Cyprus

Cyprus is an EU member state located in the Eastern Mediterranean with some legal protections for trans people.

Why Cyprus?

• Legal gender recognition: Cyprus does recognize gender changes, and has a procedure that citizens can use to request a change their name and gender.
• Relatively English friendly: Although Greek is the official language, as a former British colony, English is widely spoken in Cyprus, and many websites and even government forms are bilingual. Likewise, it is generally possible to interact in English to get most day to day tasks done.
• EU Member Status: Cyprus is an EU member state with all the advantages that entails.
• A beautiful Island with warm weather and beaches: Cyrus has beautiful beaches and warm clear, blue waters that can be swum in for most of the year.
• Anti-discrimination laws: Cyprus does have laws banning employment discrimination as well as hate crime laws.
• Expat Friendly: Cyprus has an extremely large expat community ( especially from the UK and Russia, but also from other EU member states, India, Israel, and numerous other countries.)
• Low Violent Crime Rate: Cyprus is a safe country with a low violent crime rate, similar to other safe EU countries like: Norway, Portugal, and Germany.

Why not Cyprus?

• The immigration system: Cyprus' immigration system is more or less universally considered to be an absolute mess. Some of this is that due to the large number of refugees that enter Cyprus due to it's status as an EU member state in close proximity to countries like Syria putting stress on the immigration system of a very small country. However, the greater portion of the issues with the immigration are absolutely the fault of the government.
• Poor to No Renter Protection: Although housing is relatively affordable and plentiful, Cyprus has essentially zero rental protections, so your experience is entirely dependent on finding a decent landlord (which can be difficult if you are newly arrived in the country).
• Cyprus Post and other Delivery services: Courier services often will refuse to deliver packages to your home, instead demanding that you deliver to their depot to collect them in person. This is true, even if you live in the city. The postal service also does this, and packages sent to and from Cyprus can take weeks to arrive, even when sent from another EU member state.
• Difficulty accessing specialty goods and services: Cyprus is a very small country with a population of under a million people. Certain specialty goods and services are simply not available within Cyprus. This extends to certain highly niche medical services, so if you have a rare medical condition, it is worth checking to be certain that there is a specialist that works with it
• Bigotry and Prejudice: Cyprus does have some issues with bigotry, especially towards people who are black of Muslim. Additionally, especially among older or more conservative Cypriots, there is some anti-LGBT+ sentiment

Political Situation for Trans People

Trans people are legally recognized in Cyprus, and citizens are able to request a name and gender change, even without medical transition. There are hate crime laws, and some anti discrimination laws. The current direction of both legal and cultural acceptance is moving in a generally good direction, as well.

With that said, Cyprus is a relatively conservative country by EU standards, with the legal protections being implemented primarily to make the EU happy, rather than representing robust grassroots support for such laws (which are opposed by the Orthodox Church, and are thus somewhat controversial.)

Likewise, social acceptance is, especially for older or more conservative Cypriots less of a warm embrace and more of a grudging tolerance.

Access to Trans Healthcare

Currently, access to gender affirming treatments like HRT lags well behind actual legal recognition of trans people in Cyprus. The difficulties are logistical rather than legal, but it is definitely one area where Cyprus is weakest as a destination for trans people (or even post menopausal cis women who need HRT.)

Regarding HRT: Oral estradiol is currently not available in Cypriot pharmacies, although it is available in patch or vaginal suppository form. Premarin is also available. Testosterone is available as a gel or injectable format.

For a more up to date and precise information, please check the official government page linking to all prescription pharmaceutical products, including those used for HRT.

Immigration Policy

US citizens do not require a visa to enter Cyprus, but do require one to stay for more than 90 days. The majority of the forms and process are in both Greek and English, and documents in English do not require translation into Greek. With that said, you should not expect everyone you interact with in the process to speak excellent English.

• Family-Route: As an EU member state, EU citizens and immediate family members (spouses and children under age 21) may move to Cyprus under EU freedom of movement.
• Work Visa: Work Visas are available, especially in the financial, tech, and hospitality sectors, and this is probably the most accessible way to immigrate to Cyprus for most people
• Cyprus Pink Slip: Pink Slips are renewable 1 year residence permits granted to people who have sufficient external income via investments, pensions, etc.
• Visa Waiver: US citizens may visit Cyprus for up to 90 days without a Visa. As Cyprus is not currently part of the Schengen treaty area, time spent in Cyprus is on a different "timer" so to speak, and it is possible to spend up to 90 days in Cyprus either before or after visiting a Schengen country, which combined with the weather, beaches, large number of vacation rentals, good internet, and ability to function in English, makes Cyprus an excellent stop for digital nomads.

Medical Inadmissibility

If you are not an EU citizen or immediate family member, it is possible for you to be refused admission on medical grounds if you have certain communicable diseases, especially HIV and Tuberculosis.

