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Dialing

Landlines and mobile phone numbers in Cyprus have eight digits; landlines start with “2” plus the area code and mobile phones starts with “9”. This applies to all of the official state of Cyprus, not the Turkish-held northern section.

Calling Within Cyprus

The largest cities in Cyprus have different area codes:

• Nicosia: 22
• Famagusta: 23
• Larnaca: 24
• Limassol: 25
• Pafos: 26

To Call Internationally from Cyprus

Dial 00, followed by the country code of the country you are dialing, area code and then phone number.  If you are calling Northern Cyprus from the official Republic of Cyprus, you will still need to dial internationally, as the calls are routed through Turkey – dial +09, and the regional code for Northern Cyprus which is +392.

To Call Cyprus Internationally

Cyprus' country code is +357.

Telephone Providers in Cyprus

There are two main telephone providers in Cyprus:

• Cyta (Cyprus Telecommunication Authority) is the primary government owned company, and
• PrimeTel is its private competitor.

Expats who want to get a landline connected can easily do so by visiting a CytaShop or phoning Customer Services. Since the vast majority of people in Cyprus speak English, especially those in retail and service, it is unlikely there will be no English-speaking staff on hand to assist you.

Installation is usually pretty easy and will occur within a few hours to a week at most. It costs around 120 Euros.

Rates for Telephone Service in Cyprus

Bills are paid monthly, and you can pay either online by credit or debit card, by check through the mail, or on the phone.  Phone companies in Cyprus usually accept most major credit cards.

Public Phones in Cyprus

There are two types of public telephones in Cyprus:

Coin-Operated Payphones – These phones can be found throughout major cities and accept coins of 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent denominations.

Outdoor and Indoor Card-phones – Public phones accept Telecards (T3, T5, T10) which you can purchase from post offices, kiosks, banks and other shops.

Prepaid Cards

Prepaid cards are available in various denominations from most post offices, kiosks, banks and other shops. Cards are sold at values of 5, 10, and 15 Euros.

Generally the same steps apply to any calling card:

• Dial the access number
• Enter your PIN number
• Enter the number you wish to dial

Skype, Google and other ways to connect

The great thing about being an expat today is that there are so many other ways of keeping in touch with loved ones back home for free: email, Facetime, Skype, WhatsApp, Google chat, Twitter and Instagram - the possibilities are endless!

Many expats choose to write an expat blog about their new life. Not only is it a great record/diary of the experience, but it's another way to keep friends and family updated and connect with other people abroad.

Read the EasyExpat article, Expats Connect: Skype & Other Services, for other ways to connect with friends and family.