Cyprus-Forum.com

[Alex L]

Thanks Svetlana, I like those working hours! To be honest, I wouldn't be too fussed about what kind of job it was, as long as there were reasonable prospects and not speaking Greek wouldn't be too much of a problem.

[Svetlana]

I believe Greek is mandatory for Government employees here, which is fair enough as one of the two offiical languages of the island. Although I suspect there are now more people who can speak Engkish than Greek, in Cyprus.

Svetlana

[Realist]

Hello All,

Pretty much in the same boat as Alex. I can speak and read Greek, but my writing is crap (looks like a 7yr olds).

Whenever I'm over there people do say that you need to know people in the right places in order to get jobs in government and banks these days. Is this still the case?

[Michael Coumas]

Alex
I have joined this forum to offer what may be some help.
Some years ago I was also informed of the National Service requirement & the need to "get it sorted" as I was taking my first holiday to the Island and was informed I would be eligable for service. I thought I knew better based on the logic of "who will ever know who I am".
Imagine my surprise when presenting my British Passport for the first time the passport control officer asked me in Greek if I was a Cypriot.
I was taken to the Ministry of Defence building in Nicosia by my brother whereupon I was issued with a document, presumably of exclusion, in order to be able to leave the country as I was told. I cannot tell you what the document says but I still carry it in my passport just in case. It has been inspected and commented on since whilst entering the country.
I too was told of the criteria of selection through the male line of parentage & if my memory serves me correctly a date was used for limitation purposes, possibly 1956 or 1960 but don't quote me as I have no idea what significance the date has.
My advice would be to contact the high commission in London & ask the relevant questions, if you do have to serve then Chalk it up to experience at least when it's done it will be over. Just think senior executives pay fortunes for courses in self discipline, awareness and group bonding!
Good luck and best wishes for your relocation, I think I will not be too many years behind
you.

[Alex L]

Cheers Michael, I think your mistake may have been a) to respond in Greek and b) to admit to being a Cypriot! I don't have an obviously Cyp surname (more Lebanese - I guess that is one place I really SHOULD check out the national service situation...), so have always thought I could blag it.

[Wasted]

Hi, I only stumbled across this forum today and there are some interesting threads.

I am a brit married to a uk born Cypriot lady and we too are looking to move to Cyprus. We have holidayed with family quite regularly over the last 12 years in Limassol where we stay with my wife’s relatives. In our experience, families can be very close and in your face and bitchy behind your back at the same time. Like others, I too found great humour in MBFGW and draw similarities to my own family. My father in-law was not so accepting as in the film and my wife suffered somewhat initially. But now I have more respect from the parents than her brothers.

Now my career has changed and the kids are no longer toddlers we are revisiting the possibility of moving again.

Thankfully I do not have to endure military service. I have heard that if you have 3 or more children you are exempt. Also if there are any significant medical conditions such as diabetes you can also gain exemption.

We are looking at summer 2006 due to family and property matters. We have 3 children of primary school age and our greatest concerns are education and employment. I work in the IT arena and earn a reasonable salary in the UK. The thought of what employment opportunities there might be are quite daunting. On top of this, there 3 kids to educate.

Unfortunately entering the state school system does not seem to be an option. My 8yr old daughter is very bright and to stunt her education due to language barriers would be a sin. She does go to the local “Greek school” on a Saturday morning but this is not enough preparation. Twin boys aged 5 are struggling with English let alone try to learn another language. We are trying to locate some private schools with some local help. We were astonished with the cost difference when compared to some of the “American academies”.

What are the employment prospects for a brit with little language skills in IT?
Are there specialist agencies for IT workers?

[tarama]

Dear Alex.
Here are some useful links for you to make your search.

http://europa.eu.int/eures (this is for business opportunities in Cyprus republic)

http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/ (this is the official website of the republic of Cyprus, where you can find answers for your questions)

I think erolz was referring for the turkish army and not the national guard. The National Guard is the army force of the official republic in Cyprus (the Greek sector as it is said by our TC's friends)

Also to join the government, Greek language is a must, Turkish is extra benefit in some areas, especially now that the two communities are coming closer and TC's claim their rights as citizens of the republic, even if they are leaving to the occupied part of Cyprus

English language is also wanted in most cases.
All extra education is more than welcomed. There are exams, which you have to do and if you pass, then you need the extra push from somebody that has a good job somewhere higher.

As for the army, i think everything has to do with age and if you have to attend to those 40 days of practice, you will not have to do all the things that all those 17 & 18 year old youngsters have to do.

Hope i was a bit helpful, all the best.

p.s.' if you finally come here please don’t become ungrateful for the place, like some others who left their countries came here to find better conditions for living and working, but they still complain and complain and complain. Unfortunately we have a lot of them.