Importing and registering a car in Cyprus

Cyprus does not have one car-import procedure. The customs authority publishes its private-car guidance as separate routes — vehicles from another member state of the European Union, vehicles from countries outside it, vehicles from the United Kingdom, and vehicles from Japan — and they are not interchangeable¹. Where the car comes from decides most of the bill. From outside the European Union the standard import duty on a passenger car is 10% of the customs value, and value added tax of 19% is then charged on the customs value plus that duty, not on the purchase price alone³. Excise duty on motor vehicles was abolished with effect from 22 March 2019, so at the border there is duty and value added tax and nothing else³. From another member state there is no import duty, and tax at 19% on the purchase price is due only where the car is a new means of transport²³. Clearing customs is only half the job. The car must then be registered before it can be licensed for road tax, and registration belongs to the Department of Road Transport rather than to customs². That second half is where imports stall, because each authority needs a document from the other.

1. Decide which route you are on before you book the shipping. The four published routes carry different documents and different charges¹. 2. Prove the car's Union status if it comes from another member state. You do that with a T2L or T2LF document, or with the number plates together with the original registration document issued by the previous member state². Before the vehicle is released to you, you must also fill in the customs form titled APPLICATION FOR THE VERIFICATION OF THE CUSTOMS STATUS OF UNION GOODS and submit it with that evidence². If Union status cannot be proved, the car is classed as having arrived from outside the European Union and becomes liable to import duty and value added tax². 3. Get the emissions document from the road transport side before customs can finish. For a used passenger car from another member state, customs also requires a certificate of the mass of carbon dioxide emissions on document TOM119A, issued only on presentation of the original registration certificate from the previous member state². The clearance you think is a customs-only step already depends on the other authority. 4. Clear customs inside the window. After you receive the car from the port of entry, clearance must be completed at any District Customs Office within 10 working days of the Union status being verified²²³. 5. From outside the European Union, lodge the declaration with the value evidence. Every motor vehicle imported from outside the Union, new or used, is subject to import duty and value added tax, and a SAD form must be completed with evidence of the customs value — purchase invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, freight receipt, insurance policy³. For a used car you must also present the original registration certificate from the country of importation; for a new one, an EC Certificate of Conformity³. 6. If you are claiming relief, apply before you lodge the import declaration. Relief on a car imported from a third country is claimed on form Απ. 2, submitted at any Customs District Office with the supporting documents; only after a positive answer is an import customs declaration lodged, accompanied by Form C.104O, to place the car in free circulation under relief⁵. Proving that you intend to settle here permanently is the same evidence problem as registering your residence, which our [yellow slip guide](/guides/yellow-slip-meu1) covers. 7. Register the car in person. Registration takes place at the district offices of the road transport authority once the required documents have been filed¹¹. The list includes form TOM 6A completed and signed by a technician of the district motor vehicle inspection offices, a roadworthiness certificate from an authorised IKTEO centre or a district KEMO centre, an emissions certificate on form TOM 119 issued by KEMO after you apply on form TOM 118, an insurance certificate, and form TEL 72A from customs where required¹¹¹². 8. Budget an extra approval if the car is left-hand drive. Cyprus drives on the left, and a left-hand-drive vehicle needs a single vehicle approval on form TOM 139B before it can be registered — the requirement appears in both the Greek and the English version of the same document list¹¹¹². We found no equivalent extra requirement aimed at right-hand-drive cars on that list¹¹¹². 9. Take the first road licence at registration. The first circulation licence is issued when the vehicle is registered and runs only until the following June or December, and renewal is allowed only where the car holds a valid roadworthiness certificate¹⁴.

