Am I legally allowed to leave my 16 year old home alone unsupervised for 3 weeks? We want to travel but he does not wish to come with us. If something happens to him or the house will I lose my work permit or anything of that kind. In Cyprus?

You may want to check with a local family law attorney.

Personally, I was left alone at 16 when my family went on a vacation I wasn't interested in.  16 is old enough to take care of themselves (if you raised them right) - but it's also young enough to still make stupid decisions. Especially if left alone that long.

I would recommend you AT LEAST have a trusted adult check on them every couple days.

Practically-speaking, I would have been able to leave my daughter at home alone at 14 and know that she would have dealt with it well. My son at 16, I would not have left in charge of a pizza.

I never left either of them anyway. You have to understand local law and custom, but most of all, your child.

In the UK, I think it is considered OK to leave a 16 year old in charge of themselves. After all they are allowed to live independently at that age, and (in theory anyway) can marry and fight and die for their country.