How to become a real estate agent in Cyprus

In Cyprus each agent, not only the agency, must be registered and licensed. Salespeople who are not agents work as registered assistants under a licensed agent. Both registers are limited to Cypriot and other EU citizens, so your passport decides early whether this career is open to you. Here is how it fits together in October 2026, for the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

The short version

1. Nobody may act as an estate agent, use the title or take a fee without being registered with the Estate Agents Registration Council and holding a valid yearly licence (Law 71(I)/2010).
2. To register as an agent you need EU or Cypriot citizenship, a relevant degree plus 12 months’ practice as a registered assistant (or a relevant master’s degree), a clean record and a pass in the Council’s written exam.
3. Fees: €100 to apply, €350 for the registration certificate, €250 for each yearly licence and €20 for the ID card.
4. The licence runs to 31 December. Renewal needs €200,000 of insurance cover, proof of your office and Social Insurance records for every employee.
5. Most newcomers start as registered assistants: employees of a licensed agent, entered on the Council’s register within 30 days of starting.
6. Non-EU nationals cannot register as agents or assistants. They can only take support roles, with a work permit.
7. Only licensed agents may take commission from clients. Assistants are paid by their employer.

Registering as an agent

The Real Estate Agents Law 71(I)/2010 defines an agent as someone who, for a fee, mediates in a sale, purchase, exchange or lease of more than one month. Article 33 bars anyone from doing that work, calling themselves an agent or collecting a fee without being on the Council’s register and holding a valid licence.

According to the government’s Business in Cyprus portal, checked in October 2026, an individual must:

• Be a citizen of Cyprus or another EU state, or the spouse or child of a Cypriot citizen habitually resident in Cyprus.
• Not be bankrupt, and have no conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, unless rehabilitated.
• Hold a recognised degree of at least three years in a relevant subject plus 12 months of practice in Cyprus as a registered assistant, or a relevant master’s degree of at least one year.
• Pass the Council’s written exam on Cypriot real estate and town planning law. The portal says study material is on the Council’s website.

Qualifications from other EU states can be recognised through the European Professional Card.

Documents and fees

For registration you send the Council your ID or passport, school certificate, degrees, a clean criminal record certificate, a certificate of non-bankruptcy, a recent Social Insurance statement of earnings and the receipt for the application fee. Applications can be filed on the Council’s online platform, which is in Greek, or by hand or post to its office in Strovolos, Nicosia. The Council tells you its decision within three months of a complete file.

Item	Fee (October 2026)
Registration application	€100 (€200 for a company)
Registration certificate, after the exam	€350
Yearly licence	€250
Agent ID card	€20

The yearly licence

Registration does not expire, but the licence ends on 31 December each year. To renew you show €200,000 of insurance cover for the year, proof that you hold the office premises, and a Social Insurance employment certificate for each employee. An inspector may visit the office. Without a renewed licence you cannot legally work, and any agency agreement you sign is invalid.

Companies

An agency can register as a company if it is formed in Cyprus or another EU state, has its office in Cyprus, is not being wound up, and every director and shareholder is a registered, licensed agent. A non-EU investor therefore cannot simply open an agency and hire a manager to front it.

Working as a registered assistant

Assistants (βοηθοί κτηματομεσίτες) are natural persons employed by a licensed agent, entered in the Council’s Register of Assistants and acting on the agent’s instructions. Under Article 12 of the law an assistant needs:

• Cypriot or other EU citizenship.
• A secondary school diploma.
• A clean record and no bankruptcy.
• To apply within 30 days of starting the job. A late application only counts practice from 30 days before it was filed, which delays the 12 months you need to become an agent.

The employment has to be real. Cyprus Mail reported in June 2022 that the Council can ask for payslips, bank statements and payroll records, and had backed that right in court. In March 2025 the Labour Ministry confirmed that assistants may work part time and be paid commission by their employer if their contract says so, while only licensed agents may receive commission from clients. The agents’ association said in November 2025 that about 90% of agent and assistant licences had been renewed after it intervened over the Social Insurance requirement.

Enforcement is real

Unlicensed brokerage is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, a fine of up to €3,500, or both. The Council itself can reprimand, fine up to €2,000, suspend for up to five years or strike an agent off. Cyprus Mail reported in May 2025 that the Council counted about 400 criminal cases and 125 convictions for illegal brokerage in 2024, and that another 90 individuals and 35 companies had been convicted by early May 2025.

Developers selling what they built, court-ordered sales, trustees, liquidators and receivers fall outside the licensing requirement.