At the border, from outside the European Union. Import duty at 10% of the customs value for a passenger car, between 10% and 22% for commercial vehicles, 8% for motorcycles up to 250cc and 6% above that, all calculated on cost plus insurance plus freight³. Then value added tax at 19% on the customs value plus the import duty³. From the United Kingdom. The car is treated as a third-country import, so the same 10% duty and 19% tax apply — except that the duty falls away where a proof of origin is presented at importation under the trade agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, being a statement on origin drawn up by the exporter or the manufacturer of the vehicle⁴. Without that proof, the ordinary third-country rate applies⁴. From another member state. No import duty. Tax at 19% on the purchase price is due only for a new means of transport, and a car counts as used only if both tests are met: more than six months since first registration, and more than 6,000 kilometres travelled²²³. Under the transfer-of-residence scheme a car that counts as new still creates no liability here if you prove the tax was already paid in the member state it came from, with a purchase invoice showing the amount². At registration. A flat registration fee of EUR 150, set in the schedule to the road traffic law rather than by value or emissions¹³¹⁵. Stamp duty of two stamps at EUR 1.71 on the purchase invoice or packing list, and again on a foreign registration certificate that had to be translated¹¹. A roadworthiness test at EUR 35 for a category M1 passenger car at a private test centre, with the reduced re-test at EUR 10 available only within 30 calendar days and only at the same centre¹⁶. Every year after that. Road tax is built band by band from carbon dioxide emissions: EUR 0.50 per gram up to 120 grams per kilometre, EUR 3.00 per gram for the part between 120 and 150, EUR 5.00 between 150 and 180, and EUR 10.00 per gram above 180, capped at EUR 1,500¹⁵. An older car also carries a one-off surcharge at first registration here: nothing at the EURO 6 standard, EUR 100 for petrol or EUR 250 for diesel at EURO 5a, and EUR 300 for petrol or EUR 600 for diesel at EURO 4 or earlier¹⁵. Deadlines with teeth. Road tax must be paid no later than 70 days after the licence expires, and late payment adds EUR 10 plus 10% of the annual tax¹⁵. Instalments cost more: each half-yearly instalment is 55% of the annual figure and each quarterly one 27.5%¹⁵. If the licence is not renewed for a year and 70 days the registration is cancelled and the unpaid tax becomes a civil debt you still owe¹⁴. Driving without a valid roadworthiness certificate is an out-of-court fine of EUR 150, and driving without third-party insurance EUR 200; a fine above EUR 100 rises by 50% if it is unpaid after 30 days¹⁷. What we are not going to quote. We found no official page stating a maximum age for an imported car, no official deadline to declare a vehicle to customs on arrival, and no official registration deadline running from the customs form that shipping agents call C72A — the road transport document list does name a customs form as TEL 72A, but attaches no number of days to it¹¹¹². The only clearance deadline we could verify is the customs one of 10 working days after Union status is verified²²³. The test interval is not confirmed either: the fee and the re-test window are in the statute, the periodicity is not¹⁶, and the English vehicle-check page is still marked as under construction²². We could not verify any later amendment to that fee on an official page, so confirm the price at the centre before you book¹⁶. Beyond the registration fee and the stamps, we found no official figure for number plates or for port and agent handling¹³.

Assuming the old reliefs still exist. The relief for Cypriots coming to resume or take up permanent residence and the relief for foreign nationals residing permanently in Cyprus were both abolished by Decree 529/2011, and the surviving route is transfer of normal residence². Buying the car shortly before you move. Under the third-country scheme the vehicle must have been in your possession and used at your former home for at least the last six months before you stopped living there, and it must be entered for free circulation within twelve months of you establishing residence in the customs territory of the Union⁶. Treating relief as automatic. From another member state you must prove twelve continuous months of normal residence outside the Republic and prove an intention to settle here permanently⁷. From outside the Union, relief covers one private-use motor vehicle per person and only where you hold a valid driving licence⁶. Shipping the car ahead of yourself is allowed only up to six months before the move, and only if you commit to completing the move within six months and lodge a security deposit⁶. Selling it too soon. Property admitted duty-free may not be lent, pledged, hired out or transferred until twelve months have passed from customs clearance, and then only with approval; dispose of it earlier and the import duty and tax fall due⁶. Expecting to file a third-country registration yourself. A used category M1 car from a third country must be registered online by an authorised importer, not by the owner¹². Expecting to do any of this online. The electronic registration service is for companies that import and sell motor vehicles, with access granted only on written request¹⁸, and the single vehicle type-approval service is likewise restricted to specialised bodies¹⁹. A private importer goes in person¹¹. If you want the order of the whole move checked against your own dates, the [mini audit](/mini-audit) does that. Overstaying a temporary import. A car from outside the Union may stay for a maximum of six months, consecutive or not, per year under Form C.104O, which must be kept in the vehicle and produced when a customs or police officer asks for it⁹. Miss that and a customs debt arises, all duties and taxes become payable, and the vehicle is seized as liable to forfeiture⁹. Assuming a car from another member state can simply stay. You may use a used vehicle here for up to six months without further customs formalities, but remaining longer means it must be registered⁸. Temporary use also needs insurance from a company registered and operating in Cyprus, unless the car is covered by a Green Card or carries the plates of a Multilateral Guarantee Agreement state⁸. Missing the recall paperwork. For a vehicle in category M, N or O with an uncompleted recall, registration or transfer additionally requires form TOM372, filled in and signed by both the seller and the buyer²¹. There is also a published list of vehicles recalled for airbag replacement, and for some of them the roadworthiness certificate has been withdrawn with an instruction of immediate immobilisation — worth checking before you buy a used car abroad²⁴.

