Frequently asked questions

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: three months with no formalities, on an ID card alone. Visa-free third-country nationals (Israel, US, UK, Canada, Japan and others on Annex II of Regulation 2018/1806): 90 days in any 180-day period. Everyone else needs a visa before travelling, giving up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

It is the Registration Certificate for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying beyond three months. You apply within four months of entry — not three, despite what many sites say — the fee is €20, a decision comes within a month, and the certificate has no expiry date. Not applying exposes you to a penalty of up to €2,500.

"Pink slip" is the nickname for a temporary residence permit in the Visitor category, issued under Regulation 14 for holidays, touring or investigating the possibility of living in Cyprus. It is one of several temporary permit categories — the others are Work, Family, Education and Research, Special Categories and International Protection. Critically, a visitor's permit does not allow any economic activity: you cannot work on it.

€70 to issue or renew, plus a one-off €70 for registration in the Aliens' Register. Examination usually completes within four months. The first permit runs for one year and is renewable.

Non-EU/EEA nationals working remotely for a foreign employer or foreign clients, with net monthly income of at least €3,500. The permit runs one year and is renewable for a maximum of two more. Apply within three months of arrival, at the Migration Department's central offices in Nicosia. Fees are €70 plus €70; examination takes five to seven weeks. The scheme is capped at 500 permits.

No. A spouse or civil partner and minor children receive permits for the same period as yours, but explicitly without the right to work or carry out economic activity.

€300,000 under the Regulation 6(2) fast track. For a house or apartment it must be a first sale from a development company and the €300,000 is exclusive of VAT; for other real estate, resales are allowed. You also need secured annual income of at least €50,000, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 per dependent child. The funds must demonstrably have come from abroad.

Approximately two months, against roughly four months for a visitor's permit. The residence right has unlimited validity, though the card itself must be replaced after ten years.

Yes. The Regulation 6(2) permit lapses if you fail to take up residence in Cyprus within one year of approval, if you acquire permanent residence abroad, or if you are absent from Cyprus for two years. Cancelling the main applicant's permit cancels the family's permits too.

The standard route needs seven years of legal residence within the preceding ten, plus twelve continuous months immediately before applying, B1 Greek and a pass in a civics exam. Employees of qualifying high-skilled companies can apply after three years with B1 Greek or four years with A2. Beware of sources quoting four and five years — the Ministry of Interior's own page says three and four.

No. Cyprus visas and residence permits are currently valid only for the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus has aligned its procedures and documents with Schengen standards, but accession is not complete, so a Cyprus permit confers no Schengen mobility.

No. Israel appears on the EU visa-exemption list, so Israeli citizens enter without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Beyond that they follow the ordinary third-country routes — visitor permit, work permit, Digital Nomad Visa, investor permit, family reunification or studies. The Migration Department, Deputy Ministry and MFA catalogues list no Israel-specific scheme.

Nobody can answer this honestly from public sources. Onboarding policy is commercial, unpublished and changes without notice, and the guides that rank banks are working from anecdote. Call the branches, ask what they require for your specific situation, and expect different answers from different branches of the same bank.

Not under those names. Hellenic was rebranded into the Eurobank group and hellenicbank.com now redirects to eurobank.cy. AstroBank was acquired by Alpha Bank Cyprus, completed 31 October 2025, and astrobank.com redirects to alphabank.com.cy. RCB Bank stopped being a bank altogether — the ECB withdrew its licence in December 2022.

Typically a passport, proof of address no more than about three months old, proof of source of funds and source of wealth, a tax identification number, and a completed KYC questionnaire. Non-residents are often asked for a reference letter or an explanation of their connection to Cyprus. This is indicative — the exact list varies by bank and applicant.

Most commonly: source-of-funds evidence that is incomplete or does not hang together, no demonstrable economic link to Cyprus, risk-scoring under de-risking policies, sanctions-list adjacency including indirect ownership, politically-exposed-person status, and complex offshore ownership structures.

