This post was most recently updated on January 6th, 2023
If only the money-hungry agents were censored by the government, so many students in Cyprus wouldn’t be disappointed for not meeting their expectations.
I am not only talking about the agents from the Manpowers and Consultancies but all your friends and relatives, residing in Cyprus, who are playing “agent” with you, without you even knowing about it.
You would trust them blindly because why would your own people try to cheat you, right?
You are absolutely wrong.
People don’t care about relationships, feelings, or emotions when there is money involved. Period.
I don’t only blame the agents for not giving authentic and genuine information, but I also do blame the students for not verifying the authenticity of the information they are being fed on.
With their sweet and trained words, they drag you into such a vicious trap, from where everything looks so nice and try-worthy. But in reality, things are totally different.
Today, in this article, I will help you how not to fall into the trap of consultancies and agents or even your own relatives so that they couldn’t make money from you.
Note:
Not all agents are corrupt. Some are there to earn money in a legit way. Hats off to them, and I really appreciate their efforts. Unfortunately, there are very few of them. In this article, I will be talking about the bad ones and how to stay away from them.
So on that note, here are 12 things your agents/relatives say about Cyprus that you mustn’t trust without verifying its authenticity.
You can work as soon as you land in Cyprus
No, you cannot.
An international student is only allowed to work after he gets his pink card and the work letter from the college.
It takes almost 3 months for your pink card to arrive. You will get your work letter only after you have your pink card.
If you work and if Police catch you, they might put you in jail or make you pay a fine, or even deport you.
“X” college is the best college in Cyprus
Most of the colleges here are just money-making machines and nothing more.
Their main intention is to earn as much money as possible, and they don’t give a damn about education or students’ future.
Yes, it’s true.
Let’s suppose one of the colleges is “X.”
Your agent will say “X” college is the best college, and you should apply for that.
Most of those “X” colleges here give a very high commission to the agents. So agents give them the first priority.
If you don’t know about any colleges, do some proper research and then only visit the agent.
9 out of 10 times, agents will suggest you select the “X” college. Don’t select that one unless you know something about that college.
The college will provide you 50% scholarship for 2nd year
Technically, they do, but the story is totally different than what you think.
The college fee is not actually 4600 Euro a year. It’s only 2300 Euro.
I suggest you read this article where I have explained in detail the actual college fee in Cyprus for international students.
After reading that article, I am sure you would see the bigger picture and see the reality.
Cyprus will 100% become a Schengen country in 2023.
This is something that every agent says.
“Yes, Cyprus will become a Schengen country in 2023, and you will be showered with the Schengen benefits”.
How do you know Mr. agent?
Who are you to decide?
President of Cyprus?
When I was applying for Cyprus, the agent was saying Cyprus will be welcomed in the Schengen area by the end of 2019.
Actually, nobody knows when Cyprus will join the Schengen Zone. Someday in the future, it will. But nobody can guarantee that it will become a Schengen country in 2023.
I suggest you click here to read in detail about Cyprus.
These agents act like they know everything about Cyprus. Don’t trust these agents.
It’s up to European Union and Cyprus Government to decide, whether or not to make Cyprus a Schengen Country.
Not any agent.
We will pay for your plane ticket from our side; you don’t need to worry
Yes, they obviously will, but they are not doing it for free.
If the college fee is 4600 Euro, they will ask you to pay 5000 Euro.
With that extra money, they will buy you a plane ticket.
Ask them if they can get you a plane ticket even if you only pay 4600 Euro.
They are there to make money from you. They will charge you even for a photocopy of paper.
Just don’t trust them.
We will arrange the cheapest taxi service for you to go to your room from Larnaca airport.
Every agent in your country has a friend/partner/co-worker here in Cyprus.
When you land in Cyprus, they will come to pick you up.
They will hire a taxi for you.
The taxi fare from Larnaca to Nicosia city is around 30 Euro. But they will take 50 Euro. As I already said, nobody would do anything for free.
Let me tell you one interesting story.
A group of 4 Nepalese students came to Cyprus together.
Do you know how much they paid for the taxi fare?
30 Euro each, i.e., 120 Euro total.
The agent said, “Usually the taxi fare is 50 Euro each, but this driver is my friend, so he is only taking 30 Euro each from you.”
