The Greek language exam in Cyprus: A2 and B1

Last updated 24 July 2026

Cypriot citizenship by years of residence requires B1; long-term resident status and some fast-track routes accept A2. It is the same exam either way — Πιστοποίηση Ελληνομάθειας, the state certification. It runs once a year: registration online in winter, the exam itself in spring. Four parts — listening, reading, writing, speaking. Realistic preparation time from scratch is one to two years for A2 and two to four for B1.

If you are settling in Cyprus properly, this is the question that actually matters — not “is Greek hard” in the abstract, but “how much do I need, and what will they ask me”. Here it is in order.

Which level applies to you

The level is set by the route you apply under, not by how much Greek you would like to have:

⚠️ The requirements changed in 2023 and 2024 — the naturalisation level was raised to B1, and an exemption was later added for people educated in Greek. Treat this page as orientation, not legal advice, and confirm the current wording with gov.cy and the Ministry of Interior before you file.

How the exam works

The format is the same at every level; only the difficulty of the material changes:

The pass mark is in the region of 60%, but check the current regulations for the exact threshold and how the parts are weighted in the year you sit it.

What A2 actually asks of you

A2 is the level of everyday independence. Not “fluent” — “gets through normal situations without an interpreter”. In practice:

• talk about yourself, your family, your work, your day;
• handle a shop, a doctor, a bank, a government office;
• follow a simple announcement or short dialogue when it is spoken clearly;
• write a message, a short letter, a request, an explanation;
• use present, past and future, know gender and cases, ask and request.

The vocabulary runs to a few thousand words, but the size matters less than the fact that they are the most frequent words — the ones you meet daily, and the ones the exam tests.

What B1 adds

B1 is the step from “coping” to “holding your own”. The difference is not word count but connected speech:

• tell a story, explain a reason, give an opinion and back it up;
• read a text of moderate length where some words are unfamiliar;
• keep a conversation going rather than only answering questions;
• handle harder grammar — the subjunctive, verb aspect, subordinate clauses.

A full breakdown of every level from A1 to B2 is in the separate guide on Greek CEFR levels.

How long it takes

Honest markers, assuming steady near-daily practice:

A once-a-week course lands at the slow end or beyond it. Living in Cyprus speeds things up: you hear every day what you are studying, and that beats any textbook. If you already know a language with cases and grammatical gender — Russian, German, Polish — the grammar lands noticeably faster. For what is genuinely hard in Greek and what is easier than you expect, see how hard it is to learn Greek.

Registration and dates

Registration is online only, through the Centre for the Greek Language (ΚΕΓ) electronic system. The established pattern is that the window opens in early February and closes in late March, with the exam in May. Dates and fees are announced separately each year, so do not rely on last year’s: check the announcement from the Ministry of Education Examinations Service and the education section of gov.cy.

Certificates from the School of Modern Greek at the University of Cyprus are also recognised by the Republic as proof of Greek — an alternative route if it suits you better.

How to prepare

The exam tests frequent vocabulary and core grammar, not erudition. That dictates the strategy:

1. Alphabet first. Two weeks and it stops being an obstacle — see the alphabet guide with audio.
2. Then frequent words, a little every day. Spaced repetition genuinely wins here: a hundred words reviewed on schedule stick better than a thousand seen once.
3. Listening from week one. You will have to listen in the exam, and that skill does not appear on its own from reading.
4. Writing closer to the date. An 80–100 word letter is trainable: a few dozen attempts with feedback and that part stops being frightening.

Lambda Lingua covers Greek A1–B2 — spaced-repetition cards, listening, reading and guided writing practice with feedback. Exactly the four skills the exam asks for.