Yes, and it is EU law rather than bank policy. Article 5b of Regulation 833/2014 prohibits accepting deposits exceeding €100,000 per credit institution from Russian nationals or residents, and bans crypto wallet, account and custody services outright. Article 5b(3) exempts anyone holding a temporary or permanent residence permit in an EU, EEA or Swiss state — so obtaining a Cyprus permit lifts both restrictions. The consolidated text here reflects the law to 25 June 2024; check for later amendments.

No — Israel is not a SEPA participant, so an Israeli account cannot make a SEPA transfer. Israel–Cyprus transfers are ordinary international (SWIFT) transfers, with the associated timing and correspondent-bank fees.

There is no reliable public answer. Cyprus has a credit-information infrastructure used by lenders, but there is nothing reliable on how it treats newly arrived residents or whether foreign credit history carries over, and card criteria aren't reliably published. Ask the bank directly.

Confirm the person owns the property (via a Land Registry search certificate, usually through a lawyer); confirm any agent is on the Real Estate Agents Registration Council register at ktimatomesites.com; and never pay a deposit before viewing in person and signing a contract. Use traceable bank transfers and get receipts. A below-market listing that wants a deposit before a viewing is the classic scam.

One to two months' rent, with two increasingly common in tight markets. Cyprus has no statutory deposit-protection scheme, so photograph the property's condition at move-in and move-out. Deductions are lawful only for unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear, or charges the contract assigns to you.

Only for older buildings under rent control (in a controlled area and completed by end-1999) is there a cap — currently 6% for the two years to April 2027. Newer properties fall under ordinary contract law, so the increase is whatever the lease allows; check the rent-review clause before signing.

Strongly yes, and an independent one — not the developer's. Cyprus has a well-documented history of buyers who paid in full but could not get title because the developer had mortgaged the land to a bank. An independent lawyer checks for exactly that before you commit, and files the sale contract to protect your rights.

Either transfer fees (3–8% progressive, halved on VAT-exempt resales) or VAT (19% standard on new builds, or a reduced 5% on a qualifying first primary residence within the size and value caps). You do not pay both — where VAT applies, transfer fees do not.

Usually none of the running costs — electricity, water and internet are normally the tenant's, on top of the rent. Communal charges are legally the owner's but many leases pass them to the tenant, so check the wording.

Either by spending more than 183 days here in a calendar year, with no further conditions, or through the 60-day rule: at least 60 days in Cyprus, no more than 183 days in any other single state, business activity, employment or an office in a Cyprus company, and a permanent home in Cyprus that you own or rent.

The condition that you must not be considered tax resident by any other state was removed with effect from 1 January 2026. Dual residence is now resolved through the tie-breaker article of the applicable double tax treaty. The same condition was also removed from the corporate residency test.

Exemption from Special Defence Contribution on dividends, interest and rental income. Since the 2026 reform abolished SDC on rents for everyone, the real value now is in dividends and interest. It lasts until you have been a Cyprus tax resident for 17 of the last 20 years, at which point you become deemed domiciled.

From 2026 there is a paid extension: if you have no Cypriot domicile of origin, you can extend for up to two further five-year periods at €250,000 per period, paid upfront. The election is irrevocable and the payment non-refundable. This is reported by KPMG from Tax Department Circular 2/2026 — confirm it with an adviser.

15% from 1 January 2026, up from 12.5%, aligning with the OECD Pillar Two minimum. Loss carry-forward was extended to seven years, a 20% R&D super-deduction applies for 2025–2030, and the stamp duty law was abolished.

Gains on disposals of crypto-assets are taxed at a flat 8% from 1 January 2026 under Article 20E, for individuals and companies. Selling for fiat, paying with crypto and crypto-to-crypto swaps all count as disposals at 8%; mining income, staking rewards and DeFi yield are taxed as ordinary income when received. Losses offset only crypto gains, only within the same tax year. For a complex position — especially DeFi — get a written ruling.

