Yellow slip, ARC, TIC and social insurance: the Cypriot numbers, and which office issues them

Can you sort everything in Cyprus with a single registration? No. There is no Cypriot equivalent of the Dutch BSN. You get a series of numbers from different offices: the ARC number that comes with your yellow slip, a tax number (the TIC) and, as soon as you work, a social insurance number. The yellow slip costs € 20, the rest is free. The finding is in the tax department's own list: as an EU citizen you need your registration certificate to get your tax number. So the yellow slip comes first.

Which numbers do you get, and where?

Number	What for	Office	Cost	Timing
Registration certificate (yellow slip) with ARC number	your residence, and your identification at almost every other office	Migration Department, form MEU1	€ 20 per person	apply within 4 months of arrival; decision within a month for a complete file
TIC (tax number)	tax return, pension choice, refunds	tax department, online only via Tax For All	free	after the yellow slip
Social insurance number	salary, contributions, benefits	Social Insurance Services	free	employees: the employer registers you no later than a day before you start; self-employed: usually 1 to 2 weeks
GeSY enrolment	healthcare and the choice of a GP	Health Insurance Organisation, online	free	as soon as you are in the register

How do you get the yellow slip and the ARC number?

Within four months of arrival you apply to the Migration Department for the registration certificate, with form MEU1. The fee is € 20 per person. You don't need to bring passport photos: the photo is taken during the application. If your file is complete, the department decides within a month and the certificate arrives by post. It does not expire. Anyone who fails to register risks a fine of up to € 2,500.

The certificate carries your ARC number (Alien Registration Certificate), and you will come across that number everywhere afterwards: your children's school asks for it and the tax department identifies you by it. What goes into your MEU1 file differs per category; that is covered in the article on the MEU1 and the yellow slip.

Why does the tax number only come afterwards?

Because the tax department asks for the slip. Registration runs online only, via the Tax For All portal, for which you first create an account. The list of required documents sets out per group what you upload: a Cypriot their identity card, an EU citizen living in Cyprus the registration certificate from the Migration Department. Anyone who tries to get a TIC without a yellow slip falls into the non-resident category, which has to send a letter stating the reason for registration.

Anyone who wants to be tax resident under the 60-day rule also sends a title deed or a stamped rental or purchase contract for a home in Cyprus.

Do I have to file a return if I earn little or nothing?

Since 2026, yes. Up to and including tax year 2025 you only had to register and file if your gross income was above € 19,500. From tax year 2026 the obligation applies to everyone who is tax resident and who, on 31 December, has reached 25 but not yet 71. That applies even if your income stays below the zero-rate band, which was raised to € 22,000 in 2026. Employees file by 31 July of the following year.

No income is no reason not to have a TIC. A retired couple of 66 and 64 living in Cyprus from 2026 needs two tax numbers and two returns, even if the Dutch pension is taxed in the Netherlands. So arrange the TIC straight after the slip, not when the first return is due.

When do you need a social insurance number?

As soon as you work in Cyprus. Employees are compulsorily insured. The employer registers each new employee with the Social Insurance Services no later than a day before the first working day, via the Ergani system. 8.8 percent of your gross salary goes to social insurance. If you become self-employed, you submit the application form yourself at the district office, with a copy of your identity card, passport or ARC. The number usually follows within one to two weeks.

For people who work, the order is reversed. Anyone applying for a yellow slip as an employee or self-employed person must, according to the Migration Department's list, bring proof of registration with social insurance and a statement of contributions. First the work and the contributions, then the slip. Pensioners do not need this number; at the MEU1 they show their income and health insurance, which for anyone with a Dutch pension is the S1.

And healthcare: where are you registered then?

To enrol in GeSY, the national health system, you need to be known to the Civil Registry and Migration Department or to the Social Insurance Services: first the slip, or first the contributions via your job. Enrolment is online, after which you choose a GP. How that system works and what it costs is covered in healthcare in Cyprus.

The order, in one paragraph

For a pensioner: a home with proof of address the department accepts, then the yellow slip with the S1, then the TIC and GeSY. For anyone who will work: first registration with social insurance by your employer, then the slip, then the TIC. Which proof of address the department wants to see is in living and renting in Cyprus; the order for your situation is in the route to Cyprus.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Cyprus or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.