For many years, Sue and Allan Griffiths thought they might retire to Spain. Summer after summer they returned to the south-eastern region of Murcia on holiday and dreamed of living there permanently. But in 2022, they pivoted to Cyprus and ended up moving to the village of Xylofagou last year.
‘After Brexit we didn’t feel as welcome in Spain any more,’ says Allan, 74, from Sandbach in Cheshire, who worked as a plant hire manager until he was 70. ‘In Cyprus we discovered a non-judgmental atmosphere, a very accepting people – and many more pluses.’
Sue, 69, a self-billed ‘workaholic’ who retired last year from the Project Management Institute, says that, climate aside, she loves many aspects of Cyprus: the fact that English is widely spoken, that they drive on the same side of the road and use the same electric plugs. ‘But there are also the tax benefits and the fact that back home we would never be able to live in a house like we have now.’
Originally from Wiltshire, the couple had also lived in Wales and the Cotswolds. After selling their three-bedroom home in Cheshire they bought a four-bedroom villa with a large garden and 32ft infinity pool in Famagusta.
Sue and Allan Griffiths, from Sandbach in Cheshire, moved to the village of Xylofagou last year
The couple bought a four-bedroom villa with a large garden and 32ft infinity pool in Famagusta
A beautiful beach scene near Cape Greco in Cyprus
The couple recently enjoyed a meal with another three friends, with two bottles of wine and beers, and the bill came to a total of just £112
The Famagusta region straddles both Greek Southern Cyprus and Turkish Northern Cyprus. British buyers such as Sue and Allan tend to favour the Greek side, with Ayia Napa and Protaras most popular, despite being more expensive than the Northern side, where the Turkish lira is the currency.
The couple live 12 miles from the border with Northern Cyprus. Situated behind electric gates, the five-year-old open-plan property cost €350,000 (£296,000), leaving funds spare for their new life.
Most British retirees spend less than this, according to Sarah Hordle of agent Island Homes Cyprus, who says: ‘Many have a budget of €200,000 to €300,000, which will buy a three-bedroom home with a pool in a village.’
This money used to go further, but demand has been pushing up prices. In 2023, Cyprus saw the highest number of sales to overseas buyers since the market peak of 2007, according to the island’s Property Price Indices, with prices in the Famagusta province up 9.5 per cent last year
Part of the appeal of this corner of the island is its relative affordability: sales from overseas buyers in Famagusta and Larnaca have been increasing at a faster rate than in Paphos, according to the Department of Lands and Surveys, although the total of property purchases going to Paphos remains far higher.
Sue says they were keen not to live in a tourist village but to be part of a mixed Greek and expat community. ‘I’m having Greek language classes so I can communicate with our Greek neighbours.’ Xylofagou – between Larnaca and Ayia Napa – is a ‘red soil’ village, famed for growing potatoes. ‘We looked at Paphos but found it a bit too British,’ she says of the expat hotspot in the west of the island.
Cyprus remains a popular alternative to Spain for retirees for the reasons Sue and Allan have detailed. While official figures are scant, Cypriot foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides last year said that about 40,000 Britons live in the former British colony, including many who had been stationed at military bases there. Average living costs in Cyprus are about £723 a month, according to numbeo.com, which is 11.9 per cent less than the UK.
In the UK, the sum of £43,100 a year is required for a pensioner to enjoy a comfortable retirement, according to The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), or £31,300 for a ‘moderate’ lifestyle. By comparison, in Cyprus retirees can live comfortably on about £1,689 a month, according to Peter Savvas of Paphos Relocation Services.
However, Allan reckons he and Sue live comfortably on £1,390 to £1,432 a month, drawn from savings, the proceeds from the sale of their UK home and their state pensions. But they don’t miss out on pleasures such as lunch at Zephyros, their favourite waterfront restaurant in Larnaca, where they enjoy the fish meze or the seabass, for around £33 for two.
‘But when we eat in our local village restaurant it’s cheaper,’ says Allan. ‘Last week, five of us – including a friend from the UK and a local couple – had a meal with two bottles of wine and beers and it came to a total of £112.’
Sue loves the Cypriot wine and says a bottle in a restaurant tends to be £13 to £21, but she can get a very nice Sauvignon for £5.90 in the supermarket. A beer in a bar is around £3.35.
The couple’s weekly shop is roughly £42, but their council tax is only £47 a month (compared to £218 in Cheshire), with other monthly costs £84 for electricity, £35 for water, £51 for mobile/broadband and house insurance £337 a year. Car insurance is £286 a year and fuel £126 a month.
