Relocation car guides

Moving to Cyprus raises the question of transport early, often before the flat is sorted. There are three ways to answer it: ship the vehicle you already own, buy one on the island, or commission one from the UK, Japan or Australia. Which makes sense depends less on the vehicle than on your paperwork and your timing.

Bringing what you already drive can be the cheapest route by a distance. Under the Transfer of Normal Residence scheme, one private vehicle per person can enter Cyprus free of import duty and VAT. The conditions are strict. You must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months. The vehicle must also have been yours and in use in that country for at least six months before you moved. Customs checks that you and the vehicle were there at the same time. That is where most refused applications fall down. Our guide to importing your vehicle without duty and VAT lists the documents and the two traps in detail.

If the relief does not apply, or what you drive now does not suit the island, the comparison changes. Anything bought abroad is judged on its landed cost against the local market, not on the price in the advert. Used imports from outside the EU also have to be under five years old. For anything already advertised in Britain, the UK import calculator gives the full figure on Cyprus roads in about a minute.

Whichever route you take, two running costs arrive in the first year. Road tax is set by CO₂ for anything registered since 2014 and runs from nothing on a fully electric model to €1,500 on the least efficient. Insurance is compulsory from the first day on the road. The legal minimum protects everyone except you. Both are covered below with real figures, so the budget is clear before the removal lorry is booked.