Permanent Residency

Generally after five years of residence, a person is eligible for permanent residency

Citizenship Pathway

After eight years of residency, a person is eligible to apply for citizenship. Among other requirements, Greek language proficiency is required

Main Cities

• Paphos: The smallest of the four major cities, Paphos is especially popular with British expats due to it having the mildest climate (warmest winters and coolest summers.) There is a lot to like about Paphos, but it is worth noting that the Paphos Immigration office is especially dysfunctional, and you should simply go to Nicosia for anything immigration related.
• Limassol: Limassol is the second largest city, and is where the majority of Russian expats and immigrants live. Housing and rental prices tend to be a bit higher than in the other districts, but this is mitigated somewhat by it having better employment opportunities than anywhere except for the capitol
• Larnaca: A seaside city, and the location of the larger of Cyprus' two international airports, Larnaca is located between the beaches of Famagusta and the capitol, having good access to both.
• Nicosia: The capitol, Nicosia is where roughly half the population of Cyprus lives. It is a clean modern city of nearly half a million people. Additionally, rental prices are the lowest of any major district on the island. The primary downside of the district is that it is not near the sea, and thus has the worst weather with colder winters and brutally hot summers. Days with over 40 °C (104 F) are common, and the record high in 2024 was 48 °C (118 F).

City vs Village

One choice in living in Cyprus is whether to live in one of the cities or the villages. Villages are quiet, peaceful, uncrowded, and quite picturesque. Additionally, many are quite affordable. The trade off is that provision of services in the villages is much poorer. Delivery (already not very good, even in the cities), is significantly worse, and public transit and taxis are also mostly unavailable, so you can expect to have to drive everywhere. Likewise, fiber internet may not be available in many villages, and utility outages are much more likely.

Community & Support Resources

• What local communities and support structures are there?

National Organizations

• Accept Cyprus (https://accept.cy/home/)

Cost of Living

• The cost of living in Cyprus is generally lower than in the majority of the USA
• Rent is significantly lower in most districts (https://www.bazaraki.com) is a good resource to check current rental prices.
• Public transport Cyprus has a bus system, both in the cities and between them, as well as taxis, but Cyprus' public transit is rather poor by EU standards. In that, Cyprus is a car based society, similar to the US
• Public healthcare: Cyprus has a national universal healthcare system known as GESY, which is available to citizens of Cyprus, other EU member states, and their immediate family members, as well as some long term residents. It is paid for by employment taxes and is otherwise nearly free to access for those who qualify.
• Private healthcare: In addition to GESY, Cyprus has a robust and fairly affordable (especially by USA standards) private healthcare system, Insurance is available and generally fairly inexpensive. Prescription medication is much more affordable in Cyprus than in the US, generally costing less than a standard copay in the US
• Grocery prices: Grocery prices are relatively similar to the US. For local produce and pork, prices are lower than in the US. On the other hand, beef, dairy, and imported foods are a bit more expensive.
• Education is available, both public schools (which obviously teach in Greek) and private English language schools

Housing Access & Cost

• The rental process in Cyprus is extremely casual, quick, and easy compared to most places. Generally, all that is required is to contact the landlord (or most often their real estate agent), sign the lease (which is often able to be done electronically), and pay the deposit (generally 1 month's rent) and first month's rent, and met up with the landlord at the various utility companies to transfer the utilities (utility activation and transfer is generally done in person at the utility company office.) Things like pay stubs, background checks, letters of recommendation from prior landlords, etc. are generally not asked for or needed.

Law Enforcement ("How bad are the cops?")

• In general, police in Cyprus have a relatively small footprint, and are encouraged to be relatively hands-off by the government due to the importance of the tourism industry.
• it is worth noting that there are reports of the police doing a poor job of enforcing hate crime laws, although whether this is due to malice or their generally low capabilities is less certain.

Censorship & Digital Privacy

• please add details

Ease of Travel to Other Countries

• Cyprus has two international airports, the main airport in Larnaca, and a smaller airport in Paphos. Both airports have flights to and from most countries in Europe, as well as Israel, the UAE, and other major middle eastern countries

Animal Policies

• Cyprus is a relatively pet friendly country, and many Cypriots have dogs or cats. Veterinary services are well distributed and less expensive than in the US
• What do you need to do to bring a pet? Coming from the US, you need USDA pet export paperwork. Additionally, you need to arrange for a government veterinarian to sign off on your pet's importation paperwork upon arrival ( which you need to arrange in advance.) pets need to be micro chipped and have an up to date rabies vaccination. (For the official regulations regarding bringing pets to Cyprus, please check the government website) https://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/vs/vs.nsf/vs07_en/vs07_en?OpenDocument )
• While many landlords do not permit pets in rentals, many do, and the generally high availability of rentals means that it is not generally a major issue

Shopping in Cyprus

As an island that's geographically separated from the EU's primary logistics network, shopping in Cyprus is a bit disappointing, especially compared to the cornucopia available in the USA. Still, with a good understanding of where to look, this issue can be significantly mitigated, hence this section, to give a head start of where to look for things, and an understanding of what shopping in Cyprus is going to be like. All of the listed stores should deliver island wide, unless noted otherwise, although it is worth verifying it, before picking out a place to live, if delivery from a particular store is important to you

Grocery Stores

https://www.supermarketcy.com.cy/en

https://www.alphamega.com.cy/en/choose-shopping-method

Furniture and home goods

https://www.ikea.com.cy/en/

https://superhome.com.cy/

Electronics & Appliance Stores:

https://www.stephanis.com.cy/en (does not generally deliver to villages)https://electroline.com.cy/en/

Used Items (for buying ans selling)

https://www.bazaraki.com/

Everything Store ( a bit like Amazon, but not as good)

https://www.skroutz.cy/

Food Delivery Apps

Wolt, Foody

Taxi and Ride Sharing Apps

Alfa CY, Bolt

Additional Links:

Cyprus Migration Department Website_ https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/home_en/home_en?openform

(Cyprus Gender change policies) https://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/cr/cr.nsf/changegender_en/changegender_en?OpenDocument