Cyprus: passport and entry requirements
Cyprus is in the EU but outside the Schengen area. There's no visa for a holiday, and its 90-day allowance is counted separately from the rest of Europe.
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Your passport
Every passport has to have been issued less than ten years before the day you arrive, have at least three months left on it after the day you leave and hold at least one blank page, because Cyprus still stamps passports on the way in and out.
The ten-year test needs a closer look on any passport renewed before September 2018. Back then, unused time from an old passport could be added to the new one, so a passport can show more than ten years between its issue and expiry dates. Anything beyond ten years doesn't count, and it's the issue date that has to be less than ten years before you arrive.
Check every passport as you book, and look for that spare page while you're at it. A child's passport lasts five years against an adult's ten, so they rarely all expire together. Renew any that are getting close, as it takes weeks to come through.
Getting in
A stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period needs no visa. Cyprus counts its 90 days separately from the Schengen area, so time in Cyprus doesn't use up your allowance for the rest of Europe, and time elsewhere in Europe doesn't eat into your Cyprus days.
Cyprus doesn't run EES, the EU's new biometric entry and exit system, so there are no fingerprints or photo to register on arrival and your passport is stamped as before. There's nothing to apply for before you travel.
Every child needs their own passport, whatever their age, because no child can travel on a parent's, and each one needs a blank page for the stamp.
Fly into the south, not the north
The island is divided. Time spent in the north still counts towards your 90 days, and arriving through an airport in the north is treated as entering the country illegally, which can bring a fine or a ban. For a normal holiday, book a flight into an airport in the south.
Where we cover in Cyprus
Our family guides to the parts of Cyprus we've researched.
Official sources
Last checked 11 August 2026. Passport and entry rules change, so always confirm on GOV.UK before you book or travel.