Do I need insurance before the car is registered? Yes. An insurance certificate sits on the document list for registration, so cover has to be in place at that step¹¹. Can I drive while a relief decision is pending? For a third-country import, yes — temporarily, under Form C.104O, for one month⁵. On the route from another member state, a car that counts as new may be placed under temporary admission for one month, within which you submit the form titled Official Declaration with the supporting documents at any customs office⁷. What happens if relief is refused? Four options, and no fifth: pay the import duty and tax, place the car in a customs warehouse, send it to another member state, or export it to a third country⁵. Does time spent studying abroad count as residence? No. Attendance at a university or school does not by itself mean you had your normal residence in that country⁶. Can I bring a van in under the relief? No. Commercial means of transport are excluded, as are articles for use in a trade or profession⁶. What about a classic car? It can be registered as a vintage or historic vehicle if it is over thirty years old and carries a FIVA certificate, on top of everything required for a used car¹¹¹². How do I find out whether my car can be registered at all? Customs states that certain restrictions on registering vehicles imported from outside the Union are applied by the road transport authority as the competent body, and advises contacting that authority before you import or ship the car³⁵. The published pages do not list those restrictions, so it is a question you have to put directly, using the contact details on the official service page¹⁸. Is there guidance for cars from Japan? Not at present. The customs page dedicated to Japan states that the section is under review, which matters because Japan is a common source of right-hand-drive used cars¹⁰. Why is so little of this in English? The English version of the road transport registration page is marked as under construction, so the current procedure and full document list exist only in Greek²⁰¹¹.

1. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles (All you want to know about bringing a private car in the Republic of Cyprus)\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/ced07_en/ced07_en (retrieved 2026-08-31)
2. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from member states of the European Union - Under relief from excise duties and VAT\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/8164079B0D1D7A48C22572CF002022C9?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
3. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from countries outside the European Union - On payment of Import Duty and VAT\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/E7F318AF04596B09C22586D50031D0F5 (retrieved 2026-08-31)
4. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from the United Kingdom\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/A6D69566FE652E09C2258663002B4176 (retrieved 2026-08-31)
5. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from countries outside the European Union - Under relief from duties and taxes\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/29630D0944C3C0D6C2257354002714B2?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
6. Customs and Excise Department — \"A Guide to Customs Procedure: Transfer of Normal Residence from a Country Outside the European Union\" (December 2024), https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/22A0A37F53B8BF3CC225739B0042E38C/$file/Odigos%202024_Transfer%20NR%20from%20outside%20EU.pdf (retrieved 2026-08-31)
7. Customs and Excise Department — \"A Guide to Customs Procedure - Transfer of Normal Residence from Another European Union Member-State\" (September 2020), https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/604F29FC99156366C225856D003A6A97/$file/Transfer%20of%20normal%20residence%20from%20another%20member%20state%20of%20the%20European%20Union.pdf?OpenElement (retrieved 2026-08-31)
8. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from member states of the European Union - Bringing it temporarily\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/DB624764C3DCBFACC22572CF0020CAC0?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
9. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from countries outside the European Union - Temporarily imported\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/6A903B7B77D92465C225735400271D15 (retrieved 2026-08-31)
10. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles - Vehicles from Japan\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/A1D85FC19B412636C2258D0A00408C2F?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
11. Department of Road Transport — \"Entypa/Diadikasies Ochimaton - Eggrafi\" (vehicle forms and procedures, registration; Greek), https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/RTD/rtd.nsf/All/9B7F799DE97762CBC2257824002B6956?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
