Cyprus Debt Recovery for Foreign Creditors

A Cyprus debtor, seen from abroad, and the route that actually collects

In short

A fixed-fee assessment: is the debt still enforceable, what does the debtor own, and which instrument comes first.
For a debt owed here, or a foreign judgment to be enforced against a Cyprus debtor.
The fee is credited against the recovery work if you instruct us to proceed.

A foreign creditor chasing a Cyprus debtor is usually working blind and against a clock. You cannot see the Land Registry or the Companies Registry from London or New York, you may not know whether a Cyprus limitation period has already run, and the instrument that works on a solvent company is not the one that works on an individual or a dissolved shell. The wrong first move buys costs and warns the debtor.

The assessment fixes that before any money is spent on proceedings: a written view on whether the debt is still enforceable, what the debtor appears to own in Cyprus, and which lever to pull first. It is a product with a fixed fee, not an open retainer, and if you go on to instruct the recovery, the fee comes off it.

How it works

Tell us who owes what, and whether you have a contract, an invoice run or a judgment. We run our own Land Registry and Companies Registry searches, and reply with the assessment and a fixed fee for the recovery. If you instruct us, the assessment fee is credited against it. Please do not send confidential documents until we confirm we can act.

Ask about a debtor

Is it still enforceable

The first question is time, not tactics

Cyprus limitation periods bar the remedy, not just the record: six years for most contract and civil-wrong claims, three for negligence, fifteen for a judgment, under the Limitation of Actions Law 66(I)/2012, running from the day the cause of action was completed. A foreign creditor who assumes a long-dormant debt is still live can find the whole recovery is already out of time. The assessment establishes where the debt sits against the clock first, because nothing else matters if it is barred, and our limitation calculator is the same arithmetic we apply to your dates.

What the debtor owns

The asset picture decides the instrument

Recovery is chosen by what the debtor owns, not by what the textbook lists first. We run the searches a creditor abroad cannot: the District Land Office for property and the charges on it, the Registrar of Companies for the debtor's state, its officers and any registered charges. From that picture the right first instrument follows:

A letter before action where a solvent debtor simply needs to be shown the claim is real and the cost of ignoring it.
A statutory demand where the debtor is a company and the pressure of a winding-up petition moves it faster than a writ.
Proceedings and, on judgment, execution against the assets the searches found, from a charge over land to attachment of a bank balance or receivables.

A judgment from abroad

Enforcing a foreign judgment against a Cyprus debtor

If you already have a judgment, the Cyprus step is recognition, then execution. Which route applies depends on where the judgment comes from: the EU instruments for a member-state judgment, a bilateral treaty where one exists, or an action on the judgment at common law. Once recognised, a foreign judgment enforces with the same measures as a Cyprus one. The assessment tells you which route your judgment takes and what it will need, and the mechanics are set out in cross-border litigation and enforcing a judgment in Cyprus.

Where the debt has the markings of fraud or of assets being moved out of reach, the first forty-eight hours matter more than the paperwork: freezing orders and asset recovery are a different and faster track, and the assessment flags when you are on it.

Common questions

What does the assessment cost?

A fixed fee, quoted before the work starts, covering the enforceability view, the Land Registry and Companies Registry searches, and a recommendation on the first instrument. If you instruct us for the recovery itself, the assessment fee is credited against that work, so on a matter that proceeds the diligence effectively costs nothing extra.

How is this different from just sending a letter before action?

The letter before action is one instrument, and sometimes the right first move on its own. The assessment decides whether it is the right move for your debtor, or whether a statutory demand, immediate proceedings, or a freezing order fits better, and it confirms the debt is still enforceable before you spend anything. For a straightforward solvent debtor, the letter alone may be all you need.

The debtor is a Cyprus company that looks dormant. Is it worth pursuing?

That is exactly what the Companies Registry search answers: whether the company is live, in the hands of a liquidator, struck off, or trading under another name, and what it owns or has charged. The assessment tells you whether there is anything to recover against before you commit to proceedings, which is the question a creditor abroad cannot answer alone.

Can you enforce my English or other foreign judgment here?

Yes, after recognition. An EU member-state judgment travels on the EU instruments; other judgments come through a treaty or an action on the judgment at common law. Once recognised, it enforces with the same execution measures as a Cyprus judgment. Send the judgment and the assessment identifies the route and the steps.

Do you act for creditors based outside Cyprus?

Regularly. Meetings are held remotely, instructions are taken from abroad, and where a signature or an appearance is needed it is arranged through a properly prepared power of attorney. You do not need to be in Cyprus for the recovery to run.

Is there a minimum debt size?

No fixed floor, but the assessment will tell you honestly whether the likely recovery justifies the cost of pursuing it against this debtor. Part of the value of a fixed-fee first step is that it can tell you a debt is not worth chasing before you spend more finding that out.

Debt Recovery in Cyprus

The practice

Letter Before Action

Fixed fee

Enforcing a Judgment

Guide

Cross-Border Litigation

Guide

The Limitation of Actions Law 66(I)/2012 and the enforcement provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules 2023 were read in the primary texts and are recorded in the register of sources.

Request a consultation

Tell us briefly how we may assist

A few sentences is enough: what the company does, who the parties are, and any date by which it has to be in place. We reply within one business day. Please do not send confidential documents until we confirm we can act.

Request a consultation

Or write to us directly at office@kleanthousplatis.com, or call +357 22 680 330.