The students were happy because they thought they saved 20 Euro each.
Oh, poor kids.
We will help you find a room
In Engomi, Nicosia, there are so many buildings where 25 to 30 students are living in one flat. One flat usually consists of 3 to 4 rooms.
Almost 6 to 10 people in one room. Can you imagine?
Your agent helps you to find those kinds of rooms. Finding a proper room in Cyprus isn’t an easy job.
In your country, you might have a single room in your house for you. Will you be able to adjust to a room with 6 other people?
Think about it.
- If your agent says they have already booked you a room, ask them to show the pictures of it.
- Ask them how many people are there, and how far it is from the center of the City.
- If they say there are 4 people in a room, immediately say “No.”
- Ask the agent to find you a better place.
4 people in a room usually mean 12-15 people in the flat. It will be too congested, and you won’t be able to settle there for long.
I suggest you click here to read about the cost of living in Cyprus.
We will help you find a job
Only if it were that easy to find a job in Cyprus, nobody would be disappointed.
It’s very hard for international students to get any kind of work in Cyprus.
When you are registered in your college, the agent will get his part of the commission.
After that, God knows where they hide.
They don’t care about you. They just care about your money.
Some of them (the good ones) might help you, but it’s very rare to find helpful agents.
You can work full-time in Cyprus as a student
No, you cannot.
As I mentioned earlier International students aren’t allowed to work full-time in Cyprus. They barely get part-time work, let alone getting a full-time job.
Legally you are only allowed to work for 20 hours a week. That’s it.
Illegally, you can. But do you really want to take a risk?
I don’t think that would be a good idea.
You can easily earn 1000 Euro per month
That’s almost impossible.
1000 Euro is a big amount of money in Cyprus.
Even most of the Cypriots aren’t getting that much as a salary, and these agents want you to hope for a 1000 Euro job.
Legally, working 20 hours a week, you can maximum make 400 Euro to 500 Euro a month.
Learn here about how much can an international student earn in Cyprus.
The college will help you find a job
No, they won’t.
Some of the colleges might help you find some part-time work, but none of them would find you a job.
You are not even supposed to work full-time because you are a student.
So never expect any help from the college regarding the job.
When I went to talk to the administration in my college to help me find a job, you know what they said?
“You are a full-time student. If you go to a job, then when will you come to the college to take your classes? Before coming to Cyprus, you had shown 10,000 Euro in your bank balance, right? Bring that money here and survive with that.”
Ouch, Dicey, isn’t it?
But you know what, they were right. You can’t blame college for not helping you find a job. Their responsibility is to teach you not to get you a job.
So if the agent is saying to you that the college will give you a job, just don’t apply through him. He is a crook.
I suggest you click here to read in detail about the average salary in Cyprus.
You can easily transfer your course credit to other countries
You can indeed transfer your credits to another college in another country, but it’s definitely not as easy as the agent says.
- You would have to stay in the college for at least a year.
- After you finish your first year, you can ask your college to give you a transfer letter.
- With that transfer letter, you can then apply to another country abroad.
- If they accept you, they will provide you with an offer letter.
There is very little chance of that. Your credits have to be extraordinary to get selected. Even after they give you an offer letter, you have to continue further processing.
Bank balance, Property valuation, Source of Income, Relationship verification, and whatnot.
Everything you have done to come to Cyprus, you have to make all those documents again from your country.
I don’t think that it will be worth it.
It’s not impossible.
But credit transfer from Cyprus to another country is very hard.
Conclusion
While I was applying for Cyprus on a student visa, there wasn’t a proper source on the internet to learn about things. To trust with my future.
But now, you have.
I have been frauded by my own people. With the help of an agent, they cheated on me and on my career.
My main motto for creating this site is to help students like you so that you don’t have to face the problems that I have gone through.
- Don’t let any agent take control of your future.
- Think twice before choosing an agent.
- Read this article once again if needed. Just don’t get frauded.
“Fool me once, shame on you!
Fool me twice, shame on me! “
Never forget.
Best wishes.
Peace!
You may also like to read:
What is the legal drinking age in Cyprus?
Pros and Cons of studying in Cyprus
Bad things about Cyprus no one tells you about
