territory.
Visa regime in Cyprus
Do Russians need a visa to Cyprus in 2018? Yes, like Belarusians. Absolutely no matter what part a tourist wants to visit (Southern or Northern), it is best to apply for a visa specifically from the Republic of Cyprus. It is still a discovery for many that Cyprus is an independent country, a member of the European Union, not officially divided into Greek and Turkish parts.
However, not all visa conditions are the same between these countries. There are many features that must be considered when applying for any Cyprus visa. Further, the article will consider several options for entering the island, including the regime from the Turkish side.
What are the options for Cyprus visas?
Do I need a visa to travel to Cyprus? We sorted this question out, yes, I need it. Now we need to analyze the types of possible entry documents. All national visas of an independent island have clear divisions into categories:
- Visa for transit. Do Belarusians and Russians need a visa to Cyprus when using the country as an intermediate point before their final destination? Definitely yes. It is called ATV (Airport transit visa) or "Airport transit visa". With its help, you can get into the transit waiting zone, but it is impossible to get into the country (for example, if the passenger has enough time to walk around the city outside the airport building).
- Visa tourist and guest. They are of type C and the names can determine what is being arranged for: a guest room for visiting friends or relatives, a tourist one for people pursuing purely tourist purposes.
- A very interesting point is obtained with working and immigration permits. Do you need a visa to Cyprus in such cases? In fact, there are no visas for employment or a final move to the island as such. However, with the permission of the special immigration authorities and the Ministry of Labor, such missions are possible.
All about tourist visa
Do Russians need a Cyprus visa in 2018 to travel on a tourist route? Of course, we need it, because Cyprus and Russia did not conclude special agreements on visa-free entry. The same answer will follow to the question of whether Belarus needs a visa to Cyprus for tourism purposes.
A person who has received a tourist visa does not have the right to apply for official and unofficial work, as well as undergo any training. All visas have their own validity periods - the very time during which a tourist can use an entry document. Do not confuse the concept of "validity period" and "duration of stay", since the latter refers to the possible number of days a tourist is at a time with a valid visa. That is, a citizen is not always allowed to stay in the country without leaving as much as the duration of his entry document.
Also, the tourist must determine the number of days of rest: does he need a visa to Cyprus with the possibility of multiple visits to the country or as a short-term option. In the first case, the validity period is up to five years and a multiple-entry visa is issued only to those who have provided conclusive evidence of their frequent trips to the territory of the state and other European countries of the European Union.
The second type of tourist visa is short-term, it is single-entry, its presence means that the tourist is allowed to enter the territorial open spaces of the country for six months for ninety days. A multiple entry visa also allows a maximum stay of ninety days per half year.
Do Belarusians and Russians need a visa to Cyprus to pass control in legal ports? Yes, a document is definitely needed, it is called a provision. Its issuance is possible only in case of a preliminary request through an official Internet resource, and the validity period is short-term - ninety days of permanent stay for a possible six-month period of entry.
Those who have a type C visa have the right to extend it without leaving the island. For such an action, a tourist needs to get to the immigration department at the place of his temporary residence in Cyprus (for example, contact the service of Paphos, Limassol, Nicosia or Larnaca). It is possible to extend for the period by which the validity period of the visa is limited.
Many come to the country for longer stays, and not for the purpose of a regular tourist vacation. Do I need a visa to Cyprus for Russians and Belarusians in this case, or is another document drawn up? If we take into account that a person is going to rent a house or pay for hotel services, then the request is submitted for a Type D tourist long-term visa with annual validity, and in the case of real estate purchase, a resident card (residence permit) is requested.
As a result, we can say that Cyprus provides a fairly extensive selection of possible tourist documents. Do I need a Cyprus visa for a package tour? It is necessary, but you can always choose the option that will be relevant for a particular case.
And no less important information for the citizens of Russia and Belarus is the announcement of the prices for the consular fee. For Russians, such a fee has been canceled and it is possible to issue food online, that is, a visa to Cyprus is free of charge for them.
The situation is completely different with Belarusians. For citizens of the Republic of Belarus, all visas are paid, but the price is acceptable. For example, when applying for a single entry visa, you will need to pay twenty euros, and multiple - sixty euros. The cost of the extension is thirty euros. The consular fee is paid at the time of filing the entire package of documents. In case of refusal, it will be impossible to return the money.
