Press Releases

As of Sunday, 10 January 2021, at 5:00 a.m., the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy puts at the disposal of the citizens the following two (2) methods to obtain authorisation for movement by exception:

SMS to 8998, free of charge

Structure of message:

X (number corresponding to the reason of movement) space Number of Identification Documentspace Home Postcode

Where:

-          Χ: stands for the number from 1 to 8 corresponding to the reason of movement.

-          Number of Identification Document(up to 3 letters and up to 10 characters, numbers and letters in total) for:

• Cypriot citizens: the number of their Cypriot identity card;
• European citizens and third-country nationals: their ALIEN REGISTRATION NUMBER (ARC) of their registration certificate or residence permit;
• European citizens and third-country nationals who do not hold an ARC: the number of another identification document (foreign passport or identity card number, diplomatic passport number).

-          Home Postcode: 4 numbers

There will be 4 kinds of replies to the SMS: approval, rejection due to the structure of the message, rejection for exceeding the maximum number of movements allowed and rejection for non-compliance with the curfew hours.

It is noted that after sending the SMS a reply shall be received and the movement shall be valid for a reasonable period of time depending on the category of movement for which approval has been granted.

Citizens must carry their identity card or passport or other document for identification purposes in case of control by the competent authorities.

CALL CENTER

For those connected with a foreign mobile telephony provider, as well as to facilitate those who are not able – for any reason whatsoever – to send a SMS to 8998:

• for Cypriot phone numbers: 80012012
• for foreign numbers: +357 22 285777

The above service shall be available to the citizens from 05:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., both in Greek and English language, as follows:

Please note that the operator shall only serve mobile phone calls.

It is noted that the citizens shall be personally responsible for the correctness of the details stated to the operator and shall be held liable for false statement.

The website www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus provides comprehensive information on how to obtain authorisation for movement in exceptional cases.

EH