Boarding Schools in Cyprus: Ages, Costs, Visas and What to Ask

Boarding is a big decision, and in Cyprus the choice is small. Only a few private schools run a boarding house, and they take secondary pupils only.

Boarding places are aimed mainly at international pupils whose families live abroad. Some schools also offer weekday boarding, which can suit Cypriot families who live in another district.

This guide explains what boarding looks like in Cyprus, what the published fees cover, what non-EU and EU pupils need to live here legally, who is responsible for a child in a boarding house, and the questions to ask before you commit.

Our editors researched it from the laws published on cylaw.org and from the boarding pages and fee sheets schools publish. It is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm the details with each school and with the Civil Registry and Migration Department.

To see the schools whose profiles list boarding, open our page of schools with boarding or go to the list in section 2.

Boarding in Cyprus belongs to a school's secondary section. Schools usually take boarders from about age 11 or 12 to 18. A school's primary or nursery section does not usually take boarders, even when its secondary school does.

Most places are full boarding: your child lives in the boarding house during the school year and comes home for the holidays. Some schools also offer weekday or flexi boarding, for example four nights in the house from Monday to Friday and three nights at home.

House parents or house masters run the boarding house and are on duty around the clock. At some schools they live in the house, and some schools also give each boarder a personal tutor. Ask how many adults are on duty at night and how a pupil reaches them.

The boarding year follows the school year, from late August or early September to June. Some houses close over Christmas and New Year, while others stay open for pupils who remain in Cyprus. Ask where your child would stay during every holiday and half-term.

Homestay as an alternative

Some families choose a homestay instead: the pupil lives with a host family and attends school as a day pupil. Ask the school whether it arranges or approves host families, who checks them, and who your child should call if something goes wrong.

Only a handful of private schools in Cyprus run a boarding house, so your choice of city and curriculum is limited. The list below comes from our directory and changes as school profiles are updated.

Open our page of schools with boarding to compare them by level, curriculum and published fees. If boarding is not essential, our page of international schools lists every school teaching a British, IB, American or French curriculum, by city.

A facility on a profile is a starting point, not a promise of a place. Boarding places are limited, and a school may change what it offers from one year to the next, so ask what it offers for the year your child would start.

Boarding is expensive, and schools package their fees in different ways, so totals are hard to compare at first glance.

Published boarding fees we found for 2025-26 to 2027-28 ranged from about €23,000 to €28,600 a year. Some schools charge boarding on top of tuition. Others quote one package that may also include visa costs, medical insurance, uniform, books, transport or trips.

Some costs are often extra. Visa and agency fees, medical insurance, lunch and registration fees may be charged separately. One school's fee sheets for 2025-26 and 2027-28, for example, list a refundable visa deposit of €550 to €850 that is not part of the boarding fee.

Weekday or flexi boarding, where a school offers it, may be charged by the week: one school charged €350 a week in 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Ask each school for a written breakdown for the year your child would start:

• Tuition, and whether the boarding fee includes it
• Accommodation, meals and laundry
• Visa, residence permit and agency costs, and any refundable deposit
• Medical insurance, and what it covers
• Registration, enrolment and exam fees
• Uniform, books, trips, activities and transport
• Holiday care, flights and airport transfers, if the school arranges them
• Deposits, refund terms and the notice you must give to leave

Tuition fees are on each school's profile, many of them from the Ministry of Education's yearly fee lists. Compare them on our school fees pages, read our guide to private school fees, or add up a full year with the school fees calculator.

A child from outside the EU needs permission to live in Cyprus to attend school here. In practice, boarding schools file the entry and residence application for their boarders and pass on the immigration costs, either inside the boarding fee or as a separate charge. Ask the school exactly what it does and what you must provide.

Pupils who enrol full-time

For a pupil who enrols at a private secondary school for one or more years, the Civil Registry and Migration Department sets the current requirements: the documents, the fees, any financial guarantee and the deadlines. These change, so ask the school for its current checklist and confirm it with the department before your child travels.

Under the Aliens and Immigration Law, a pupil's permit covers the period of study the school certifies. It lapses if the pupil does not enrol or stops attending, and proof of each renewed enrolment must be shown (Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105).

Plan for this every year. If your child might leave early or change school, ask the school and the department what happens to the permit. Ask too what happens if a permit is refused or delayed, and whether fees and deposits are refunded.

Exchange schemes and school projects

A separate law covers non-EU pupils aged 12 to 19 who come through a pupil exchange scheme or an educational project between a Cyprus school and schools abroad (Law 7(I)/2019). It is designed for exchanges and joint school projects, not for pupils who enrol for several years.

Under that law the school files the application, with a valid travel document, parental consent, sickness insurance for the whole stay, proof of sufficient resources and an address in Cyprus. The authorities also ask for a criminal-record certificate and medical tests from the pupil's home country.

