EU Blue Card
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Μπλε Κάρτα της ΕΕ as of 2025-12-30[2][3] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | EU Blue Card as of 2025-12-30[2][3] The department's own English rendering; English is not an official language of Cyprus. |
| Legal basis | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Neither Tier-1 page names a transposing instrument. The operative conditions this record carries — the minimum gross annual salary and the definition of highly qualified professions — are attributed by the department to a Decree of the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, which is not cited by number or date. The naturalisation interaction is attributed to article 111B(2) of the Civil Registry Law. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2025-12-30[2][3] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2025-12-30[2][3] The regime applies to third-country nationals; EU and EEA nationals are recorded as outside its scope on that basis. Whether Swiss nationals are likewise outside its scope is not stated. |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] No period of validity is published on either Tier-1 page. |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-12-30[2][3] Holders must apply for renewal within the three months preceding expiry. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2025-12-30[2][3] The card gives access to highly qualified employment in the issuing member state. A change of employer within the first 12 months of holding the card suspends the right to commence new employment for 30 days from the date the application is submitted. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2025-12-30[2][3] Holders may 'accumulate periods of residence in different Member States, in order to obtain a long-term residence permit in the EU'. The page does not state a Cyprus-specific qualifying period, so no override is recorded. |
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Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2025-12-30[1][2][3] The card is issued for highly qualified employment and the salary condition is tested against the employment concerned. |
|---|---|
| Salary threshold | |
| Labour-market test | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated. The page states only that there is no admission quota where the employment falls in the defined sectors. |
| Qualification requirement | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated as a qualification rule on either Tier-1 page. The eligibility gate the department publishes is sectoral, not academic: highly qualified employment is defined as employment in information and communication technologies, in pharmacy for research purposes, or in maritime excluding ships' captains and crew. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2025-12-30[2][3] Applications are submitted in respect of an employment relationship; termination is notified to the department by either the employee or the employer. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2025-12-30[2][3] |
Process
| Where to apply from | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated. Applications are submitted only at the department's headquarters in Nicosia. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | 90 days as of 2025-12-30[2][3] 'Applications shall be examined within 90 days, provided that they are duly completed.' Applications for an EU Blue Card for the purpose of long-term mobility are examined within 30 days. |
| Quota |
|
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2025-12-30[2][3] Expressly no absence rule: 'Is the EU Blue Card cancelled in case of absence abroad for a period exceeding 3 consecutive months? No — according to the relevant legislation, a valid EU Blue Card allows entry and re-entry into the Republic, regardless of the period of absence.' This is a stated absence of a rule, not an unresearched gap, which is why it is recorded rather than omitted. |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2025-12-30[1][2][3] Blue Card holders may 'apply for family reunification with permits of equal duration to the EU Blue Card'. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child as of 2025-12-29[4] Per the general family-reunification regime; the Blue Card pages do not enumerate relations. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated. |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source[2][3] Not stated on the Blue Card pages. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2025-07-04 |
| Newest as-of date | 2025-12-30 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Press Release by the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection of the Republic of Cyprus on the EU Blue Card
Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-07-04 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [2] EU Blue Card
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [3] Μπλε Κάρτα της ΕΕ
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [4] Family members of certain third country nationals that are legally residing in Cyprus (FR family reunification)
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-29 · Accessed 2026-08-08