For profits earned from 1 January 2026, yes — SDC on dividends fell from 17% to 5%. But dividends paid out of profits earned up to 31 December 2025 may still attract 17% if received by 31 December 2031. Which year's profits fund the distribution matters more than the payment date.

It remains on Cyprus's official treaty list with no suspension note, and Cyprus continues to honour it. Russia unilaterally suspended specified articles — 5–22, 24, 27 and 29 — by Decree 585 of 8 August 2023, later codified into statute (Federal Law 598-FZ). The suspension is still in force in mid-2026 with no restoration date. So it is suspended in part, by Russia, not cancelled or denounced — but re-check before acting.

No. The Ministry of Finance's official table of 72 treaties has no Israel entry. Several commercial sites claim otherwise; the official list does not support them. Without a treaty there is also no tie-breaker article, which makes the 2026 change to the 60-day rule less helpful on this corridor than elsewhere.

Employees pay 8.8% social insurance and 2.65% GESY; employers pay 8.8% and 2.90%; the self-employed pay 16.6% and 4.00%. Social insurance is capped at annual insurable earnings of €68,904 and GESY at €180,000 of income.

If you are a lawful resident, generally yes — entitlement follows residence, not nationality. EU citizens qualify once they hold a yellow slip; third-country nationals once they hold a qualifying permit and can show habitual residence. The exception is the permits that require private insurance to be granted (pink slip, Digital Nomad Visa, Regulation 6(2)) — on those you rely on private cover rather than automatic GESY enrolment.

Contributions on income: employees pay 2.65%, the self-employed 4.00%, pensioners 2.65%, all capped at €180,000 of income. Do not confuse the self-employed 4.00% GESY rate with the separate 16.6% social insurance rate. On top, small co-payments apply — around €6 for a referred specialist, about €1 per prescription — with an indicative annual cap around €150.

A personal doctor, specialists by referral, inpatient and hospital care, outpatient care, prescription medicines, lab tests and allied health. Dental is limited to basic preventive care; restorative and orthodontic work is private.

When your residence permit requires it as a condition of being granted — which the pink slip, Digital Nomad Visa and Regulation 6(2) route all do, because they do not enrol you in GESY. Compliance policies cost roughly €120–€250 a year per adult for younger applicants, more with age.

No. Cyprus has no birthright citizenship — citizenship passes by descent, so a child is Cypriot only if at least one parent is. A child born here to two foreign parents does not become Cypriot by birth.

Greek, with English as a second language from first grade. This is the key decision point for relocating families: public schooling is free but Greek-medium, so parents of a non-Greek-speaking child often choose a paid English-language private or international school instead. Public schools do provide intensive Greek support for newcomers.

Yes. Access is the same regardless of nationality, and a residence permit is not required to enrol — only a residential address. The only difference is which identity document you present.

Public primary registration is in mid-January for a September start; a child arriving mid-year can enrol immediately at the District Education Office. Private and international schools — especially in Limassol — carry waiting lists and set their own timelines, so apply early and contact each school directly.

Indicatively €3,500 to €19,000 a year depending on the school and year group, with senior years at the top and one-off registration costs in the first year. These come from aggregator data rather than official fee schedules, so confirm with the school.

For higher-education qualifications, through KYSATS, which assesses equivalence against comparable Cypriot public-university qualifications on the basis of content and hours. Recognition of a foreign school-leaving certificate is usually handled by the school or Ministry directly rather than KYSATS.

You can drive on it initially, but if it is from a country on Cyprus's recognition list you are obliged to exchange it after a six-month stay; EU-licence holders may exchange but do not have to. Exchange requires 185 days' residence, form TOM 7D and your original licence, which is sent back to the issuing country.

