Headquartering in Cyprus

DevelopersCyprus offers a wide range of services to assist you in establishing your headquarters. Our services include:

• Help with company and other entity formation, operation and compliance, business relocation, and staff immigration, as well as specialized advice from our associate lawyers.
• Aid in establishing connections with local banks for banking and financial services.
• Our real estate agents help to find the right commercial building at the ideal location.
• Our property management team helps alleviate the office maintenance burden on your staff.
• We construct and sell our own buildings in Limassol, such as our project in the Molos area.

The most popular eligible entity is a limited liability company you will register in Cyprus. Other options are also available. These are the major ways for you to carry on business in Cyprus:

• The limited liability company. If your share capital is at least 200,000 euros, you might be eligible for registration with the Cyprus BFU (Business Facilitation Unit), which offers a range of advantages.
• A branch of a foreign company in Cyprus is called an “overseas company.” The branch will have the same name and services as the parent company.
• Cross-border conversion. If you already have a company registered in one EU member state, you can transfer this company to Cyprus. The company must pass an extraordinary resolution (75% majority) and apply to the Cyprus Registrar of Companies.
• Create an SE. An SE is a European Company with a minimum capital of 120,000 euros. You must have a holding or subsidiary company in another EU member state and apply to the Cyprus Registrar of Companies to establish the SE. Once approved, an SE can trade in all EU member states without further procedure or registration.
• Other options include partnerships, limited liability partnerships and trusts.

Once your company or other business entity is registered with the RoC, you will also need to register it with:

• The Tax Department.
• VAT.
• Social Insurance.
• Civil Registry and Migration Department if you are not a Cypriot citizen.

• A third-country national must show a capital of 260,000 euros to get a residence permit as self-employed in the Republic of Cyprus.
• EU nationals must show they have sufficient funds to support themselves, their families, and the business they plan to start.
• Foreign employees must satisfy the labour market test. The employer must show that it cannot find similar personnel in the local workforce.

The BFU provides numerous facilities for companies of foreign interest. The most important are:

• A streamlined procedure for registration with the relevant authorities.
• Highly skilled employees do not have to satisfy the labour market test and have access to numerous other benefits, including tax and relaxed citizenship requirements.
• The spouses of highly skilled employees have access to employment without the need to satisfy the labour market test.

• Limassol is currently a Forex, entrepreneurial, and shipping hub. Marios Tanousis, CEO of Invest Cyprus (the government agency for investment promotion), said in The Financial Mirror: “Limassol has solidified its position as a regional industry hub, and this trend is expected to persist. … Limassol is undeniably the heartbeat of Cyprus’s Forex industry” (14 October 2023).
• The Limassol municipality reports on its official site that, each year, more and more local and foreign companies choose Limassol as their headquarters.
• The city hosts many online trading companies.
• Forex and Fintech companies consider themselves well-established there and, as The Financial Mirror reports, “have no plans of leaving”.
• PLUGIT, a technology provider for brokers, has chosen Limassol as its headquarters because the city has “a very large and rich multicultural network to tap into.”

There are various ways to establish yourself in Cyprus. These include:

• Creating your own company (see above).
• Getting a residence and work permit as highly skilled personnel or support staff in a Cypriot company or a company of foreign interest. Special rules apply to highly qualified personnel in foreign companies; see above.
• The digital nomad visa. You will need to work using technology for a company listed abroad.
• The startup visa. You will need the approval of your business as an innovative business entity.
• Get a business name as a sole trader through the RoC. Note, however, that third-country nationals who are self-employed in Cyprus must have a capital requirement of 260,000 euros.

Invest Cyprus reports that Cyprus, as a headquartering hub, is home to big names. Global companies have based management and operation functions on the island; in 2023, the number increased by 50% compared to 2022. Top names include NCR, Kardex, Bolt, Viber, Wargaming, and others. CySEC, the Cyprus regulator, has also approved Revolut as a crypto asset provider.

Reasons why big-hitters invest in Cyprus include:

• Geographical location.
• Well-established, transparent and advantageous regulatory framework.
• EMEA access (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
• Access to the European single market.
• The CySec license (stock exchange) allows operation in other EU jurisdictions.
• Safe and relaxed lifestyle for professionals and their families.
• Excellent infrastructure.
• Skilled workforce and employees.

To this effect, it has set in place various tax and other incentives, including:

• A low corporate tax of 12,5%, among the lowest in Europe.
• An attractive IP box regime is the main reason tech and IP companies use Cyprus as a base. Patents, computer software, utility models, and non-obvious, useful, and novel rights are taxed at 2.5%.
• Tax incentives like no tax on interest and dividends.
• Compliance with anti-money laundering and regulation of markets legislation.
• Respect for the rule of law, human rights, fair trial and due process.
• Establishment of the BFU that streamlines and facilitates the registration and operation of foreign companies.

Highly skilled employees of foreign companies enjoy particular benefits while working in Cyprus, such as:

• They do not have to pass the labour market test; their employer does not have to show they cannot find locals to fill the post.
• Their spouse and children may accompany them. Spouses have immediate access to the local employment market.
• Tax benefits, for example, include a 50% tax exemption for employees whose salaries are over 100,000 per year for ten years.
• Relaxed procedure for acquiring Cyprus citizenship. Three years plus 12 uninterrupted months of residence for holders of Greek language certificate B1 and four years plus 12 months uninterrupted residence for holders of Greek language certificate A2. The Ministry of Education conducts the examinations. 90 days of absence are allowed in the 12 months. Applicants with a school leaving certificate or a University degree in Greek do not have to pass the Greek language examination. The citizenship procedure has been updated to take up to 8 months.