Now on kids.cy:
There is no single minimum age for every nursery in Cyprus. Nurseries belong to the infant and toddler childcare system, and each licensed centre sets its own admission age. For a baby, check the age groups in the terms of the particular nursery.
Cyprus has a licensed category of infant/toddler care centres intended for babies and very young children. There is, however, no single published minimum admission age for all of them. For children under 2, the Social Welfare Services (SWS) requirements provide for 1 carer for every 6 children; the actual admission age has to be checked with the nursery you choose.
In Cyprus these words do not mean the same thing.
So it is better to go by the children’s ages and the setting’s official status than by the word on the sign.
In 2026/27 compulsory pre-primary education starts at 4 years and 4 months, provided the child reaches that age by 1 September. The threshold is coming down gradually: under the MoESY plan, compulsory pre-primary should start at 4 from 2031/32.
A child starts Grade 1 if they have turned 6 by 1 September of that school year.
Yes. Since 1 September 2025, state kindergarten (pre-primary) has been free for children aged 3–6. For a child below compulsory pre-primary age, though, a place is not guaranteed: it depends on how many places are free.
You can apply from age 3. Children who have reached compulsory pre-primary age come under compulsory pre-school education; younger children are admitted if places are available. Registration is tied to your educational region, or catchment area.
The main registration takes place in January. MoESY publishes the exact dates for each school year, so check the current registration period before you apply.
For a first registration, MoESY lists:
If some documents are not yet available, the school can register the child once it has the information it needs and you have filled in its forms.
Usually not. Children are registered at the kindergarten of their own educational region or catchment area. If you want a different state kindergarten, register in your own area first and then ask the District Education Office for a transfer.
For a child of compulsory pre-primary age, contact the relevant District Education Office: once the January registration period is over, late registrations and transfers go through that office. For younger children, a place depends on availability. Private kindergartens take children during the year under their own rules, when they have room.
Yes: not speaking Greek is not, in itself, a reason to stay away from a state kindergarten. It is, however, a Greek-speaking environment, and our research did not confirm a standard package of language support for every pre-school child. How your own child will be helped to settle in is a question for the kindergarten or the District Education Office.
State kindergartens are Greek-speaking. Private kindergartens and nurseries in Cyprus can be Greek, English, bilingual or multilingual, and Russian-speaking. The language of the programme and the language children use with each other are not the same thing, though: children from different countries usually speak the group’s shared language, but may switch to their mother tongue among themselves.
At state kindergartens the official hours for children are 07:45–13:05. At private kindergartens and nurseries the day is often longer, with some finishing at 16:00, 17:00, 17:30 or 18:00. Exact hours depend on the setting, and it is worth checking early drop-off, late pick-up and Friday hours separately.
Yes. For example, University of Cyprus Nursery officially lists its hours as 07:00–17:30, ICan Kids in Limassol as 07:30–18:00, and NOVA Kindergarten as 07:30–16:00 in Paphos and until 17:00 in Limassol. State pre-primary schools also offer an all-day option, but only at kindergartens on a separate MoESY list.
In summer, yes, but August needs checking separately. In 2026 the state Summer Schools ran for five weeks, from 22 June to 24 July. Some community and private programmes go on longer: Paralimni-Deryneia Municipality, for example, officially published a summer programme at Giorkeio Preschool running until 7 August 2026.
In practice, if you need childcare for the whole of August without a break, ask early about exact closing dates and whether there is a summer programme. A kindergarten’s ordinary school calendar does not guarantee that it will be open all month.
Prices depend heavily on the type of setting, the programme and the length of the day. Below are examples of published 2026/27 fees, collected in kids.cy research. This is neither a ranking nor an average price for each city.
For under-3 nurseries there is no such single public table: the official SWS register does not publish prices, so the cost has to be checked with each provider.
Depending on the setting, these may be charged separately:
At Chara’s World, for example, the price depends on how late the child stays, while The Island charges €20 for every hour that parents are late collecting their child. Before paying, ask for the full fee schedule and the terms for refunds and notice.
Look at the official register, not just the name on the sign. Childcare and infant/toddler care centres are checked through the Social Welfare Services (SWS) register, and private kindergartens (pre-primary) through the official MoESY list. One organisation may have several branches or licences, so match the name, address and phone number.
In the kids.cy directory, registry status has been checked for every setting.
Before paying for a place, check:
For a toddler, ask separately about nappies and potty training, because the requirement is not universal. For example, NOVA states plainly that from September 2026 it takes children from age 2 and does not require potty training.
Private kindergartens usually arrange settling in individually when a child joins. In practice, it is worth agreeing in advance whether your child can start with a short day, whether a parent can stay for the first visits and whether the time can be built up gradually. There is no single compulsory settling-in routine for all kindergartens in Cyprus.
At many full-day kindergartens, yes, but the arrangements vary. ICan Kids officially lists five meals a day and an organised nap; NOVA provides a cooked lunch, while parents bring the morning and afternoon snacks themselves. So rather than simply asking whether food is provided, ask how many meals the fee covers and what you need to send from home.
If you need childcare as soon as you arrive, yes, it is best to start early. The official registers and the directory show the options, but not live availability. The kids.cy directory currently lists 297 licensed kindergartens and nurseries across Cyprus.
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