US and Russian licences are consistently exchangeable without a test. An Israeli licence is on none of the recognised-country lists, so plan for a re-test. A UK licence is probably exchangeable but not certain post-Brexit — confirm it. There is no single published list because the law delegates it to a Government Gazette notification, so verify your own case with the District Driver Examiner (TOM) office. The fee is reported as €40, free for those 65 and over.

For a non-EU car, official customs rates are 10% import duty on the customs value plus 19% VAT on the value-plus-duty; there is no excise on cars. But if you are moving your normal residence to Cyprus, one private car can come in free of both under transfer-of-residence relief — provided you owned and used it for at least six months, lived outside the EU for at least twelve, and do not sell it for twelve months after clearance. Confirm the relief conditions with customs before shipping.

Often, once you factor in shipping and the disposal lock-in that comes with the import relief. Buying locally avoids both. Road tax runs from about €10 to over €1,000 a year depending on emissions and engine size, with EVs exempt.

Third-party insurance starts around €180 a year and comprehensive from about €1,000; road tax is emissions- and engine-based, roughly €10 to €1,000-plus a year, with electric vehicles exempt. Valid insurance is required to renew road tax, and an MOT is also needed.

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, yes — you have free labour-market access from day one, and your yellow slip is a residence registration, not a work permit. A third-country national cannot: you need a work and residence permit tied to a specific employer and category, most commonly through a Company of Foreign Interests.

It is the main channel for skilled third-country employment. A company with majority third-country ownership and an initial investment of around €200,000 registers with the Business Facilitation Unit and can then employ key personnel — directors, middle management, specialists — on a minimum gross salary of €2,500 a month with a two-year contract. Processing is about a month and the permit runs up to three years.

EU citizens can, freely. For third-country nationals it is restricted — most work permits do not allow self-employment, though some family-member and long-term-resident categories do. The self-employed pay 16.6% social insurance plus 4.00% GESY.

A private LTD needs at least one director, a company secretary, a shareholder and a physical registered office in Cyprus. Incorporation takes about 8–12 working days; the government fee is €165, a first year all-in is commonly around €2,000, and there is a €350 annual levy plus a mandatory audit. Corporate tax is 15% from 2026.

Two tracks: academic recognition of your qualification through KYSATS, and — for regulated professions like medicine, law and engineering — a licence to practise from that profession's own regulatory body, which may consult KYSATS. Identify which body governs your profession first.

Microchip first, then the rabies vaccination (which only counts if given after the chip), then — for animals from a non-EU unlisted country — the antibody blood test at least 30 days after vaccination. Doing them out of order invalidates the chain and forces you to start over. Cyprus will not admit a pet under 105 days old, which is what these steps add up to.

If your pet comes from a non-EU unlisted country, count roughly four months: vaccination, then a blood sample 30 days later, then a three-month wait before travel. From an EU country or a listed non-EU country there is no blood test, so it is much quicker — but the rabies vaccination still needs 21 days to become valid.

Not for a compliant pet. The widely repeated "21-day quarantine" is a myth. Quarantine only applies to animals that fail the requirements, and can then run up to six months — which is the real reason to get every step right in advance.

Yes. From the EU, your pet travels on an EU pet passport with no health certificate and no blood test. From a non-EU country you need an EU animal health certificate, and if that country is not on the EU's list, the antibody blood test and its three-month wait apply too.

Not if it is an American Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino or Fila Brasileiro, or a crossbreed of these — Cyprus prohibits their entry regardless of country of origin. This is an official Veterinary Services rule, so resolve it before making any other arrangements.

It depends on the airline, not on Cyprus. Small dogs and cats under roughly 7–8 kg including the carrier are often allowed in-cabin; larger animals go in the hold or as cargo. Confirm size limits, breed embargoes and crate rules with your specific carrier — airline policy is on top of the legal requirements, not instead of them.

Below roughly 13–15 m³, groupage — which is priced per cubic metre — is usually cheaper. Above that, a full container's flat rate usually wins even if it is not full. A 20-foot container roughly suits a one- or two-bed home, a 40-foot one a three- or four-bed. These are indicative crossovers, so get quotes for your actual volume.