12. Department of Road Transport — \"General Information - Single Digital Gateway: Registering a vehicle\", https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/RTD/rtd.nsf/All/2F5C42D978D563D3C2258A400040F8B8?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
13. Department of Road Transport — \"Entypa/Diadikasies Ochimaton - Telos Eggrafis\" (registration fee; Greek), https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/FFDD4D44F29E862DC2257824002B1F92?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
14. Department of Road Transport — \"Entypa/Diadikasies Ochimaton - Adeia Kykloforias\" (circulation licence; Greek), https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/874A064612EEA765C2257824002BCD4F?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
15. Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Law, consolidated text May 2025, Annex I Part I (Greek), published by the Department of Road Transport, https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/B32A71C59C403007C2258C3800435FB0/$file/%CE%9F%20%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%AF%20%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%87%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD%20%CE%9F%CF%87%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AC%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD%20%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%20%CE%A4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%87%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82%20%CE%9A%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B5%CF%89%CF%82%20%CE%9D%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82(%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%82)%20-%20%CE%9C%CE%AC%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%202025.pdf (retrieved 2026-08-31)
16. Motor Vehicles (Technical Inspection and Technical Inspection Centres) Law of 2007, N.1(I)/2007, consolidated text 2022 (Greek), published by the Department of Road Transport, https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/RTD/rtd.nsf/All/2BFB4A8D67EE073FC2258C57004C30F4/$file/%CE%9F%20%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%AF%20%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%87%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BA%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AE%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD%20%CE%9F%CF%87%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AC%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD%20(%CE%A4%CE%B5%CF%87%CE%BD.%CE%95%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%B3%CF%87%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%20%CE%9A%CE%AD%CE%BD%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B1%20%CE%A4%CE%B5%CF%87%CE%BD.%CE%95%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%B3%CF%87%CE%BF%CF%85)%20%CE%9D%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85%202007%20-%20%CE%9D.1(%CE%99)2007%20%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80.2022.pdf (retrieved 2026-08-31)
17. Road Safety Council Cyprus — \"New, amended and updated penalties for road traffic offences\", https://roadsafetycyprus.gov.cy/RoadSafetyCyprus/rsc.nsf/All/664B879D4B18DBEFC22585EE0042AB6C/$file/%CE%94%CE%99%CE%9A_%CE%A0%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AD%CF%82_FINAL_web-.pdf?OpenElement= (retrieved 2026-08-31)
18. Gov.cy — \"Registration of motor vehicle\" (eService), https://www.gov.cy/en/service/registration-of-motor-vehicle/ (retrieved 2026-08-31)
19. Gov.cy — \"Issuance of a single vehicle type-approval certificate\" (eService), https://www.gov.cy/en/service/issuance-of-a-single-vehicle-type-approval-certificate/ (retrieved 2026-08-31)
20. Department of Road Transport — \"Registration/Transfer/Road License\" (English page), https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/rtd10_en/rtd10_en?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
21. Gov.cy, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works — decree on registrations and transfers of category M, N and O vehicles with a pending recall (Greek), https://www.gov.cy/metafores-epikoinonies-erga/diatagma-gia-engrafes-kai-metavivaseis-michanokiniton-ochimaton-ton-katigorion-m-n-kai-o-gia-ta-opoia-ekkremei-anaklisi-anakoinonei-to-tmima-odikon-metaforon/ (retrieved 2026-08-31)
22. Department of Road Transport — \"Vehicle Check\" (English page), https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/rtd11_en/rtd11_en?OpenDocument (retrieved 2026-08-31)
23. Customs and Excise Department — \"Vehicles from member states of the European Union - On payment of VAT\", https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/All/EAEA12F873458579C22586D500322C66 (retrieved 2026-08-31)
24. Gov.cy, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works — list of vehicles recalled for airbag replacement or repair (Greek), https://www.gov.cy/mtcw/airbag-recalls/ (retrieved 2026-08-31)