Document translation in Cyprus: the PIO does not do it any more
The Press and Information Office stopped translating documents in 2019. Who certifies translations now, what a certified translation actually is, what it costs, and the order that saves you paying twice.
If someone told you to take your documents to the PIO for translation, they are working from old information. The Press and Information Office stopped translating documents on 1 July 2019. People still turn up there, and still search for it online, which is why this article exists.
What changed
Law 45(I)/2019 — the Registration and Regulation of Sworn Translator Services Law — ended the old system where the PIO translated documents through freelance translators. Since then, official translations are done by sworn translators, who are individually registered in the Register of Sworn Translators kept by the Council of Sworn Translators.
You now go to the translator directly. There is no government counter in the middle of it.
What a certified translation actually is
A certified translation is an accurate translation into or out of Greek — stamped and bearing the public seal of the Republic.
That matters more than it looks. When a Cypriot authority asks for a certified translation, they mean into Greek. A translation of a Russian document into English, however good, is not the same thing and may not be accepted here. Check which language the receiving authority actually wants before you pay for anything — English is often fine for a bank or an employer, and not fine for a government department.
Only a translator on the register can produce one. A translation from an agency, a bilingual friend or a notary who is not a sworn translator is not a certified translation, whatever it says on the paper.
What it costs
Fees are set by the Council, not negotiated with each translator, and are charged per page of 250 translated words — so a dense page counts as more than one page. A €2 stamp duty goes on the last page of the finished translation.
Rates vary by language: common European languages are cheaper than rarer ones, and urgent work costs more. Two documents of the same physical length can come back at different prices because one is denser than the other.
The order that saves you paying twice
This is the mistake that costs the most money, and it is not obvious.
If your document also needs an apostille or Ministry of Foreign Affairs certification, that generally comes first — the apostille goes on the original, and the translation is made of the apostilled document. Translate first and you can end up paying for the translation twice.
The exception is when the receiving country wants it the other way round. There is no universal rule, and it depends on the destination — so ask before you start rather than after. Our apostille guide covers how that side works.
Which documents usually need one
- Birth, marriage and death certificates
- School and university certificates and transcripts
- Criminal record certificates
- Court documents and powers of attorney
- Company documents for banks and the Registrar
- Medical documents, including the birth notification for a Russian Embassy birth registration
Finding a sworn translator
The register is published by the Press and Information Office and lists each translator's languages, contact details and working address. Sworn translators work in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and the Famagusta district — so you do not have to go to Nicosia for this.
Availability is the real constraint. A common language pair in Larnaca may be booked out; a rare one may only have one or two registered translators on the whole island.
Common mistakes
Going to the PIO. It has not translated documents since 2019.
Translating before apostilling. Usually the wrong order, and it means paying twice.
Translating into the wrong language. Cypriot authorities want Greek. Check before you commit.
Using a non-sworn translator. A cheaper translation that gets rejected is not cheaper.
Leaving it to the last week. Translator availability, not translation speed, is what makes this slow.
What we do
We handle the whole chain: working out what the receiving authority actually requires, getting the document apostilled where it needs to be, placing the translation with a sworn translator whose languages fit, and getting the finished documents back to you anywhere in Cyprus.
This is a paid service. What you are paying for is not the stamp — it is knowing the right order, having the translator contacts, and not losing a week to a rejected document. Send us the list of documents and where they are going, and we will come back with the fee for the work and the expected out-of-pocket costs, so you can decide before anything is committed.