Planning to retire in Cyprus soon

Most estate agents will not respond until you are here in person.... In my experience

@susangoldsworthy5 Rightmove has an overseas section on its website all the bigger agents in cyprus are on there. Thats where we started when looking. 👍

A good start id say

Check the car details before you decide to send it. If you are relocating and you have owned the car more than six months there is a possibility you will import it free from duty and taxes. If it is diesel and more than 5 years old you will need agreement to import but this has been a formality but ALWAYS check as things change all the time here. The import process will require a lot of docs like the obvious V5 and probably a full HPI check. To prove 6 months ownership you will need to supply copies of past bills for servicing/repairs and insurance certs dated over 6 month ago and in your name. When you apply to import make sure you do this in joint names and not just one. You will need to arrange insurance and again in both names. Do not expect the process to be quick. I have spent over a year on my import and still not got the registration completed. While the importation is being processed you can use the vehicle and you will need to attend the customs office after the 1st 2 months to extend the temp import by a month. Then every month you go back to get another extension. Keep the insurance cert, copy of temp import with extension dates in the vehicle. All vehicle insurance include break down and recovery. On the insurance docs you will find an emergency number to call. Keep this handy as you need to call this number should you be involved in an accident. Do not move your vehicle if you are until the person from the insurance company has attended and taken photos. Moving the vehicle could mean you are deemed at fault. Even if you are causing an obstruction do not move. All drivers here know this and will get around you. Vehicle insurance it way higher here than the UK. You should exchange your UK license for Cypriot within 6 months. However, this seems impossible as they want a Bio-metric card and these do not appear to be issued in the first year of your of temp residency! Things might be different in Larnaca so make sure you get all the details from the agent you use. Good luck it will all be worth it :-)

Phil am I correct in thinking  to get away with not paying import taxes  etc you would need to exercise Transfer of Residency as identified above and even then if you sell within a specified  timeframe you will likely have to pay the import taxes you didn't pay on import under ToR

NB value of vehicle is based on their valuation not yours

Toon yes as far as I know you are correct on all counts. The period I have been given is 3 years and I am not surte if that is from the date of final import or application lol

Thank you all for your advice. It has really helped. Husband no longer talks of bring the car . Right move was great and we have visited and now offered on a property.

Good luck and enjoy Cyprus in your new home

If you are not from the EU please check out the residency options clearly. Category F fast track only seems to the viable option unless you want to keep on renewing a temporary permit every year.

Alternatively check Malta residency options also if you are looking for another English speaking warm place. Their PR option is a little expensive at 100k euros but seems to have a  clear path to residency.

@dvb123

Even Cat F Fast track is taking a long time and not as it's being promoted.

Normal Cat F route is a waste of time and effort as you still have to have TR via pink slip route whilst awaiting Cat F approval which right now is taking upto 5 years.... maybe thats quite deliberate to force applicants down a money spinning route.

Everything appears to be driven by getting more cash in to the Cyprus economy ...