If you are moving from outside the EU, yes, under the transfer-of-residence relief — provided you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, owned and used the goods for at least 6 months, and import them within 6 months before to 12 months after your move. You then cannot sell or lend them for 12 months. Moving from another EU country, the goods are already in free circulation and there is nothing to clear.

Prohibited outright: drugs, counterfeit goods and currency, and certain automatic firearms. Restricted with a permit: firearms and air weapons above about 4.5 mm, animal-origin foods like meat and cheese (a Veterinary Services licence), plants and CITES species, and medicines. Confirm anything borderline against the official customs list before shipping.

Yes, if you carry €10,000 or more (or equivalent) across the EU external border — which is what arriving in Cyprus from a third country is. The definition of cash is broad: notes and coins, cheques, prepaid cards and gold. The threshold is per person.

Indicatively, door to door from the UK or EU: a full container by sea 3–6 weeks, groupage 5–10 weeks (the wait for the container to fill is the variable), air freight 1–2 weeks. Add one to two weeks for customs clearance and final delivery.

Yes. Since late 2025, ID registration of every prepaid SIM is mandatory, and unregistered lines are deactivated. EU citizens with a standard ID can register online; third-country nationals register in person with a passport plus their residence permit or Alien Registration Card.

For electricity, open or transfer an EAC account at a customer service centre with your rental agreement or title deed and ID; expect a small transfer fee and a refundable deposit of roughly €75–€350. Water is handled by your local municipal water board, where renters usually attend with the landlord, clear any old bills and pay a deposit.

They are two separate identifiers from two separate bodies. The Tax Identification Code comes from the Tax Department (registered online via the Tax For All portal) and is needed for tax, payroll, banking and property. The Social Insurance Number comes from Social Insurance Services and covers pensions and benefits — for employees the employer usually registers you. Get the tax number first.

Cyprus has about 14 public holidays, and the movable ones follow the Greek Orthodox calendar — Green Monday, Orthodox Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, and Pentecost/Kataklysmos — so their dates shift each year and often differ from Western Easter. Confirm the current year against the Central Bank's bank-holiday list.

In a city centre, mostly yes, on cheap buses. Beyond that, no: Cyprus has no trains and the bus network is infrequent outside urban areas, so most residents drive. Remember Cyprus drives on the left.

Russian and Eastern European groceries are easiest in Limassol, home to a large Russian-speaking community and the Beryozka chain. Kosher food centres on Larnaca and Limassol, where Chabad runs a kosher grocery and restaurant.

EU citizens' family members use the freedom-of-movement route (a residence card for non-EU family). For a third-country sponsor, you generally need at least two years of legal residence and a permit valid at least a year; the spouse must be 21+ and married for a year, and minor children under 18 qualify. Family obtain an entry permit first, and a decision comes within nine months of a complete application.

Usually yes — the assumption that a dependent permit bars work is wrong under current rules. Spouses generally get direct access to employment on the sponsor's terms. Spouses of long-term residents and intra-corporate transferees can also be self-employed; spouses of Foreign Interest Company employees can take paid employment but not self-employment. The restriction, where any, is usually on self-employment.

The law requires suitable accommodation and sufficient financial resources, but the Migration Department's official page does not publish specific income or floor-space figures. No number is quoted for that reason — ask the department for the current thresholds.

Foreign civil documents used for immigration — marriage and birth certificates and similar — need an apostille (via the Ministry of Justice) and an official translation into Greek or English. Note that certified translations no longer go through the Press and Information Office, which stopped that service in 2019, even though some government pages still name it.

No, not by birth alone. Cyprus grants citizenship by descent, so a child is Cypriot only if at least one parent is a Cypriot citizen. A child born here to two foreign parents does not acquire citizenship by being born in Cyprus.