A comfortable retirement works out cheaper in Vietnam — around £1,700/month for a couple, versus £2,500 in Cyprus (about 32% more).
Cost of living, side by side
| Cyprus | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Modest (couple/mo) | £1,800 | £1,100 |
| Comfortable (couple/mo) | £2,500 | £1,700 |
| Premium (couple/mo) | £3,800 | £2,900 |
Indicative monthly estimates for a couple — real costs vary by location, lifestyle and exchange rates.
Cyprus: Foreigners can buy property in Cyprus, with some permissions required for non-EU buyers on certain purchases.
Vietnam: Foreigners can own apartments (with ownership-term limits); land itself remains state-owned.
Cyprus: Cyprus offers residency routes that are popular with retirees; requirements vary by nationality.
Vietnam: Longer-stay options are more limited than elsewhere in Asia — check current routes carefully.
Cyprus: Cyprus's GESY national health system covers residents, including pensioners (often via a UK S1 form), for low contributions and small co-payments, and the main towns have good private hospitals; many expats also keep affordable private cover for speed and choice.
Vietnam: Major cities have good international hospitals (FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vinmec network) with English-speaking, often Western-trained staff at a fraction of Western prices; many expats keep international insurance (roughly £70-450 a month by age and cover) and may travel abroad for complex care.
Cyprus: A resident retiree can elect each year to tax a foreign pension at a flat 5% above a €5,000 exemption (raised for 2026) instead of the progressive bands, and non-domiciled residents are exempt from tax on dividends and interest for up to 17 years, an attractive regime you should confirm with an adviser.
Vietnam: Vietnamese tax residents (183+ days or a permanent home) are taxed on worldwide income on a progressive scale up to 35%, with relief under the UK-Vietnam double-tax treaty; there is no dedicated retirement visa, so residency and pension taxation both need professional advice.
Cyprus: Hot dry Mediterranean summers and mild winters, with more sunshine than almost anywhere in Europe; spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons. Cyprus is very safe and English is very widely spoken as a former British colony, and driving is on the left like the UK, making it one of the easiest places for British retirees to settle.
Vietnam: Tropical but varied by region: the south is warm year-round with a wet season (May-October), the centre around Da Nang is driest and best from February to August, and the north has a cooler winter. Vietnam is very safe with low crime and welcoming to foreigners, though English is less widely spoken outside cities; traffic is intense and driving is on the right, so many retirees avoid driving themselves.
Cyprus: Budget roughly 4-8% in one-off costs, transfer fees on resale homes run 3-8% on a sliding scale but a 50% reduction usually applies (and none is due where VAT was paid on a new home), plus legal fees; stamp duty was abolished from 2026, and completion commonly takes weeks to months.
Vietnam: Foreigners cannot own land, only apartments in approved buildings on a renewable 50-year leasehold (capped at 30% of a block); expect around 10% VAT (usually in the price), a 0.5% registration fee, a maintenance or sinking fund near 2%, and legal costs, with independent legal checks essential.
Cyprus: Paphos for the largest, long-established British retiree community and archaeology, Larnaca for a flatter, lower-cost coastal base near the airport, Limassol for a busier cosmopolitan city, and the surrounding villages for quieter living.
Vietnam: Da Nang for an affordable, laid-back beach city popular with retirees, Ho Chi Minh City (Districts 2/Thu Duc and 7) for the best hospitals and amenities, historic Hoi An nearby, and Hanoi for northern culture.
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