Rules you work under every day

• Disclosure. Tell clients in writing about any interest of your own in a property, and tell buyers everything you know about its condition, charges and legal or planning restrictions.
• Advertising. Every advert, document and office sign must carry the words “registered and licensed real estate agent” with your registration and licence numbers. Misleading claims about your status are offences.
• Commission. Where no fee was agreed, the law sets it at 3% of the value, payable on completion. See Real estate agent commission in Cyprus.
• Transfer declaration. The seller’s declaration at the Land Registry names the agent and the fee, and the agent pays 2/10,000 of the declared value to the Council within 30 days.
• Anti-money laundering. Agents are obliged entities under AML Law 188(I)/2007. Kourtellos & Co explained in October 2026 that you must identify and verify clients and beneficial owners, check source of funds for higher-risk clients, keep records and report suspicions to MOKAS, the financial intelligence unit, without tipping off the client. FFWD reported in January 2026 that a draft amendment would move supervision of the sector from the Council to the Tax Department, ahead of the EU AML Regulation that applies from 10 July 2027.

Work rights: EU and non-EU

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens work without a permit. If you stay more than three months you register your residence on form MEU1, the yellow slip, which costs €20, within four months of arrival (Mondaq, 2026). As an EU citizen you can then register as an assistant and, with the right degree and practice, as an agent.

Non-EU nationals cannot be entered on either register. In practice that leaves support roles such as marketing, administration or client services, which still need a work permit from the Civil Registry and Migration Department. Zeno Legal set out the routes in August 2026:

• A permit after a Department of Labour market test showing no Cypriot or EU candidate is available.
• A job at a company of foreign interests registered with the Business Facilitation Unit, which can hire highly skilled staff paid at least €2,500 gross a month without that test (€2,000 for existing key staff until 31 December 2026).

Holders of the investor permanent residence permit may not work in Cyprus at all. A role that involves showing homes, negotiating or taking a fee is agency work, so do not accept one without being registered.

TIC and social insurance

• TIC (Tax Identification Code): your tax number for income tax and the TAXISnet portal. Cyprus Tax Life says individuals apply on form T.D. 2001 at a Tax Department office or through an accountant, and that it takes two to four weeks.
• Social insurance: in 2026 employees and employers each pay 8.8%, and the self-employed 16.6%, on earnings up to €68,904 a year (Andersen Cyprus, January 2026). Your Social Insurance statement is part of the registration file, and your employer’s records are checked at each licence renewal.

How agents are paid

INDEX.cy reported in August 2026 that agents usually charge 3% to 5% of the price plus 19% VAT, normally paid by the seller. The fee belongs to the licensed agent or agency. Assistants are employees, often on a salary plus commission from their employer. One RE/MAX Cyprus advert for experienced assistants in Limassol and Nicosia, undated and expired when checked in October 2026, offered a fixed €1,500 a month plus commission and asked for Greek and English. Treat that as one example, not a market rate.

Where the work is, and languages

Cyprus lodged 14,969 sales contracts in the first nine months of 2026, and buyers from abroad signed 41.9% of them (DLS data, Cyprus Mail, October 2026). Each district has its own buyers:

• Limassol: the most valuable market, with a large foreign community. Russians, Israelis and Greeks led recent foreign purchases in Interior Ministry data reported in October 2025.
• Paphos: about two-thirds of contracts signed by buyers from abroad in Q2 2026 (GK Law Firm), led by the British, then Israelis and Russians.
• Larnaca: favoured by Israeli and Lebanese buyers.
• Nicosia: mostly Cypriot owner-occupiers and tenants, with Greeks the largest foreign group.

So:

• Greek is needed for the Council’s platform, the Land Registry and most paperwork.
• English is the working language with most international buyers.
• Russian, Hebrew or Arabic are a real advantage in Limassol and Larnaca.

How to choose an agency

• Ask for the agent’s registration and licence numbers and check they appear on every advert.
• Make sure the agency will register you as an assistant within 30 days, so your practice counts toward the agent licence.
• Get your employment contract in writing: salary, commission, targets, payment date and deals that close after you leave.
• Ask how the agency runs AML checks and who files reports to MOKAS.
• Ask who pays for portals, photos and marketing.
• If you are non-EU, confirm which support role you are hired for and that your work permit covers it.

Red flags

• An agency that cannot show its registration and licence numbers, or leaves them off its adverts.
• A request to show homes or negotiate before you are on the assistants’ register.
• An offer to pay you commission straight from clients as an assistant.
• A “self-employed” assistant contract with no Social Insurance.
• A non-EU hire asked to sell property, or to start on a visitor stay.
• Fees paid in cash or into a personal account.
• Any work on property in the north of the island, which is outside the Republic’s control and carries criminal risk.

Cyprus licenses agents individually, and the agents law, AML supervision and residence rules are all under review in 2026. This guide was checked on the date shown above and covers only the areas under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus. It is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with the Estate Agents Registration Council or any government body in Cyprus.

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