Do I need to move my UK pension to Cyprus?

Usually not. Most UK pensions can be paid to you in Cyprus and taxed at 5% over €5,000 a year. A transfer can trigger a 25% UK charge and, for defined benefit pensions over £30,000, needs regulated advice first.

What happens to my ISA when I move to Cyprus?

You can keep it, but you can't pay new money in while you're non-UK resident. Cyprus doesn't recognise the ISA wrapper, so income and gains become taxable in Cyprus. As a non-dom, dividends and interest carry no SDC, only GeSY.

How do I check a Cyprus financial advisor is regulated?

Search the firm on CySEC's register of investment firms, or on the ESMA register if it's authorised elsewhere in the EU. For UK pension transfer advice, search the FCA Financial Services Register.

Will UK compensation schemes protect me?

Not always. The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme generally covers UK-authorised firms. If you invest through a Cyprus or other EU firm, ask which compensation scheme applies and up to what amount.

What's the difference between a wealth planner and a tax advisor?

A tax advisor plans how you're taxed and files returns. A wealth planner recommends investments and pension decisions under a financial services licence. See tax advisors and our non-dom planning service.

What happens after I ask for an introduction?

Jason reads what you hold and replies within one working day, often suggesting a tax advisor first if pensions are the main question. With your consent, we introduce you by email to one regulated firm, which sets out all charges in writing before any advice. There's no obligation.

Experts · Wealth planning

Financial Advisor Cyprus: How UK Expats Choose a Regulated Wealth Planning Advisor

Choose a financial advisor in Cyprus by licence first: CySEC (or EU) authorisation for investment advice, and FCA pension transfer permission for any UK defined benefit pension over £30,000. Then compare total charges in writing over 10 years. Most UK movers don't need a QROPS; a good advisor tells you that. We introduce you free to a regulated firm that works with UK movers.

Vetted, licensed partners
Free introduction
Referral fees disclosed

Request an introduction

Free. I reply personally within one working day.

The short version

Check the licence first: CySEC or EU authorisation for investment advice in Cyprus, and FCA pension transfer permission for UK defined benefit pensions over £30,000.

You rarely need to move a UK pension: Cyprus can tax most UK pensions at 5% over €5,000 a year where they are. Transfers to overseas schemes can cost a 25% UK charge.

Your ISA stays open, but you can't add to it once you're non-UK resident, and Cyprus taxes what it earns.

Compare total charges over 10 years, in writing. A 1.5% a year difference can cost around €100,000 on €500,000.

Our introduction is free, and we never take commission on investments.

What a wealth planning advisor does for a UK move

A wealth planning advisor looks after the money side of a move that a tax advisor doesn't: what you invest in, where you hold it, and how you draw it. For British movers to Cyprus that usually means:

UK pensions. Whether to leave them in the UK, draw them, or (rarely) move them. Cyprus can tax most UK pensions at 5% on income above €5,000 a year from 2026 without any transfer.
ISAs and UK investments. ISA income and gains lose their tax-free status in Cyprus once you're resident, and you can't add new money while you're non-UK resident. As a non-dom, dividends and interest carry no Special Defence Contribution, only 2.65% GeSY.
Currency. Planning when and how to move sterling into euros.
Estate planning. UK inheritance tax can follow long-term UK residents for 3 to 10 years after they leave. Cyprus has no inheritance tax, but its succession law protects a share of the estate for a spouse and children, unless your will chooses the law of your nationality.

A wealth planner should work alongside a tax advisor, not replace one.

Paphos lighthouse on the headland at sunset with golden grasses in the foreground — Paphos lighthouse at sunset

Watch out

The licence is the first question, not the last

In Cyprus, giving investment advice as a business needs authorisation from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) as a Cyprus Investment Firm under Law 87(I)/2017, or authorisation in another EU country that is passported into Cyprus. Check the firm on CySEC's register.

In the UK, advice on transferring a defined benefit (final salary) pension worth more than £30,000 must come from a firm with FCA permission to advise on pension transfers. Since Brexit, a UK-only FCA firm may not be allowed to advise you once you live in Cyprus, so ask how they are authorised to advise a Cyprus resident.

Ask for firm names and reference numbers, then look them up yourself. Don't rely on a certificate they send you.

When you need a financial advisor in Cyprus

You probably need one if you have any of these:

A defined benefit pension, or several defined contribution pots you're thinking of consolidating or transferring.
Investments or cash above what you'll need to live on in the next few years.
UK property you plan to keep, sell or pass on.
A family estate where the UK inheritance tax tail or Cyprus succession rules could apply.

You may not need one if your main income is the UK State Pension plus a modest private pension, and you're happy to keep your pension in the UK and draw it. A UK pension tax advisor can confirm how it's taxed.

Pensions are the big question

Get the tax answer before the investment one

How your UK pensions are taxed in Cyprus decides whether any move makes sense. A fixed-fee tax advisor answers that without selling you anything.

UK pension tax advice Open the retirement checklist

Myth

Myth: "You should move your UK pension to a QROPS when you leave"

Reality

Most people shouldn't. Cyprus already taxes most UK pensions at 5% over €5,000. Since 30 October 2024, transfers to overseas schemes in the EEA can trigger the UK's 25% overseas transfer charge unless you live in the same country as the scheme. The FCA has also warned about overseas advisers steering pension transfers into high-charge or unsuitable investments.

Pine-covered ridges of the Troodos foothills on a clear winter morning with snow on distant peaks — The Troodos foothills in winter

What financial advice costs

There are no reliable published fee ranges for cross-border advice in Cyprus, and charging models vary widely. What you should compare is the total cost in writing.

