Cyprus work permit through an agency: cost, salary, checks

Working in Cyprus Checked: 26 October 2026 no change to the rule has been established since the check

In short

Who it applies to: Non-EU nationals hired to work in Cyprus through an agency — most often as domestic workers or on farms — and the Cypriot families who hire them. Specialists joining companies should read the work permit page.
What it costs: For the worker — nothing. The ticket both ways, the permit fees and the medical check on arrival are paid by the employer, who may not take them back from your salary. The state charges the employer €70 and €80 for a domestic worker and €120 for ordinary hiring.
How long it takes: The Migration Department takes up to 4 months to decide. Medical tests from your home country must be no more than 4 months old when the application is filed.
Where to apply: The employer or the employer's representative in Cyprus gets the entry permit. You check an agency's licence in the Department of Labour's register. A complaint against an employer goes to the police Aliens and Immigration Unit, which passes it to the Department of Labour Relations.
If your case differs: The national minimum wage does not cover domestic workers or farm and livestock workers: their pay is set by the contract. That makes the signed, officially stamped contract the worker's most important document.

Your case

If you are coming as a domestic worker or a live-in carer

The employing family or its representative gets the entry permit; nationals of Myanmar and Ethiopia are not accepted as domestic workers. Pay is at least €460 gross; if you live in, 15% is deducted for food and 10% for accommodation, plus Social Insurance and GeSY contributions. The employer must give you a private room, open a bank account in your name and pay your salary into it at the end of each month. The standard contract sets 6 days a week of 7 hours, 24 working days of leave and health insurance split half and half. Your first ticket, your ticket home at the end of the contract, the permit fees and any agency fee may not be taken from your salary. You may change employer no more than 2 times, with a release document and a month to search. There is no limit on years.

If you are coming to work on a farm or with livestock all year round

First the employer gets the Department of Labour's approval, and the department seals your contract; then the employer applies to the Migration Department — €120 for the entry permit. The minimum wage does not cover farm work, and no department publishes a current figure: pay is set by the sector's collective agreement or by your own contract. So check the amount, hours, housing and food in the contract before you travel. Agency fees, tickets and permit fees may not be taken from your salary, and the employer pays for the medical check on arrival. Farm workers have no limit on years.

If the job is seasonal — harvesting or planting

In Cyprus seasonal work is allowed in agriculture only. You may stay no more than 8 months in any 12, and no more than 6 years in total; registration costs the employer €170. The employer must show suitable housing, and the law forbids deducting the rent from your pay automatically. The law allows a change of employer within the permitted stay.

If you are hired for other work — construction, a restaurant, a shop

This is ordinary hiring: the employer searches for a worker in Cyprus for two weeks, then gets the Department of Labour's approval and a sealed contract, then applies to the Migration Department — €120. The minimum wage applies here. Ordinary hiring allows a total stay of no more than 4 years; details are on the work permit page. The ban on charging you applies just the same.

Deadlines and conditions

an agency that charges the worker or works without a licence faces up to a year in prison or a fine of up to €10.000Law 126(I)/2012, s. 29: breaking ss. 19–21 (including the ban on charging the worker) or operating without a licence — «υπόκειται σε φυλάκιση που δεν υπερβαίνει τα ένα (1) έτος ή σε χρηματική ποινή που δεν υπερβαίνει τις δέκα χιλιάδες ευρώ (€10.000)».
a domestic worker is paid at least €460 a month gross, whatever the country of originMigration Department, “Domestic work (DW)” (modified 17.09.2026): «The minimum monthly gross salary is €460 regardless of the country of origin of the domestic worker»; Department of Labour Relations FAQ 13.1 — since 01.07.2013.
if the worker lives with the employer, 15% is deducted for foodThe same page: «15% for food expenses when the worker is staying at the employer's premises»; contract MDW3, section 3A.
and 10% for accommodationThe same page: «10% for accommodation expenses when the worker is staying at the employer's premises».
the standard contract sets 6 days a week of 7 hours, and the employer must keep a record of the hoursContract MDW3, section 2.1A: «The Employee shall work for 6 days per week for 7 hours per day, either during the day or night as may be required by the Employer».
paid annual leave is 24 working daysContract MDW3, section 2.1B: «twenty-four (24) working days annual leave with full pay».
a domestic worker may change employer no more than 2 times, but the employer's death or a labour dispute decided in the worker's favour does not countMigration Department, “Domestic work (DW)”: «A domestic worker is not allowed to change more than 2 employers (i.e. total of 3 employers) unless…» — the new employer is a relative up to the second degree or over 75; the employer's death and a Labour Relations decision in the worker's favour do not count.
with a release document you have 1 month to find a new employerContract MDW3, section 4(a): «The release agreement allows the employee to search for employment for a period of one (1) month».

