Airport Code: PFO

Full Airport Name: Paphos International Airport

Location: The airport is situated nine miles (15km) east of Paphos.

Time Zone: GMT +2 (GMT +3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Phone Number: Tel: +357 243 047 00 or 248 161 30.

Ground Transport: Taxis offer transport to the city centre from outside the airport terminal and there is a regular bus service into town departing outside the terminal building.

Information and Help Desks
A tourist information office is located in the Departures hall, as well as various Airline information desks, which are located on the public concourse.

Car Rental: Avis and Europcar are represented at the airport along with several local companies.

Airport Facilities
Money and communications: There are banks located on the public concourse and in the Arrivals hall; a post office is located on the public concourse (closed Sunday and public holidays). Eating and drinking: There is a café in the public concourse, and a bar and restaurant in the Departures lounge. Shopping: There is a gift shop and duty-paid shop on the public concourse. There are duty-free shops in the Departures lounge. Luggage: Lost property is located in Arrivals. Other facilities: In Arrivals, there are hotel reservation desks and a first aid room, as well as tour operator desks.

Car Parking: Short-term parking is available near the terminal building.

Departure Tax: None.

Are you happy to live in a foreign land, speaking the local language, watching local TV? Or do you REALLY miss EastEnders, Coronation Street and all the other truly educational programmes that are available in the UK? Help is at hand, you can get Sky Digital Television.

There is a multitude of English-language satellite programmes which are broadcast from a cluster of satellites hovering above the equator some 23,000 miles up in space. The cluster is located around 28° East of true South but the elevation above the horizon depends on how far south you live.

Now, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that these English-language programmes are beamed towards the UK. The good news is that you can receive at least some of them with quite a small dish, even as far away as the Canaries, Cyprus or Moscow. The weakest signals, unfortunately, are those used by the BBC and ITV. To get an idea of the dish size you’ll need, take a look at the map on this page.  This gives the approximate coverage of the satellite called “Astra 2D” which is currently used by both the BBC and ITV. The other satellites have a slightly greater coverage: Astra2A Astra2B Eurobird1 For the most part, these coverage “footprints” are rather pessimistic – sometimes wildly so. So don’t believe them – seek advice from an expat neighbour who already has a system. There’s bound to be someone in your area willing to demonstrate his/her system and advise you. The BBC programmes are currently NOT scrambled so you can watch them on almost any “free-to-air” digital satellite receiver, with prices as low as £80 for the most basic model. However, although the BBC programmes and many shopping channels, holiday channels, religious programmes etc. are not scrambled, the majority of English-language programmes are scrambled. To watch the scrambled channels, including the many offerings from SKY, you will need a Sky Digibox and a viewing card. There is no other way. There are two types of viewing card but both look identical and have “SKY” printed on them. They are dark blue with a yellow house outline. (Earlier pale blue cards are now useless).

To obtain a card you need a UK postcode address - and please note that buying a card automatically triggers a TV licence check on that address! The first type of card is called a FTV (Free To View) card, although some mistakenly refer to it as “free-to-air”. (You dont need a card for programmes like the BBC that are “free-to-air”). You can order a FTV card for £23.50 by phoning 08700 541800 in the UK and giving your UK address details. The other type of card is the standard Sky Subscription card. If you already have a Sky Digibox you can phone BskyB and ask for “a second hand contract” which will be sent to your UK address. This can take up to FOUR WEEKS to arrive!

Note that using the card outside the UK is considered to be a breach of contract so, if BskyB find out, they will transmit a signal to disable your card.

Do I need a telephone connection? No, you don’t need this outside the UK. The only time the phone connection is required is when you’ve acquired a Sky system with discount by signing the B.I.B. contract in addition to the Sky contract OR if you’ve subscribed to Sky for a “mirror” card. It’s assumed that most expats will buy a new or used Sky Digibox and will use it with an FTV card (no contract) or with a “second hand contract”, in which case theres no worries about a phone connection.

Which Sky Digibox shall I buy? For fringe area reception, the all-time favourite is the Panasonic TU-DSB30 model. But this is obsolete so it is available second-hand only. It's reasonably reliable provided that you keep it very cool. If in doubt, fit a fan AND keep it cool! This applies equally to ALL electronic equipment. It doesn’t like to be pizzafied. For a new Sky Digibox, the best choice for weak signal areas is the Pace BSKYB2600 which will shortly be renamed the Pace DS430N. If you want a really tiny, portable version, then you can’t beat the Pace “Javelin” minibox. This is effectively a shrunken BSKYB2600 with only one Scart socket and one RF output socket. It has an external 12 volt power supply (which itself isn't very reliable but at least it's easy to replace). The minibox can also be powered from a 12 volt battery, which is great for power cuts (if you have a 12V TV set) and for camping, caravanning or even boats. However, at the time of writing, the “Javelin” minibox is already in short supply so buy now!.

