There is a considerable number of countries whose nationals can enter Cyprus without a visa if they’re only staying for up to 90 days.

As Cyprus is a member of the European Union, all other EU nationals enjoy freedom of movement to Cyprus, for short or long stays.

Citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, who make up the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), are also exempt from Cypriot visas.
Additionally, there’s a list of non-EU/EFTA countries who have reached a visa-waiver agreement with Cyprus. Nationals of these visa-exempt non-EU/EFTA countries (eg. the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan etc) do not need a tourist visa for Cyprus.

The Cyprus tourist visas are divided into:

• Regular short-stay visas, which allows the holder to stay in Cyprus for up to 90 days within a single 180-day period. They can be issued for single or multiple entries within that 180-day period.
• Multiple-entry short stay visas, which can be issued for 1-5 years, depending on the purpose of travel. However, they also only allow the holder to stay in Cyprus for 90 days within any 180-day period for the duration that the visa is issued.

They are issued for foreign nationals who must travel to Cyprus frequently, for example businessmen.

• Cyprus Pro Visa, which is only issued to Russian nationals, who are travelling to Cyprus via a direct flight from Russia. The Pro Visa is just a simplified tourist visa application, where Russians can apply for a visa online or via email, receive a printable travel authorization, and then get the visa stamp upon arrival to Cyprus.

Additionally, short-stay visas for Cyprus can be issued for the following reasons:

• Tourism
• Business
• Social visits
• Attending a conference or seminar
• Participating in a cultural or sporting event
• Medical treatment

• When you apply for a Cyprus tourist visa, you must have several supporting documents to support your application, such as:

  • A passport or travel document, issued in the past ten years, valid for at least three more months after leaving Cyprus, and with at least two blank pages to affix the visa to.
  • Cyprus Visa Application Form, completed and signed. For minors, the parent/s or legal guardian/s must sign the form.
  • Two passport-size pictures with the following specifications:
    • Dimensions: 40mm x 50mm
    • Your face must take up 70% – 80% of the picture
    • Taken in front of a white background
    • You must stare ahead with a neutral facial expression
    • No older than six months
    • One of the pictures must be notarized by a Notary Public on the back
  • Flight tickets/itinerary, which show the entry and departure dates from Cyprus. The ticket must be round trip. You do not have to show proof of purchasing the ticket – a reservation is sufficient.
  • Proof of sufficient funds which will cover the duration of your stay in Cyprus (eg. bank statements from the past three months).
  • Proof of accommodation in Cyprus, such as a hotel reservation or letter of invitation to stay with a host.
  • Employment status documents:
    • If employed: No Objection Letter from your employer, stating your position, salary, and the dates you will be absent from work. The letter has to be recent and addressed to the embassy or consulate.
    • If self-employed: A letter from your accountant, solicitor, or bank manager or a letter from the company and a copy of the trade license.
    • If you are a student: No Objection Letter from your school/university, confirming your enrollment and the duration of your course/s.
  • Proof of travel health insurance, covering at least €30,000 for medical emergencies and repatriation for the entire time you’ll be in Cyprus.
  • If applicable: An invitation letter from a host in Cyprus, which could be:
    • From a company (for business visas)
    • From a medical institution (for medical treatment)
    • From your family member/friend (for social visits)
    • From even organizers
  • If applicable: Proof of legal residence, if you are not a national of the country in which you are applying from (eg. a residence permit or long-term visa)
  • If applicable: A completed and signed “Assumption of Responsibility for Hosting Form” from your host in Cyprus along with the Bank Guarantee Letter, proving your host has paid the guarantee required to host you. Bank guarantees change for different countries, but vary from €350 to €850.
  • Proof of paid Cyprus visa fee

You must apply for a Cyprus tourist visa in person at a Cypriot diplomatic mission abroad (embassy or consulate). The application process for a Cyprus tourist visa is:

1. Find the Cyprus embassy or consulate in which you must submit your application.
2. Contact them to make an appointment.
3. Collect the required documents.
4. Submit the application along with the documents on the date of your appointment.
5. Pay the visa fee.
6. Wait for the visa to be processed.
7. Pick up your passport and documents. If your application was successful, the embassy/consular staff will affix your visa to your passport.

If you live over 200 km (300 miles) from the Cyprus embassy or consulate, you may be allowed to submit your tourist visa application by mail. In this case, you must include a self-addressed special delivery envelope along with the application.

Some embassies or consulates have outsourced Cyprus visa applications to private visa application centers, so may be required to apply through one of them.

The processing time for a Cyprus tourist visa depends on several factors, including the country you’re applying from, the time of year, as well as your specific situation.

Expect to wait at least 5-10 working days for a visa, and maybe even longer. As such, you should apply for your visa as early as you can from the time you intend to travel to Cyprus, but no earlier than three months.

A Cyprus tourist visa is issued for a maximum duration of 90 days within a 180-day period, but may be issued for less.

If you get a multiple-entry visa, you may spread those days across several trips. If you have a single-entry visa, you may only enter Cyprus once, and cannot re-enter even if you have not spent all your issued days.

The Cyprus short stay visa fees are as follows:

The visa fee for Cyprus is non-refundable, even if your application is refused.

You have to pay the fee when you make your application as per the instructions of the embassy or consulate.
If you apply through a visa application agency, you will also have to pay an additional service fee.

No, if you have a tourist visa for Cyprus, you cannot enter any country within the Schengen area. That’s because Cyprus has not fully joined the Schengen Agreement yet.

However, a Cyprus tourist visa does allow the holder to enter Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania without having to apply for a separate visa for either of those countries.

Reciprocally, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania visa holders can enter Cyprus without having to get an additional Cyprus visa.

No, you do not. If you have a valid Schengen visa, you can enter Cyprus with that, provided that it has remaining entries and days.

Technically, yes you can.

Northern Cyprus is a region of the island of Cyprus which self-declared independence back in 1974. It is known as the Turkish side of Cyprus, and is only recognized as an independent state by Turkey.

So, while the Republic of Cyprus is part of the EU, Northern Cyprus is not, so different visa requirements (or lack thereof) apply.

For stays of up to 90 days, visas are not required for Northern Cyprus, except for nationals of Armenia and Nigeria. So, if you enter Cyprus on a visa, you can cross over into the Northern part without any additional visa requirements.