Cyprus business visa

On this page, a Cyprus business visa means a residence permit to run or work in a company, not a short-stay visa for business trips. Cyprus has no single permit called a business visa. A person from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland who moves to Cyprus to run a company or to work in one needs a residence permit. The route decides which one.

For a company of your own, one route is to register it in the Business Support Center (BSC) Register, formerly the register of companies of foreign interests. The company then applies for temporary residence and employment permits for its third-country directors and staff.

Which residence permit fits your business

A business owner or employee has seven main routes to a residence permit; the table shows who each one fits.

Route	Who it fits	Read more
Company of foreign interests	A company in one of nine listed sectors (applications from 1 December 2026), whoever its shareholders are, that has invested at least €200,000 in Cyprus and is registered in the BSC Register	Residence through company formation
Work permit as director or staff	Directors and staff of a company of foreign interests; highly paid staff earn at least €2,500 gross a month	Work permit
Cyprus Startup Visa	Founders from outside the EU and the EEA, alone or as a team, with a startup of high growth potential; the scheme runs until December 2026	Cyprus Startup Visa
Permanent residence by investment	An investment of at least €300,000 plus a secured annual income of at least €50,000	Cyprus residency by investment
Digital Nomad visa	People from outside the EU and the EEA who work remotely for an employer registered abroad or for clients abroad, with net income of at least €3,500 a month	Cyprus Digital Nomad visa
Category C or Category E permit	Self-employed people with capital of about €260,000 (Category C), or people offered permanent employment in Cyprus (Category E)	Category C and Category E permits
Moving an existing company to Cyprus	An owner moving a company that trades elsewhere; the Cyprus company or branch registers in the BSC Register	Relocating your business to Cyprus

Cyprus residence through company formation

Forming the company does not by itself give you residence. The company must be registered in the BSC Register, kept by the Business Facilitation Unit (BFU), and the company then applies for your temporary residence and employment permit as its director or employee. Registration does not by itself approve the staff permits: the Migration Department examines each application to employ highly skilled third-country staff separately.

For applications filed on or after 1 December 2026, the company qualifies by what it does, whoever owns it. A local company (HE) or a branch of an overseas company (AE) must work in one of nine sectors:

• research, innovation, experimental development and commercial use of technology;
• technology and ICT: developing software, digital applications, platforms or other technological solutions, including FinTech, digital gaming, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence;
• green development and renewable energy;
• shipping, port and related services;
• healthcare and life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology;
• education, training and knowledge-based services, where the staff measures cover senior and middle management only;
• export-oriented manufacturing;
• air transport, aeronautics, aerospace and related services;
• financial services, investment funds and internationally oriented professional services, which exclude holding companies of any kind, companies engaged in property development and exploitation, and companies whose main business or investment strategy involves real estate.

Applications filed before 1 December 2026 follow the earlier criteria, for example third-country nationals holding the majority of the shares.

Registration is an online application to the BFU with the supporting documents, including evidence of business premises and of the investment, a business plan and a letter signed by a director describing the company's activities. If the file is complete and correct and no clarification is needed, registration is completed within 25 working days. An application with missing or incorrect documents is rejected automatically.

The €200,000 investment

Every company, foreign-owned or wholly owned by Cypriot citizens, must prove an investment of at least €200,000 in one of these forms:

• a transfer of at least €200,000 from abroad by one or more shareholders into the company's bank account in Cyprus, with the balance still available on the date of application (a company wholly owned by Cypriot citizens shows a balance of at least €200,000);
• the purchase, in the company's name, of office premises, equipment or both, worth €200,000 in total;
• an increase of €200,000 in the nominal share capital, recorded with the Registrar of Companies, with proof of the payment;
• operating expenses of at least €200,000, incurred in the six months before the application and paid by the company for its own business needs.

An existing company does not deposit the €200,000 again if its audited financial statements show cash at bank or fixed assets of at least €200,000; with cash, it adds a bank statement showing at least €200,000 available on the date of application.

For the registration steps and incorporation documents, see our guide on Cyprus company formation.

Permits for directors and staff

A company of foreign interests can employ highly paid third-country staff with no quota and no labour market test. This covers directors, key personnel and specialists.

Among its highly skilled employees, a registered company keeps a ratio of 70% third-country nationals to 30% Cypriot or other EU citizens. The ratio is checked seven years after the company's registration, so companies registered in 2022 are checked from 2029. From 1 January 2027, every registered company also files an annual employment report.

• Highly paid staff: a gross monthly salary of at least €2,500, relevant academic qualifications or at least two years of relevant experience, and an employment contract of at least two years.
• Support staff: a labour market test and an employment contract sealed by the Department of Labour.

Each third-country staff member needs a Cyprus work permit. The Migration Department examines applications for residence and employment permits within one month.

A company can be removed from the register if it fails the criteria or its obligations, gives false or misleading information, has no genuine economic activity (its nature and stage of development are taken into account), or breaks employment or immigration law.

Permanent residence through a company

The work permit is a temporary residence permit. For permanent residence through a company, the investor route accepts €300,000 in the share capital of a Cyprus company that operates in Cyprus with a proven physical presence and employs at least five people, plus a secured annual income of at least €50,000.

Category C and Category E permits

Category C and Category E are permanent residence permits (officially immigration permits), one for the self-employed and one for people with a permanent job offer in Cyprus. The legal basis of both is Regulation 5 of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, under Categories C and E.

The Cyprus Category C permit is for people who intend to work as self-employed in a trade or profession in Cyprus.

• The applicant must hold any business licence the activity requires and have capital of approximately €260,000 freely at their disposal, or a lower sum set by the Immigration Control Committee.
• The work must not harm the general economy of the Republic.

A Category E permit for Cyprus grants unlimited permanent residency for people who have been offered, and intend to accept, permanent employment in the Republic. The employment must not create undue local competition in that line of work.

Spouses and children under 18 can be included as dependents.

How long the permit lasts

The residence right under Category C and Category E is valid for an unlimited duration for the holder and adult dependants. The permit card expires 10 years from the date of issue and must be replaced at that time, and cards issued to children remain valid until they turn 18.

The right is lost if the holder settles permanently abroad or is absent from Cyprus for two years. The same applies if a holder living outside Cyprus does not take up residence in Cyprus within one year of the application being approved.

Fees and how to apply

The application fee is €500 for all persons included in one application, plus €70 for each person who needs an Alien Registration Certificate (ARC).

The application goes through these steps:

1. The application is filed at the Migration Department in Nicosia, in person or through an authorised representative such as your lawyer, so you do not have to handle the submission yourself.
2. An application that is not accompanied by all required documents is not accepted, so the file must be complete on the day it is lodged.
3. Each person on the application still has to attend in person at some stage to give biometric data (a photograph and fingerprints) and to sign. Children under six are not asked for fingerprints or a signature. The biometric data can be given when the application is lodged or later, but no residence card is issued without it.
4. After submission, the Immigration Control Committee examines the file and recommends a decision to the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, who decides.