About Cyprus

Geography
The island of Cyprus is the cross-roads of the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa and is the third biggest island in the Mediterranean. Cyprus is well known as a tourist resort. The landscape, sandy beaches border a central plain that rises up to forest mountains with several ski slopes in the winter. Cyprus has a Mediterranean climate, with more than 300 warm, sunny days a year, and a mild winter with occasional rain. The islands time zone is 2 hours ahead of GMT.

Population, Language & Culture
Cyprus has a population of about 775,000, of whom the majority are ethnically Greek, living in the southern part of the island. About 200,000 Turkish Cypriots and Turkish immigrants live in the northern part of the island, separated from the south by a UN-supervised buffer zone. The official languages in the two zones are Greek and Turkish. English is spoken and understood by the majority of the Cypriots in business as well as in private life. Most of the official forms and information are also issued in English.

The main cities are Nicosia (the capital and business centre), Limassol, Paphos and Larnaca, these last three being coastal cities that rely heavily on the important tourist industry. The central plain is known as the Troodos Mountains.

Entry & Residence
For EU citizens, no visa is required for entry into Cyprus.
Now that Cyprus is a member of the European Union, there is free movement of people from other EU countries.