All accompanying documents submitted as part of applications in Cyprus must be properly certified, authenticated or legally verified. Depending on the country of origin, documents may require Apostille certification, diplomatic legalisation or certified translation before they can be accepted by the relevant Cypriot authorities.

Businesses and individuals requiring assistance with document certification, corporate filings and regulatory procedures can learn more about our Corporate & Commercial services.

If copies of documents are submitted, those copies must also be certified in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

Document Languages and Certified Translations

All documents submitted with an application must be in Greek or English. If documents are issued in another language, an official translation into Greek or English must be provided.

The translation must be completed by a sworn translator, the consulate of the country that issued the document or another competent government authority authorised to provide official translations.

Certified translations are required to ensure that foreign documents can be legally used in Cyprus for immigration, corporate, regulatory and administrative purposes.

Apostille Certification Under the Hague Convention

The Apostille is a form of international document authentication used between countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. It simplifies the recognition of public documents across participating jurisdictions and eliminates the need for further diplomatic legalisation.

All accompanying public documents issued by countries that are signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention must bear an Apostille certificate to confirm their authenticity.

In Cyprus, Apostille certification is issued by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.

Countries Recognising the Apostille Convention

The following countries and territories are members of the Hague Apostille Convention and therefore require Apostille certification for qualifying public documents.

Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burundi
Canada
Cape Verde
Chile
China, People’s
Republic of (Including
Hong Kong & Macao Special
Administrative Regions)
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark

Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Korea, Republic of
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi

Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova, Republic of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia, Republic of
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadinem
Samoa

San Marino
Sao Tome and
Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela

Diplomatic Legalisation of Foreign Documents

Where Apostille certification is not available, foreign documents must undergo diplomatic legalisation before they can be used in Cyprus.

If Cyprus Has an Embassy or Consulate in the Issuing Country

The document must:

Be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country.
Be certified by the Cypriot embassy or consulate in that country.
Be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.

If Cyprus Does Not Have an Embassy or Consulate in the Issuing Country

The document must:

Be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country.
Be certified by a diplomatic mission of that country located in a third country.
Be certified by the Cypriot embassy or consulate located in that third country.
Be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.

This process ensures that foreign public documents are properly authenticated before being accepted by Cypriot authorities.

Certification of Private and Non-Public Documents

If accompanying documents are non-public documents, such as private agreements, declarations or personal documents issued abroad, they must be certified by a competent authority in the country of origin, such as a certifying officer, notary public or other authorised official.

Documents Exempt from Apostille and Authentication

Certain documents may be exempt from Apostille certification or diplomatic authentication due to bilateral agreements. Documents issued by Russia or Serbia do not require additional certification or authentication, provided that they bear the official signature and seal of the issuing government authority. These exemptions arise from bilateral agreements concluded between Cyprus and the respective countries.

EU Regulation 2016/1191 and Apostille Exemptions

Since 16 February 2019, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 has simplified the circulation of certain public documents within the European Union.

Under the Regulation, specific public documents and their certified copies issued by one EU Member State and presented to another EU Member State do not require Apostille certification, legalisation or additional authentication.

The Regulation also allows citizens to request multilingual standard forms for certain documents, reducing or eliminating the need for certified translations.

This exemption applies only when documents are issued by public authorities in one EU Member State and submitted to public authorities in another EU Member State.

These include:

Court documents

Government issued administrative documents

Notarial acts (official legal certifications)

Official certificates added to private documents

Diplomatic and/or consular documents.

The exemption only applies if the document proves one or more of the areas listed below. Items in bold show which documents are issued in Cyprus and have a multilingual standard form available. Keep in mind that not all EU countries provide these forms for every type of document.

Birth

Death

A person being alive

Name

Marriage, including capacity to marry and marital status

Divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment

Registered partnership, including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status

Dissolution of a registered partnership, legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership

Parenthood

Adoption

Domicile and/or residence

Nationality

Absence of a criminal record

The right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.

What is a Multilingual Standard Form?

It s a translation aid you can request for some of the above documents. If you use it, you don’t need an official translation.

Note

It must be used together with the original document and only in another EU country.

Acceptance of Certified Copies Within the EU

If an EU country allows a certified copy instead of an original, they must accept certified copies from the country where the document was first issued.

BUT when there are reasonable doubts:

If the receiving country questions whether a public document or certified copy is real, it will:

Check the sample documents in the Internal Market Information (IMI) system
If still unsure, they will submit an information request to the issuing authority through IMI.
A separate section will be created in the IMI system where anonymized fake public documents, once
identified, will be shared with other EU countries for awareness.

Apostille and Document Legalisation Requirements in Cyprus