The procedure for obtaining a tourist visa
Having dealt with the question: βDo I need a visa to Cyprus in 2018?β, We turn to the story about its registration. You can get a visa yourself if you contact the diplomatic mission for Belarusians and the Moscow Embassy of Cyprus for Russians. You can also refer to the official websites of these organizations and fill out documents for online provisioning.
The documents required for submission to the Cypriot representative offices are the same for both countries:
- Copies of passport pages with personal data and a photograph, the passport itself.
- Special visa application form completed in English.
- Photos in color format - two pieces.
- Mandatory - issued medical insurance.
- Documents taken from the official place of work, which indicate the size of the average wage. In the absence of a permanent place of work, the applicant shall put a certificate or a bank statement in the folder. There is the option of providing cash, as well as travel checks. In the case of a sponsored trip, the sponsor requests similar papers about his financial stability, his cash income should fully cover all expenses of the sponsored traveler. If a pensioner applies for a visa, then it is enough for him to bring a pension certificate and a certificate on the amount of pension estimates. If the sponsor is a relative, then appropriate evidence is required.
- If a student enters Cyprus, he additionally attaches a certificate from the university and the student. ticket.
- If there is a minor child, the parents present a copy of his birth certificate. Additionally, permission is required (this is if only one of the parents accompanies the child).
- A document proving the reservation of a hotel room.
- Roundtrip tickets.
You should be prepared for a possible fingerprinting procedure.
When applying for a visa to Cyprus, there are requirements for all documentation that should be followed:
- The passport must be valid for ninety days after the end of the proposed trip. It should have blank pages for gluing a Cypriot visa.
- Photo requirements - size three by four centimeters, white background. The photo should not be "older" than six months.
- Requirement to fill out a visa application form - all data is entered in English, one photograph should be pasted into the printed application form.
According to the terms of applying for a visa, officers of consulates and embassies do not give certain information, but Russians usually receive it two days after the submission of documents. And with Belarusians, the matter is delayed a little - up to ten days. Therefore, it is best to take care of the entry document as early as possible.
What is provisions?
Provisions (in other words, this is a simplified entry document put into operation in 2009) can be used by many countries of the world. Roughly speaking, this is a preliminary visa in electronic form, relating to type C. The plus in its design will be that you do not need to collect the entire standard package of documents and go with the embassy.
On such a visa, a tourist has the right to stay on Cypriot lands for ninety days. However, this will be a single entry, and you can use it on any day of the three available months.
Tourists can get the Provisa for Cyprus mark only at the airports of Larnaca and Paphos, that is, in case of an alleged arrival to the territory of the Republic by sea, it is necessary to draw up a regular tourist one.
How to make a provision?
A document is drawn up on the official website of the Cyprus representative office in Belarus or Russia. You must fill out the document five days before departure to the country or earlier. First, the online application is downloaded to a computer, then it is filled in English, and the file itself is renamed by the name and surname of the applicant (written exclusively in Latin), then a correctly filled out application form is sent to the embassy's email.
The application is considered very quickly - within twenty-four hours and with a positive response, the applicant will be sent a unique number and a visa approval letter, which will be printed and presented at the airport of arrival to the border guards.
Since English is required when entering personal data in questionnaires, if you have poor knowledge, you can turn to translators for help or use the old way - the English-Russian dictionary. In case of any questions, it is possible to contact the embassy via a hotline or write an official letter on the website of the Cyprus representative office.
By indicating false information, a tourist can get a sufficiently long ban on visiting not only the Republic of Cyprus, but also the rest of the EU member states. Therefore, be careful, even unintentional violation can lead to fatal consequences.
Transit and Guest Visas
We have already mentioned the possibility of obtaining transit and guest visas. Why and how are they made out? Let's get it right.
Since a transit visa is understood as crossing the border in order to continue the flight to the territory of other states, most of the documents provided for a regular tourist visa are canceled. However, there are others who need to prove the purpose and intentions of the tourist. For example, a hotel reservation or income statement will not be needed, but all the tickets needed to continue the route will have to be shown.
When applying for a guest visa, Cyprus requires a full package of documents (as when applying for a tourist). True, in addition, the invitation letter itself and all the necessary documents about a relative or friend who is the person responsible for the invitation letter should be attached. If, according to the information in the letter, the guest will live in the territory of the inviting party, then the item "hotel reservation" is excluded from the folder with documents.
How to enter Cyprus with a Schengen visa?
Do Russians and Belarusians need a Schengen visa to Cyprus? This issue is related to the fact that Cyprus is part of the European Union, so tourists who have a Schengen visa in their passport may not have to apply for a national Cypriot visa.
