Nicosia, October 21st, 2021

The Cyprus government on October 15th, 2021, presented its new Action Plan for attracting companies to operate or expand their activities in Cyprus, which is to apply as per 1.1.2022 with the aim to create an added value to the Cyprus economic model, and promote further the country as a European and an international financial hub.

The main features of the Action Plan are the following:

It applies to Companies of foreign interest in Cyprus or foreign businesses wishing to establish presence in Cyprus which have a physical presence with substance separate from any private residence, Shipping companies, High-tech/innovation companies, pharmaceutical companies, Companies operating in the fields of biogenetics and biotechnology.

The minimum gross monthly salary for higher employees with the required academic skills or at least two years of experience is fixed at € 2,500.

Third country nationals can be employed as support staff provided that the employment of third-country nationals does not exceed 30% of all support staff, and with their gross monthly salary fixed below € 2,500.

The duration of the residence and work permit is fixed to up to three years and will be issued within one month from the application date

The maximum number of third country nationals is 70% of the total number of employees in a 5-year period from the date of the inclusion of the company in the Business Facilitation Unit.

The new concept of Digital Nomad Visa is introduced for applicants who wish to live in Cyprus but work in companies operating abroad, with the beneficiaries of the Visa being third country nationals who are self-employed or employees who work remotely using information and communication technologies, with employers/clients outside Cyprus, and with a quota fixed at a maximum initial limit of 100 applications.

The existing personal income tax exemption of 50% is to be expanded to cover new Cyprus tax residents-employees with salaried income of € 55,000, with potential beneficiaries, individuals with income between €55,000 – €100,000 for the next 17 years, and with the existing beneficiaries of the scheme being able to extend the exemption from 10 to 17 years.

The application for Cyprus citizenship is to be reduced from seven residence & working years to five years.