What size dish do I need? That depends on your location and what you want to watch. Check with other expats near to you. If you duplicate what they use then you should get the same reception. Also note that the “signal collector” or “LNB” on the dish arm is critical in weak signal areas. Tests indicate that the best LNB for dishes up to 1.5m diameter is the Manhattan MTI 0.6dB but the best LNB for larger dishes is the “Invacom 0.3dB twin-output” or “quad-output” version. (For some reason, the single-output version doesn’t work as well.) Alignment of the dish on that cluster of satellites 23,000 miles away is critical to success. Just one degree error will lose the signals. You can use a purpose-built satellite signal meter (satmeter) to locate the signal then make the final adjustment of dish and LNB by looking at the Digibox on-screen signal display. This usually means taking the Sky Digibox and a portable TV outside so wait for a dry day.

Where Can I Buy Everything? Well, firstly ask the expats or your neighbours most of them have some kind of satellite tv system, so they should be able to recommend a good company or not simply check on Google or another search engine and that will give you all the information you need to know.

Major resorts have bars and restaurants of every category. At larger hotels, the cuisine tends to international although authentic local dishes may also be available. All over the island there are restaurants offering genuine Cypriot food. One of the best ways of enjoying Cypriot food is by ordering Meze, (Which everyone who comes here should try at least once) which is an array of many of the dishes which the restaurant produces, usually only served for two persons or more.

Be prepared for a long, enormous meal though, save yourself at the beginning, otherwise just when you think you will burst the main dishes will arrive! To try the best meze my advice would be to drive out to an inland village and find a non touristy restaurant, the meze will be of a superior quality and you will find that the sheiftalia are not the larger commercially produced ones for the tourists, but the small tasty ones.

Be aware if you do this that the cheeses will be stronger and you may be presented with offal as this is also a delicacy in Cyprus. Waiter service is normal and counter service is common in bars. There are no licensing hours.

Most take aways do a selection from fish and chips, KFC fried chicken, Pizza Hut, Chinese, Mc burgers and many more, all at very reasonable prices. Most taverns and restaurants standard menu includes kebabs, chops, steaks and fish.

Residency Requirements: You must be resident in Cyprus for 3 clear working days prior to your wedding day. Note: the 3 days is only applicable if you apply to the Marriage Officer for the issue of a Special Licence. If you do not apply for the special licence your marriage cannot be celebrated until 15 clear days after you submit your Notice of Marriage and you will need to be resident in Cyprus for approximately 20 days.

Required Documentation: All documents must be original and taken with you to Cyprus. Full Birth Certificate. 10 Year Passport with at least 6 months validity remaining. Sworn Affidavits – statement signed and stamped by a solicitor confirming both parties are free to marry. This must be prepared one month or less before your wedding date. Notice of Marriage – this must be submitted to a marriage officer prior to your wedding. If you are getting married in a church –a baptism certificate (one only is sufficient). If you are divorced – a Decree Absolute.
If you are a widower – a Death certificate and previous Marriage Certificate. If you are adopted – an Adoption certificate. If you are under 18 – letter of consent from a parent or guardian. If you have changed your name by deed poll – stamped proof by a solicitor. If you have an Irish Passport – a Freedom to Marry Certificate (obtained from the Registry office in Ireland or from an Irish Embassy if living outside of Ireland).

Wedding Licence Fee Special Licence – 3 days Residency Requirement, Euro 200.00 Normal Licence – 15 days Residency Requirement, Euro 85.00

Certificate of Marriage After your wedding ceremony you will be issued with a Certificate of Marriage. If you require additional certified copies they can be obtained for Euro 12.00. According to Cypriot Law, the Marriage Officer will forward a certified copy of your Certificate of Marriage to the Embassy or the Consulate of your home country (if they are located in Cyprus).

Religious Ceremonies: If you are planning a religious ceremony the same procedure needs to be followed as stated above but in addition you will need to contact the Registered Minister of the Church where you plan to get married to make the extra arrangements required for a religious ceremony.
Important Note: A Catholic ceremony is not legally binding unless you first have a civil wedding ceremony. The fee to have a Catholic ceremony is Euro400. If you have an Anglican wedding ceremony you are not required to have a civil wedding ceremony.

For Further Information Detailed information may be obtained directly from any Municipality or from the Union of Cyprus Municipalities. P.O. Box 22033, CY 1516 Lefkosia (Nicosia) Tel : +357 22 66 91 50 Fax: +357 22 67 72 30 email: endeky@cytanet.com.cy website: www.ucm.org.cy

The Republic of Cyprus wants to ensure that children who come to live in Cyprus from other EU countries are able to continue their education. The Ministry of Education and Culture is the competent body to approach for help about finding a school (Tel: +357 22 800 600 and email).

You will be able to speak to the competent individuals in the directorates for each level of education at the Ministry (e.g. the Directorate for Primary Education).

You can find approved state and private nursery schools, primary schools and lower and upper secondary schools through the Ministry. You can also get information about tertiary education (universities, colleges, higher education schools, etc.).