According to the requirements of the Cypriot side, a tourist must have multiple Schengen and earlier he had to visit the country that issued this visa to him. Of course, a visa must be valid even after returning from the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. All movements must be carried out through the countries included in the list of the Schengen zone.
You can enter the island with Schengen, but it is forbidden to use a national visa as an entry document to EU countries. Therefore, it is up to the tourist to decide directly whether he needs a Schengen visa to Cyprus for a regular vacation or whether he will draw up a simple tourist visa, so as not to experience any troubles about calculating the route to reach the final goal - the Cyprus airport.
By the way, holders of Bulgarian, Romanian and Croatian double or multiple visas are allowed to freely enter island lands. The governments of these countries were able to sign special agreements with the authorities of Cyprus.
If a tourist doubts whether a visa (Schengen) is required for Cyprus for his trip, then let him consider possible refusals to enter with such a document related to its one-time action. Additional spending on transplants in the EU countries will also go negative. In the case when the traveler is not ready for such realities, the advice remains the same - to apply for the usual national visa of the country, its advantage will be significantly lower cost (including for Belarusians).
What to do with a visit to Northern Cyprus?
The Republic of Cyprus is an independent country, but political division still exists, which is not very convenient for travelers. The island is divided into two territories - Greek and Turkish. Therefore, it is worthwhile to figure out whether a visa to Northern Cyprus is necessary for the Russians, since visa regimes do not coincide with the south side here.
On the Turkish side (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) there are military units and, of course, it is not recognized by other countries, that is (roughly speaking) it is a self-proclaimed part of a whole state.
If Russian and Belarusian tourists plan to visit exclusively the territory of Northern Cyprus, then you should not issue any visas, since at the entrance to the passport an ordinary stamp is put down. But the problem is that you can enter the territory of the Turkish part only from Turkey itself, by plane to Ercan airport or by ferry, which run between Famagusta, Kyrenia and the city of Mersin.
But absolutely all tour operators recommend applying for a national Cypriot visa due to the fact that entry into the land of an independent state across the borders of an unrecognized country is considered illegal, including because the country's general visa regime is not respected there. And in the case of receiving stamps of Northern Cyprus in the future, serious problems may arise with the issuance of a regular visa to the Republic of Cyprus.
Therefore, it is advisable to arrive on the island through the official airports of Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca, and you can cross the border between the two "lights" in the heart of the capital of Nicosia. If there is a national visa in the buffer zone, only the questionnaire is filled out, where information about the tourist is indicated and a passport is presented. There are five border posts in total, but the metropolitan is more loyal.
If a tourist enters the island by food, then he must leave only from the listed official airport zones, otherwise a ban on visiting the country in the future will follow.
Official Offices of Cyprus in Russia and Belarus
Where should I apply for Cyprus visas? In Moscow there is the main representative office of the country - the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, it is located on Povarskaya Street, house 9. It is worth considering the reception hours:
- from Monday to Friday, the embassy opens its doors from 9:00 to 16:30;
- acceptance of documents is carried out exclusively on working days between 9:30 and 13:30;
- documents are also issued on business days between 14:00 and 15:00.
Cyprus Consulates in other cities of the Russian Federation have their own characteristics:
- In St. Petersburg, the official representative office of the island can be found at Furshtatskaya Street, 27. Opening hours on weekdays are the same as at the Moscow embassy, ββonly the time for receiving documents from 9:30 to 12:00, and the time of issue - from 16:00 to 16:30.
- The consular department of the city of Yekaterinburg is located at: Gogol street, house 15, office 601, 6th floor. Opening hours on weekdays are from Monday to Friday 9: 00-16: 30, and reception and delivery are carried out at the same working time.
- For residents of the city of Krasnodar and nearby, a consulate is available at: Krasnykh Partizan Street, 521, third floor. Time and days of work - from Monday to Friday, 9: 30-16: 30. Documents are accepted between 9:30 and 12:00, and the issuance is from 16:00 to 16:30.
- The consulate in Samara is located on 189 Chapaevskaya Street. It is open on weekdays from 9:00 to 16:30, visa documents are accepted from 9:30 to 12:00, and issuance is from 16:00 to 16:30.
The Republic of Belarus has only a consulate, the embassy has not yet been opened there. The official representative office is located in the capital - the city of Minsk, at the address: 23a Solomennaya street. It works on weekdays from 11:00 to 14:00. Reception of documents is carried out only on Tuesday and Wednesday, you should first call and set a time. Issuance takes place on weekdays from 13:00 to 14:00.