The Sovereign Base Administrative Area and British Forces Cyprus Covenant with Cyprus based UK Armed Forces Veterans was signed on Fri 9 Jul 21. The intent of the covenant is to provide a formal agreement, subject to periodic review, of a strong and enduring partnership, between the Bases and the Cyprus based veteran community. 
Each Station has an appointed Station Veterans Representative who acts as a direct link between the Station and the wider veteran community, contributing towards building an enduring and stronger partnership to the mutual benefit of both the serving and veteran communities. Episkopi, Akrotiri, Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos all have their own representatives and can be contacted at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Armed Forces Covenant is an agreement between the armed forces’ community (past and present), the nation and the government. It encapsulates the moral obligation to those who serve, have served, their families and the bereaved. The covenant’s twin underlying principles are that members of the armed forces community should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases. Within the UK, community covenants support the armed forces covenant. They are a voluntary, non-binding commitment by local councils to support members of the armed forces community in their area. Additionally, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) identifies and addresses genuine areas of disadvantage with major stakeholders, including the 3 Service Families Federations, the Soldiers’ Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA) and the Royal British Legion (RBL).

It is estimated there are approximately 2,000 UK veterans who have chosen to live on the island of Cyprus, including approximately 200 in the Turkish Controlled Area (TCA). These personnel and their families, whilst subject to the same underlying principles as enshrined in the UK covenant, are not always able to benefit due to living abroad. Whilst that is their choice, many of these veteran personnel are members of service associations, a way in which links with serving military colleagues are forged and maintained.

The SBAs are one of 14 UK Overseas Territories and the only one funded and administered by the MOD. The SBAs comprise 98 square miles of Sovereign UK territory on the island of Cyprus and are home to approximately 7,000 service personnel, UK based civilian personnel and their families. This is the UK Armed Forces’ largest overseas Base. The 1960 Treaty of Establishment that established the independence of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) declared three governing principles for the SBAs: effective use of the SBAs as military bases; full cooperation with the RoC; and protection of the interests of those resident or working in the SBAs (i.e Cypriots). The SBA Administration (SBAA) is the de facto local authority to those that live in the SBAs including British Forces Cyprus (BFC); the serving community. There is no covenant between the SBAA and its serving military community, as the relationship between the two elements is mutually supportive. The SBAA/BFC has no formal responsibility for UK Armed Forces’ matters outside of the SBAs, which remain the preserve of the British High Commission (BHC). Nevertheless, the connection between members of the Cyprus based veteran community and BFC is unique in many respects and offers mutual benefit to both parties. A bespoke, carefully framed and agreed Covenant therefore has merit.