A Cyprus criminal record certificate comes from the Cyprus Police, and the fee is €20. Since June 2026 most people with a verified CY Login account can apply online through the police's DIGIPOL portal, but two groups still have to apply in person or through a representative: anyone who needs the certificate apostilled for use abroad, and EU citizens. If the certificate is going to a Cypriot authority from the other direction, for example a UK police certificate for a residence permit, it comes from ACRO in the UK and needs an apostille from the FCDO before Cyprus will accept it.
Which of those situations you are in decides almost everything else, so it helps to work out early where the certificate is going.
Applying online through DIGIPOL
The police launched DIGIPOL in June 2026 as a single portal for more than 30 services, and the criminal certificate is one of them. You log in with an authenticated CY Login account (the system formerly called Ariadni), fill in the application and attach the documents. Once it is submitted, the request sits under "Pending Requests" in the portal and you are notified when it is complete. Problems with the portal go to digipol@police.gov.cy.
The catch is the payment. The €20 has to be paid before you submit, because the official receipt is one of the attachments. The police accept payment in cash at any Divisional Police Headquarters or at a Cypriot embassy or consulate abroad, or by a euro remittance to the Central Bank of Cyprus in the name of the Chief of Cyprus Police. So "online" still involves a trip to a police station or a bank transfer first.
Who has to go in person
The gov.cy service page is explicit that DIGIPOL is not for you if:
- the certificate needs an apostille under the Hague Convention, or
- you are a citizen of another EU member state.
In either case you apply at a Certificate Issuing Office, either yourself or through an authorised representative. The main office is at Police Headquarters on Athalassas Avenue in Nicosia. If you send someone else, give them a written authorisation along with copies of your identity documents. Forms are available at any police station and on the Cyprus Police website, and the police run an automated information line for criminal record certificates on 22 808422.
Bring originals and copies. The documents depend on who you are:
- Cypriot citizens: identity card or passport.
- Foreign nationals living in Cyprus: your Alien Registration Certificate (the alien book, pink slip or yellow slip) plus your passport.
- Companies and other legal persons: a copy of the certificate of incorporation.
The form itself asks for your full name, address and how long you have lived there, nationality, date and place of birth, passport details, your registration certificate number and the purpose of the certificate. Write the purpose carefully, because it determines which certificate you are given.
Three different certificates
Most people want the ordinary criminal record certificate, which states what, if anything, is recorded against you. With no convictions it is what everyone calls a clean or clear criminal record certificate. The police also issue a version for licensing under the laws on entertainment venues and alcohol sales, at the same €20.
The third is easy to miss. Under Law 91(I)/2014, on preventing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, anyone employed in work that brings them into regular contact with children must show they are not on the register of persons convicted of sexual offences against minors. That certificate is free and is separate from the ordinary one, so an employer working with children may ask you for both.
The police publish no standard processing time and no validity period. In practice the receiving authority decides how recent the certificate must be, so ask them before you apply rather than finding out at the counter that a two-month-old document is too old.
Using a Cyprus certificate abroad
For a certificate heading to a country outside the EU, the order is:
- 1Apply in person (or by representative) at a Certificate Issuing Office, stating that it is for use abroad.
- 2Take it to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order for an apostille. The fee is €5 per document, and our Cyprus apostille guide covers the Nicosia and Limassol counters.
- 3Have it translated if the receiving country wants that, and check whether the translation also needs certifying.
A certificate obtained through DIGIPOL should not be used for this, which is why the online route is closed to anyone who says the document is going abroad.
Within the EU the picture is simpler. Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 lists the absence of a criminal record among the public documents that no longer need an apostille when they move between member states, and it provides a multilingual standard form you can request alongside the certificate to avoid a translation. A Cypriot certificate going to Greece or Germany can therefore skip step 2, though it costs nothing to confirm with the authority receiving it.
Using a UK certificate in Cyprus
This is the more common situation for readers of this site. The Civil Registry and Migration Department asks most residence and citizenship applicants for an original clear criminal record certificate from their country of origin, or their country of residence if they live somewhere else. It must be attested and come with an official translation into Greek or English where it is not already in one of those languages. Employers bringing in third-country nationals face the same requirement on the work permit file.
For a British applicant that means three steps:
- 1Apply to ACRO Criminal Records Office for a police certificate. ACRO offers a standard and a faster premium service, and its fees have changed several times in recent years, so check the current figure on acro.police.uk when you order.
- 2Send the certificate to the FCDO Legalisation Office for an apostille. Our apostille guide lists the current gov.uk fees for the paper and e-Apostille services.
- 3Bring the original apostilled certificate to your appointment in Cyprus. Copies are not accepted.
Brexit matters here. Because the UK is outside Regulation 2016/1191, a British certificate needs the apostille that an Irish or French one would not. Ordering the ACRO certificate while you are still in the UK is usually easier than having it sent out, and the timing is worth thinking about: if your Cyprus application stalls for months, the immigration officer may ask for a fresh one.
Once you live in Cyprus, the Cypriot certificate starts appearing on file lists too. Applications to change residence status, and naturalisation applications, typically want a Cyprus certificate as well as one from your home country. The pink slip and yellow slip guide and our article on citizenship by naturalisation set out the wider document lists.
When a lawyer is worth it
For a clean record and a straightforward application, you rarely need one. Where a lawyer earns their fee is when the certificate shows something: an old conviction abroad that an immigration officer may weigh against a permit, a record that does not match your identity documents, or a deadline abroad that makes an authorised representative in Nicosia worth paying for. Many Cypriot law firms will collect the certificate and the apostille for a client who has already left the island.
Applying for residence or citizenship? Browse immigration and residency lawyers or search the directory for an advocate who can check your document list before you file.