Buying or Importing a Car in Cyprus

Cyprus drives on the left, used cars cost more here than in most of Europe, and the island's used market leans heavily on UK and Japanese imports. Those three facts shape every decision on this page. Here's how to work out whether to buy locally or bring a car with you, and what each route costs.

First decision: buy local or import

Buying locally is simpler: the car is already registered, right-hand drive, and someone else handled the paperwork. The trade-off is price and history. Local used prices run high and full service histories are still the exception rather than the rule. Importing gets you a known car at a better price, at the cost of shipping, clearing, and a registration process with real deadlines. Fixed import costs (shipping, port handling, clearing agent, inspection, registration) typically land between €1,250 and €3,500 before any tax.

Transfer-of-residence relief: the biggest cost lever

If you're genuinely moving your normal residence to Cyprus, you can bring one private vehicle free of import duty and VAT under transfer-of-residence (TOR) relief. Customs checks that you actually lived abroad, that you owned and used the car before the move, and that it stays for your personal use after. The conditions are strict and worth confirming with Customs before the car leaves its origin country, because if relief is refused you pay the full duty and VAT before the car can be registered.

What imports cost without relief

• From the EU: usually no import duty and no VAT on a used car you own. This is the cheap route.
• From outside the EU (including the UK post-Brexit): import duty of up to 10% plus 19% VAT, both calculated on the car's cost, insurance and freight value.
• Excise duty: none. Cyprus scrapped excise on motor vehicles and replaced it in 2019 with a one-time registration surcharge based on the car's Euro emissions standard and fuel type, paid at first registration.

The registration clock: 10 days

After customs clearance you have a 10-day window to complete registration. Miss it and you're into fines and a re-inspection. The sequence: clear customs (you'll need an EORI number, free to get and usually issued within two working days), pass the Single Vehicle Approval and roadworthiness inspection at the Road Transport Department, bind Cyprus motor insurance, then collect your plates. A good clearing agent runs this whole chain for you, and this is exactly the kind of provider we can introduce you to.

Running costs once you're on the road

Annual road tax ranges from about €10 to over €1,500 depending on registration date and either engine size or CO2 emissions. Fully electric vehicles pay nothing. The roadworthiness test (the TOM, Cyprus's MOT equivalent) costs about €45, is first due four years after first registration, and then every two years. Insurance and road tax are linked: without valid insurance in the system, you can't renew your road tax. EU and EEA driving licences are recognised outright with no exchange required.

If you're moving here anyway, read this alongside the non-dom guide and the city guide, since where you live decides how much you'll actually drive.