The pupil must live with a family, in special accommodation at the school or in another facility that meets Cypriot law. The route is open only to nationals of countries that offer Cypriot pupils the same option. A decision is due within 90 days of a complete application, and the permit lasts as long as the programme, up to one year, renewable once.

EU citizens do not need a visa, but a pupil who stays in Cyprus for more than three months must meet the conditions of the free movement law (Law 7(I)/2007, articles 9 and 10).

A pupil may stay longer than three months when they are enrolled, mainly to study, at a private or public school approved or financed by the Republic, have comprehensive sickness insurance, and declare that they have sufficient resources.

They must register with the Civil Registry and Migration Department within four months of arrival. The law lists the documents for pupils and students: a passport or ID card, proof of enrolment, sickness insurance and a declaration of resources. The registration certificate is issued straight away, and failing to register is an offence with a fine of up to €2,500.

We found no published guidance on how a child who lives in Cyprus without a parent registers. Ask the school how it handles registration for EU boarders, and check with the department well before the four months run out.

Private schools in Cyprus are regulated by the Private Schools Law 147(I)/2019, last amended in 2026 (Private Schools Law 147(I)/2019). It sets rules for school premises and staff, but it never mentions boarding: it has no licensing, standards or inspection rules for boarding houses.

So ask each school who inspects its boarding house, how often and what the inspection covers. If a school says a public authority has inspected its boarding premises, ask to see the certificate and its date.

Criminal-record checks for staff

Anyone who employs a person for professional, organised or volunteer activities involving regular contact with children must first see a certificate that the person is not on the police register of people convicted of sexual offences against children. Breaking this rule is an offence carrying up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to €170,000, or both (Law 91(I)/2014, article 22).

This rule covers house parents, night staff and volunteers in a boarding house. Teachers and heads have a further requirement: a private school may not hire them without an original clean criminal record certificate as well as the register certificate (Private Schools Law 147(I)/2019).

Ask the school to confirm in writing that every adult working in the boarding house has produced the certificate, and how often it checks again.

Boarding schools in some countries ask families to appoint a local guardian. None of the Cyprus boarding pages we read in November 2026 publicly required one, but a school may still ask for one when you enrol, so ask each school what it expects.

Under Cyprus law, parents keep parental care while their child boards. Both parents hold parental care, which covers the child's upbringing, supervision and education, deciding where the child lives, managing their property and representing them legally. A court appoints a guardian only when no one has parental care (Law 216/1990 on parent and child relations).

So a school's local guardian is not a legal guardian. It is a trusted adult you choose, or the school arranges, to act for you in Cyprus. Back the arrangement with a written authorisation that says what the person may do on your behalf, such as collecting your child, meeting teachers or acting in an emergency, and for how long.

If you want the authorisation to cover medical decisions or travel, ask the school and a lawyer in Cyprus how to word it.

Day to day, the house parents or house masters look after boarders. Ask who takes your child to a doctor, who agrees to weekend outings, and how quickly you will hear about an illness or incident.

Visit if you can, in person or by video, and ask for the answers in writing. These questions show how a boarding house really works:

• Which ages and year groups board, and how many boarders are there?
• Is it full boarding only, or also weekday or flexi boarding?
• Where is the house, and how do pupils get to school?
• How many adults are in the house at night, and who are they?
• Who inspects the boarding house, and when was it last inspected?
• Has every adult in the house produced the certificate for work with children?
• Can we see your safeguarding, health, discipline and anti-bullying policies?
• How can our child contact us, and how often will you report to us?
• Where does our child stay at half-term, Christmas and Easter?
• What does the fee include, and what is charged as an extra?
• Who files the visa or registration, and what happens at each renewal?
• Do you require a local guardian, and what must they be able to do?
• What happens if the placement is not working?

Our school visit checklist has more questions for any school visit.

Before you apply, talk it through with your child and listen to their worries. Think about:

• Readiness: how your child copes away from home, and how independent they already are
• Language: whether your child can learn and live comfortably in the school's language
• Distance: flight times, time zones and how often you can visit
• Holidays: where your child stays when the house closes
• Cost: the full yearly cost, with extras, permit renewals and travel, for every year until your child finishes school
• Paperwork: the yearly permit or registration, and who handles it

Alternatives to boarding

If your family can move to Cyprus, your child can live at home and attend as a day pupil, which widens the choice of schools. Our guide to moving to Cyprus with children and our guide to choosing a school before you move explain how to plan the move and the school search together, and our guide to British schools in Cyprus for expat families covers English-language options.

For Cypriot families in another district, weekday or flexi boarding, where a school offers it, lets your child board during the week and come home at weekends. A homestay with a family you trust is another option.

When you have a shortlist, read how applications and entry assessments work in our private school admissions guide, and use the year group calculator to see which year group your child would join.

Immigration rules, fees and school policies change, so confirm the details with each school and with the Civil Registry and Migration Department. This guide is general information, not legal or immigration advice.