Being over 65 and residents, they were able to apply for the Cypriot General Health System (Gesy), which is free, by getting an S1 Certificate from the NHS in the UK. ‘The healthcare is second to none,’ says Sue who, following back issues, had an operation which was free. ‘I had to pay for an MRI scan, which was £236, but that is low compared to the UK.’
She’s hoping to restart Pilates classes, has joined the Eastern Cyprus Walking Group and they’ve just tried paddle-boarding: ‘Fun but not very successful!’
Allan, a keen golfer who used to play three times a week in Cheshire, has joined the Famagusta Golf Society, which gives him a round of golf for £59 to £75 instead of the full-price of £152.
‘The courses are unbelievable – I like the courses at Secret Valley and Aphrodite Hills but it’s a shame that the golf courses are mostly over on the Paphos side of the island – the drive takes around an hour and three-quarters.’
While Allan’s golfing, Sue will meet a friend and head 20 minutes away to Larnaca for a spot of shopping in the mall or do some cleaning. ‘The red dust of the village gets everywhere in the white villa,’ she says.
One of the only other minor irritations about their new life is a lack of Amazon deliveries. ‘We have Amazon Germany, which costs way too much, so we tend to buy locally.’
Getting their car shipped over has also taken nearly nine months of paperwork – Allan and Sue are not alone in saying that it is far more complicated than obtaining the necessary paperwork for themselves (see box) – there’s definitely the siga, siga (slowly, slowly) approach to bureaucracy.
Another downside for some is a lack of public transport. The couple, who always wanted to live somewhere sunny, do not seem bothered by daily temperatures of 33 degrees currently – or the fact that they regularly hit 36 degrees or more. Allan describes swimming in the sea at Fig Tree Bay beach in Protaras (among the best in Europe on TripAdvisor) on Christmas Day, followed by Christmas dinner at home.
‘Some British people go back to the UK in peak summer, but we won’t do that. We don’t intend to go back to the UK – we’ve got used to life here. If it gets too hot, we can always escape to the Troodos Mountains, where it’s cooler.’
Sue says they visit their 33-year-old son Adam in Berlin every year, or he visits them for several weeks at a time, while they also see their other son, Philip, 29, in London, as much as possible. Allan’s oldest son, who lives in Wiltshire, is planning to visit with his two teenage children in 2025.
‘We feel very removed from the UK already,’ says Sue on the subject of the new Labour government, as she gets ready for a trip to Troodos for hiking and wine tastings. ‘The sunshine makes your whole attitude to life brighter,’ she adds.
VISA RULES POST BREXIT
Post-Brexit rules mean the only way you can legally stay in Cyprus for more than 90 out of 180 days is to get a visa. However if you are married to someone with an EU passport it’s easier – you can apply for residency as their dependent. Also, if you spent time in Cyprus during 2020 (and can prove you did), you can apply for a five-year temporary visa, according to Peter Savvas.
Rules are continually changing on residency so it’s key to get up-to-date advice and not look online. Significantly, too, the financial resources required have been increased: the previously popular ‘Category F’ visa has recently been suspended and residency schemes will be reviewed in 2026.
As things stand, the obvious option for newly arrived retirees is the visitor visa, which is renewable annually for five years, after which time you may be able to apply for permanent residency.
For the visitor visa you do not need to buy a property, although if you do own one the value may be considered as part of your financial resources – otherwise a rental contract is needed to register at Cypriot Immigration as visitors, says Sarah Hordle.
‘You should arrive in Cyprus with your UK sourced documentation [including an ACRO police check], find your property and you will get an appointment [at Immigration] within 90 days.’
The process can be quicker in the Paphos district.
You also need to show proof of health insurance cover, unless you have an S1 certificate that allows you free access to Gesy. However, you are also required to pay £370 per year (joint cost) for repatriation insurance – for the first five years.
For the first year, you need to show that you have €10,000 (£8,428) in a Cypriot bank, plus €2,000 (£1,685) for a spouse, but for every subsequent year you need to show you have at least €6,000 (£5,057) there, plus evidence of ‘sufficient and stable’ resources, derived from outside Cyprus, which could be a pension, deposits in a bank account, rental income or dividends. ‘Income is necessary but if not quite enough, significant savings will be taken into account,’ says Sarah.
The income must be at least €2,000 (£1,685) per month or €24,000 (£20,228) per year for one person, with another 20 per cent for the spouse – so €28,800 (£24,352) for a couple. This is slightly above the £23,004 income of two UK state pensions.
For the less popular fast-track permanent residency (or Category 6.2) you must have deeper pockets. You need to buy a new-build property for at least €300,000 (£253,000) plus VAT (5 or 19 per cent, depending on value/size) and also show income of €50,000 (£42,141) per year for the main applicant and another €15,000 (£12,642) for the spouse. Neither visa allows work.