Cypriot and Greek citizens who still hold the pre-2000 laminated police identity card have just 13 months to replace it with the EU-standard biometric version, or lose the right to use the card as a travel document within the Schengen Area. The countdown follows Tuesday’s reminder by the Civil Registry and Migration Department that EU Regulation 2019/1157 enters final force on 3 August 2026. After that date, only the newer polycarbonate card bearing a facial-image chip and expiry date will be accepted at airports and land borders. The directive is security-driven – older cards can be forged in under 15 minutes with commercially available printers, according to Frontex labs. Cyprus began voluntary replacement in 2020, but progress has been slow; some 210,000 legacy cards remain in circulation (roughly a quarter of the population).
![Old-Style Cypriot ID Cards to Be Invalid for Intra-EU Travel after 3 August 2026]()
For travelers or HR teams needing extra guidance, VisaHQ’s Cyprus portal aggregates the latest EU identity requirements, offers step-by-step application support, and lets you pre-book fast-track appointments at district offices—visit for details.
Daily appointment slots at district migration offices will therefore double from 1 August 2026, and the government is negotiating a mobile enrolment unit for remote villages in the Troodos and Paphos ranges. For employers, the change has payroll and mobility implications. EU nationals posted to Cyprus frequently use their national ID, not a passport, to open bank accounts, sign leases and cross the Green Line. HR departments must verify that staff on local contracts arrange the swap ahead of business trips scheduled for next summer. Airlines have already updated their departure-control systems to reject bookings that list an obsolete document number for travel after the deadline. Travel-insurance providers warn of knock-on effects: passengers turned away at check-in due to an invalid ID may not meet the definition of an ‘unforeseen event’, voiding policy coverage. The Association of Cyprus Travel Agents urges companies to include the new deadline in pre-trip checklists and to budget around €30 per employee for the replacement fee. On the plus side, the biometric card can be used at next-generation e-gates that Hermes Airports will install under the €170 million expansion programme (see story below). Border Police expect that by 2028, fully 70 % of Cypriot passengers will be processed without speaking to an officer – provided they hold the new card or a biometric passport.
For travelers or HR teams needing extra guidance, VisaHQ’s Cyprus portal aggregates the latest EU identity requirements, offers step-by-step application support, and lets you pre-book fast-track appointments at district offices—visit for details.
Daily appointment slots at district migration offices will therefore double from 1 August 2026, and the government is negotiating a mobile enrolment unit for remote villages in the Troodos and Paphos ranges. For employers, the change has payroll and mobility implications. EU nationals posted to Cyprus frequently use their national ID, not a passport, to open bank accounts, sign leases and cross the Green Line. HR departments must verify that staff on local contracts arrange the swap ahead of business trips scheduled for next summer. Airlines have already updated their departure-control systems to reject bookings that list an obsolete document number for travel after the deadline. Travel-insurance providers warn of knock-on effects: passengers turned away at check-in due to an invalid ID may not meet the definition of an ‘unforeseen event’, voiding policy coverage. The Association of Cyprus Travel Agents urges companies to include the new deadline in pre-trip checklists and to budget around €30 per employee for the replacement fee. On the plus side, the biometric card can be used at next-generation e-gates that Hermes Airports will install under the €170 million expansion programme (see story below). Border Police expect that by 2028, fully 70 % of Cypriot passengers will be processed without speaking to an officer – provided they hold the new card or a biometric passport.