Show all conditions (16)

the state charges the employer €70 for a domestic worker's entry permitΚΔΠ 284/2022, item (α): entry and residence «για τον σκοπό οικιακής απασχόλησης, με ισχύ μέχρι 3 έτη, ποσό ύψους 70 ευρώ»; who pays — Law 126(I)/2012, s. 21(2)(β): fees «βαρύνουν αποκλειστικά και μόνο τον εργοδότη».
issuing and renewing the permit costs €80, also paid by the employerΚΔΠ 284/2022, item (γ): issue or renewal «για τον σκοπό οικιακής απασχόλησης, με ισχύ μέχρι 3 έτη, ποσό ύψους 80 ευρώ»; free for recipients of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (items (β), (δ)).
a family may hire a domestic worker on an income of €24.000 a year or more, with a higher bar for families with childrenMigration Department, “Domestic work (DW)”: gross family income of €24.000 a year without children, €30.000 with one, €36.000 with two, €42.000 with three or more; no threshold for certified persons with disabilities and Guaranteed Minimum Income recipients.
for a farm worker on ordinary hiring the entry permit costs the employer €120ΚΔΠ 284/2022, item (ζ): «…στο πλαίσιο ενιαίας άδειας, με ισχύ μέχρι 3 έτη, ποσό ύψους 120 ευρώ»; plus €70 for the first registration (the GEN page).
a seasonal worker may stay no more than 8 months in any 12Migration Department, “Seasonal work (ESW)” (modified 13.02.2026): «The maximum period of stay and employment for seasonal workers must not exceed the period of 8 months within a 12-month period»; Cap. 105, s. 18ΨΑ.
registering a seasonal worker costs the employer €170Migration Department, “Seasonal work (ESW)”: «Registration, Issuance of Entry Permit and Seasonal Worker's Permit: €170»; €100 if an ARC already exists, renewal €85.
home-country medical tests must be no more than 4 months oldMDW3 document list (EN, 03.2026): tests for hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis and a chest X-ray for tuberculosis «valid for up to 4 months from the issuing date, from the country of origin, duly certified»; repeated in Cyprus after arrival; the employer pays for the check on arrival (contract MDW3, section 1(c)).
the Migration Department decides within 4 monthsCap. 105, s. 18ΥΖ(1): a decision «πριν από την πάροδο τεσσάρων (4) μηνών από την ημερομηνία υποβολής της αίτησης»; the GEN page — «within four months».

Under Cypriot law the worker pays nothing to get the job: the “price of the permit” is the employer's cost

What this means in practice:

the law forbids both a Cypriot agency and the employer to take any money from the worker for finding the job, and puts the ticket, the fees and every cost of entry on the employer alone
state fees are tens of euros, not thousands: €70 and €80 for a domestic worker, €120 for ordinary hiring — and the employer pays them
a recruiter in your own country is not in the Cypriot register; you can check only the Cypriot agency — by the licence number on its sign or website, in the Department of Labour's register
there is no online permit check: you can follow an application by sending an SMS to 1199 with the text “STATUS application number”, and the number is on the employer's fee receipt
an agency may not keep your passport without your written consent or for longer than the paperwork takes, and may not collect your salary for you

Pay on farms

No department publishes a current pay figure for farm and livestock workers: it is set by the sector's collective agreement and by your contract. Before you travel, ask the employer for a copy of the contract sealed by the Department of Labour and check the amount, hours, housing and food. If in doubt, ask a district office of the Department of Labour Relations.

Night work and rest for domestic workers

The standard contract lets the employer schedule the 7 hours “during the day or night”, and it says nothing about night pay or which day is the day off. The general working time law requires 11 hours of rest a day and 24 hours in a row each week, but the departments do not say whether it applies in full to domestic workers. A disputed case goes to the Department of Labour Relations.

Sources

Private Employment Agencies Law, 126(I)/2012 (as amended by 150(I)/2013 and 142(I)/2023)www.cylaw.orgA licence is required; the register is open to all (s. 16); the licence number on the sign and website (s. 15); the passport only with written consent (s. 19); no charge to the worker, tickets and fees on the employer (s. 21); up to 1 year or €10.000 (s. 29).
ΚΔΠ 284/2022 — permit fees, including domestic workwww.cylaw.org€70 and €80 for domestic work (free for Guaranteed Minimum Income recipients); €120 and €130 for ordinary hiring.
ΚΔΠ 350/2022 — the minimum wage and who it excludeswww.cylaw.orgPara. 3(2): does not apply to domestic workers, farm and livestock workers and seafarers.
Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105: seasonal workers (ss. 18ΦΗ–18ΩΑ, Law 2(I)/2017)www.cylaw.orgUp to 8 months in 12 (s. 18ΨΑ), change of employer (s. 18ΨΒ(4)), rent not deducted automatically (s. 18ΨΣΤ(2)(α)); a 4-month decision period for the single permit (s. 18ΥΖ).
Migration Department, “Domestic work (DW)”www.gov.cyWho may hire and the income thresholds, the ban on nationals of Myanmar and Ethiopia, €460 and the 15% and 10% deductions, housing, no more than 2 changes of employer, no limit on years.
Migration Department, domestic work forms: the MDW3 standard contractwww.gov.cy6 days of 7 hours, 24 days of leave, 30 days of sick leave, health insurance split in half, a bank account in the worker's name, no deduction of fees, tickets or agency fees, the medical check paid by the employer, a month to find a new job.
Department of Labour, private employment agency licences and the registerwww.mlsi.gov.cyThe ban on any charge to the worker and on keeping documents, the penalties; the agency register — a Greek PDF with licence numbers and expiry dates.
Department of Labour Relations, questions on foreign workerswww.mlsi.gov.cyPay for domestic and farm workers is set by contract, not law (1.2); €460 since 01.07.2013 (13.1); the employer pays the arrival and departure ticket (13.3); complaints through the police and the Labour Disputes Committee (13.5).
Migration Department, “Labour disputes” and SMS application statuswww.gov.cyComplaints go to the police Aliens and Immigration Unit in person or with a lawyer, but not through a lawyer alone or by fax; application status — SMS “STATUS number” to 1199.
Police: report human trafficking (DIGIPOL)www.gov.cyAn online form, anonymous submissions allowed; the police name labour exploitation, mainly in farming, as one of the two most common forms.