Charge	What to ask
Initial advice fee	Fixed fee or percentage? Is it payable if you don't go ahead?
Ongoing advice fee	What review do you get each year for it?
Platform and fund charges	Total annual cost as a percentage and in money
Product charges (bonds, QROPS, insurance wrappers)	Any early-exit penalties? Any commission to the advisor?
Total over 10 years	Ask for one number, in writing, for your actual amount

Pension transfer advice from an FCA-authorised firm and CySEC-regulated investment advice are quoted by the firm. Paphos Advisor never takes commission on investments.

Worked example: what charges do to €500,000 over 10 years

Same portfolio, same 5% a year growth before charges. The only difference is the total yearly cost of advice, platform, funds and any product wrapper.

Total yearly charges	Value after 10 years	Cost of the higher charges
1.0% a year	About €740,100	—
2.5% a year	About €640,000	About €100,100 less

Illustration only, not a forecast: growth is compounded annually and charges are taken as a flat percentage. It shows why you should ask every advisor for one total cost figure, in writing, for your actual amount.

Wealth planning advisors we introduce

We only introduce firms authorised by CySEC or another EU regulator for investment advice, with FCA pension transfer permission where UK defined benefit transfers are involved, who disclose all charges in writing. Introductions are free to you; see our referral disclosure. For life and health cover, see insurance brokers; for yearly returns, accountants; or browse all vetted Cyprus relocation experts.

Licensed and regulated

Registered with the right Cyprus body — Bar Association, ICPAC, CySEC or the Estate Agents Council.

Fluent with UK clients

They know HMRC, UK pensions and how British clients expect to be kept in the loop.

Vetted in person

I’ve worked with them or checked their work with people I trust. No paid listings.

Fees disclosed

If a partner pays a referral fee, I tell you before the introduction.

Partner profiles are shared privately, matched to your situation.

Request an introduction

Free introduction

Get introduced to a regulated financial advisor

Tell us roughly what you hold (pensions, ISAs, investments, property) and your move date. Jason replies within one working day, then, with your consent, introduces you to a regulated firm that works with UK movers to Cyprus.

CySEC or EU authorisation checked
FCA permission for UK pension transfers where needed
All charges disclosed in writing
Free to you; we never take investment commission

Founder-led. Replies within one working day.

Financial advisor questions

Possibly not. After Brexit, UK firms lost the right to passport their services into the EU. Ask your adviser in writing how they're permitted to advise a Cyprus resident. Some work with an EU-authorised partner firm.

Sources checked for this page

1.CySEC — Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law 87(I)/2017Government
2.CySEC — Register of Cyprus Investment FirmsGovernment
3.FCA — Financial Services RegisterGovernment
4.FCA Handbook — COBS 19.1 pension transfers (pension transfer specialist)Government
5.FCA — Accepting pension transfer referrals from overseas advisersGovernment
6.HMRC — Pensions Tax Manual PTM102400 (overseas transfer charge)Government
7.GOV.UK — Technical amendments to the residence-based tax regime (inheritance tax long-term residence)Government
8.EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on succession (choice of law)Government
9.GeSY — Financing (2.65% on dividends, interest and pensions)Government
10.PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Cyprus income determination (pension threshold €5,000)Professional

Written by

Jason

Founder, Paphos Advisor

British founder who moved his family from the UK to Paphos in 2025. I write down what I learned doing it properly — the tax, the residency and the living-here detail — and introduce people to the specialists I’d use myself.

How I research and fact-check

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Financial Advisor Cyprus: How UK Expats Choose a Regulated Wealth Planning Advisor

What a wealth planning advisor does for a UK move

When you need a financial advisor in Cyprus

How to vet a financial advisor in Cyprus

What financial advice costs

Worked example: what charges do to €500,000 over 10 years

Wealth planning advisors we introduce

Get introduced to a regulated financial advisor

Financial advisor questions

Sources checked for this page

Keep reading

What a wealth planning advisor does for a UK move

When you need a financial advisor in Cyprus

How to vet a financial advisor in Cyprus

What financial advice costs

Worked example: what charges do to €500,000 over 10 years

Wealth planning advisors we introduce

Get introduced to a regulated financial advisor

Financial advisor questions

Financial Advisor Cyprus: How UK Expats Choose a Regulated Wealth Planning Advisor

What a wealth planning advisor does for a UK move

When you need a financial advisor in Cyprus

How to vet a financial advisor in Cyprus

What financial advice costs

Worked example: what charges do to €500,000 over 10 years

Wealth planning advisors we introduce

Get introduced to a regulated financial advisor

Financial advisor questions

Can my UK financial adviser keep advising me in Cyprus?

Do I need to move my UK pension to Cyprus?

What happens to my ISA when I move to Cyprus?

How do I check a Cyprus financial advisor is regulated?

Will UK compensation schemes protect me?

What's the difference between a wealth planner and a tax advisor?

What happens after I ask for an introduction?

Sources checked for this page

Keep reading

What a wealth planning advisor does for a UK move

When you need a financial advisor in Cyprus

How to vet a financial advisor in Cyprus

What financial advice costs

Worked example: what charges do to €500,000 over 10 years

Wealth planning advisors we introduce

Get introduced to a regulated financial advisor

Financial advisor questions

Can my UK financial adviser keep advising me in Cyprus?

Do I need to move my UK pension to Cyprus?

What happens to my ISA when I move to Cyprus?

How do I check a Cyprus financial advisor is regulated?

Will UK compensation schemes protect me?

What's the difference between a wealth planner and a tax advisor?

What happens after I ask for an introduction?