My country is on the list of those countries whose driving license is valid in Cyprus for 3 months – if I’m a resident then it’s 6 months. [According to this source](https://cyprusdriving.net/valid-exchange-driving-licences/).
I am moving to Cyprus really soon and want to find out couple of things.
I’ll try to break them down by questions.
1. My country’s DMV provides a service of giving me an international DL. I just have to pay and show my current DL. When I asked them about if it is necesary in Cyprus – they said I have to check that in Cyprus. According to link above, just a regular DL should work fine, right?
2. I have asked online, a person from my country who lives in Cyprus said that he is driving with a regular driving license from our country for 4 years now, and he even was stopped 2 months ago for something minor and had no issues whatsoever. So there is a chance that police doesn’t know that rule themselves? and I can drive as much as I want with my current driving license? Anyone had that experience?
3. What does it mean to be the resident of Cyprus? If I am working and I have a work permit in Cyprus – does that mean I am a resident and I can drive 6 months with my driving license?
4. Can I buy a car using my foreign driving license?
5. Where can I call/email to clarify all this info from official sources?
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2 comments
As a person who was driving with a foreign (3rd country) license for almost three years, here are my comments:
1. According to the rules, you should change your original DL to the local after 6 months of staying in Cyprus. Until then, the regular DL works fine;
2. As from my experience, the police don’t really care. But this might be an issue if there is an accident and you need to deal with insurance company;
3. You become a resident of Cyprus when you stay there more than 183 days during the year;
4. Sure, no one will ask for your license. But you would need an insurance to buy a car, not many insurance companies work with foreign DL;
5. http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/RTD/rtd.nsf/All/4BDCB741D9609ABFC225782400350797
insurance companies need to be knowledgable on this topic and they will actually tell you if they can insure you with such license. I had good experience in terms of communication with Abbeygate insurance (broker for AIG). They looked at the foreign license and after some back and forth were able to tell me if that license can be used and whether they can insure the car. They are by far not the cheapest option, but for an expat maybe even without experience driving on the left side (not knowing if that is the case for you) they might be a good option initially.