Already more than one year we are living with COVID-19 around us. Cyprus, too, did not stay away from the coronavirus. Because the main budget for Cyprus is tourism, the Cypriot government is trying to keep the safe atmosphere on the island for Cypriots and for travelers and make traveling possible. When you are planning a vacation in Cyprus, you need to know what are the rules for entering the island and the rules that are on the island regarding coronavirus infection. We will go through all of them.
Entry requirements for Cyprus
For now, the Ministry of Health divides people into two types:
- vaccinated people (with COVID passport)
- people who are not vaccinated, or they have been vaccinated just with one dose.
Vaccinated people
People who have been vaccinated and have valid COVID passports, for now, can come to Cyprus regardless of their nationality and country of departure, without any additional requirements just with Cyprus Flight Pass. These people are completely exempt from the test upon arrival, the test is taken before arrival, and from self-isolation.
Just summaries, if you are not vaccinated, Cyprus Flight Pass would be enough.
People who are not vaccinated
People who are not vaccinated or were only vaccinated with one dose need to meet the following requirements:
- to have Cyprus Flight Pass
- to have self-isolate or to make a test before/upon arrival to Cyprus depends on the country they are coming from
Country categories regarding COVID
If you are going to spend your vacation in Cyprus or to come here to live, you should check in which category is the country you are coming from. For now, the Ministry of Health divided all countries into four categories according to their epidemiological situation: green, orange, red, and grey. The list of countries is updating every two/three weeks, so don’t forget to check this information at least three days before your flight, that you have time to prepare regarding this information.
Green category
Countries in the green category have a low epidemiological risk. If you are coming from such a country as Cyprus, you don’t need a COVID-19 test or self-isolate on arrival.
Requirements:
- Cyprus Flight Pass
Orange category
Countries that belong to the orange category are those that have an increasing epidemiological situation but are not as dangerous as red. The tourists from these countries who are coming to Cyprus should have a PCR laboratory test for COVID-19 within 72 hours before their arrival.
Requirements:
- Cyprus Flight Pass
- PCR laboratory test for COVID-19 within 72 hours before your arrival.
Red category
Countries in the red category have an increased epidemiological situation. People who are coming from the red category should make a PCR laboratory test for coronavirus within 72 hours before their flight. And they need to undergo a laboratory test for COVID-19 upon their arrival to Cyprus. This test you will make right at the airport before the passport control. And this test is not for free, it will cost you 30 euro. You can pay by cash or card. We collected more information about currency in Cyprus here, that can be useful for you.
Requirements:
- Cyprus Flight Pass
- PCR laboratory test for COVID-19 within 72 hours before your arrival.
- laboratory test for COVID-19 upon your arrival
Grey category
All countries that are not included in the green, orange, and red categories belong to the grey category. If your country is in the grey category you should have special permission to come to Cyprus. It means just people from only these categories can come to this island: Cypriot citizens and family members, European citizens, people who have permission to work here, people who are legally residing in Cyprus.
Requirements:
- special permission
- mandatory self-isolation or mandatory quarantine period of fourteen (14) days or seven (7) days, provided you are making another COVID-19 test on the 7th day, and the result of your test is negative
Cyprus flight pass
Regardless of which country you are in, you need to complete a flight pass. This is the form that you have to fill in before you board your plane. In Cyprus, as well, they are asking for a flight pass from all travelers who come from infected areas. You should fill this form 48 hours before your departure. And if you are traveling with children, you should fill it for them too. People who are coming from countries that are in orange and red categories should upload a PCR negative test result within 72 hours before their arrival.
Don’t worry, it’s a very fast process. It will take you a maximum of ten minutes.
Restrictions in Cyprus
As we said above, Cyprus has some rules regarding COVID-19 for Cypriots and for visitors. To help you understand the situation on the island better we prepared the list of rules:
- you need to wear a mask, when you are in public areas, such as airports and shopping malls, grocery stores
- to visit museums or monuments, restaurants, and grocery stores you need to show your SafePass or COVID passport or negative rapid test or PCR test of coronavirus.
- to go to the Turkish side of Cyprus (North Cyprus) you need also your SafePass or COVID passport or negative rapid test or PCR test of coronavirus
- negative rapid test or PCR test of coronavirus is valid for 72 hours.
Advice and tricks regarding COVID
As usual, if you are living in Cyprus, you have already some tricks and knowledge. So to make your life easy, we collected some useful answers to questions regarding coronavirus.
Where can I make a rapid test?
If you are not vaccinated you should make a test every 3 days, but don’t worry, there are a lot of places where you can make the rapid test. You can do this in the laboratory or even in a pharmacy.
How long should I wait for the result of the rapid test for COVID-19?
Usually, it takes 5 minutes to get the result.
What is the price of rapid tests for coronavirus?
The price of each rapid test in a laboratory is 5 euro, in a pharmacy is more expensive – 10 euro, but there are some benefits. We found that in some pharmacies they are making the fourth rapid test for free :). Just ask them, if they are making a discount.
What are the working hours of a laboratory?
Laboratories are opened not all day, usually, their working hours are – 06:45–13:00, 15:00–17:00. And on Sundays, they are closed.
What are working hours of pharmacies?
As we noticed, pharmacies are opened a little bit later and without breaks. Their working hours are from 08:00 till 19:00 (not on Sunday).
Can I go to restaurants if I don’t have a SafePass or a negative rapid test?
If you don’t have a negative rapid test but you need groceries or you want to go to restaurants, we would recommend you to go to the Green Line (United Nations Buffer Zone) and buy groceries there.
Also if you are in Turkish Cyprus (North Cyprus) you can go to restaurants and grocery stores without tests, Covid certificate, SafePass.
Can I go to the beach without a test?
Sure, you can visit the beaches of Cyprus. No one is checking if you have SafePass or rapid test if you decided to go swimming. It’s not forbidden and it really sounds strange.
Can I order groceries?
If you don’t have a negative rapid test, COVID passport of SafePass you can order food or groceries. We can recommend you the application Foody or the alphamega website. More information about this we will describe in the post about delivery in Cyprus.
Where do I need the SafePass/negative rapid test/COVID passport?
In South Cyprus, if you want to go to:
- grocery stores
- restaurants
- shopping malls
- public transport
- water parks
- museums
- shops
- on the border to the Turkish side and back
- clubs
- casinos
On the Turkish side (North Cyprus):
- casino (but they are accepting COVID passport only)
- clubs