Cyprus Digital Nomad visa

The Cyprus Digital Nomad Visa Scheme is a national scheme, introduced by a Council of Ministers decision of 15 October 2021 and run by the Migration Department of the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection. It sits inside the government's strategy for attracting businesses to Cyprus.

Applicants obtain a Cyprus Digital Nomad visa by proving that they:

• do their work remotely from Cyprus through telecommunications technology;
• work for an employer or clients from abroad;
• have an income of at least €3,500 net;
• have a suitable place to stay in Cyprus.

In March 2025 the Migration Department announced that it accepts applications under the scheme, and its scheme page now describes it as once again accepting them. The maximum number of permits that can be granted remains at 500. Contact us if you need expert assistance.

What is a Cyprus Digital Nomad visa?

The Cyprus Digital Nomad Visa lets non-EU and non-EEA nationals live in Cyprus for up to three years and work remotely for an employer registered abroad or for clients based abroad. The scheme is open to any occupation that can be done over telecommunications technology, not to the IT sector alone.

To qualify, applicants need a monthly net income of at least €3,500 and a place to live. Employees and self-employed people both qualify.

The Migration Department states the aim as strengthening Cyprus as a centre for electronic services, which it expects to develop the country's business ecosystem and its economy.

How many digital nomad permits are available

The scheme runs to a fixed ceiling of residence permits, granted in order of application. The Council of Ministers set the first ceiling at 100 permits on 15 October 2021 and raised it to 500 on 3 March 2022. The Migration Department's page states that the maximum remains 500.

The Migration Department's scheme pages give no count of how many places are left. They describe the department as once again accepting applications, which implies applications were paused earlier. Applications are open now.

That is the argument for filing early rather than waiting for a quieter month. Contact us and we will tell you whether your file is ready to go in.

Cyprus Digital Nomad visa requirements in 2026

In 2026, the requirements are that a digital nomad in Cyprus should:

• Use telecommunications technology to perform work remotely from Cyprus.
• Work for an employer or clients from abroad.
• Prove a stable monthly income of at least €3,500 net, measured after contributions and taxes have been deducted.
• Have a suitable place to stay, evidenced by a title deed or a rental agreement with the matching utility bill.

Where there is no proof of net income, the applicant signs an affirmation certifying that net income, after contributions and taxes have come off, is not below the required minimum.

Among the documents required is a title deed or rental agreement for a house or apartment. If your income falls short of €3,500 a month, the Cyprus Pink Slip is the route to look at instead.

List of required documents

• Application form MVIS8, taken from the Migration Department forms page for digital nomads

  The department publishes it as a Word file and reissues it periodically, so download the current version rather than a stored copy.

• Copy of a valid passport for the applicant and each family member

  Valid for at least three months beyond the period of stay applied for. The English version of the Migration Department checklist says three months from the date of submission, so hold a passport that meets the longer period.

• Copy of the passport page showing your last entry into the Republic
• Original blood analysis results

  Showing no HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B or hepatitis C, with a chest x-ray for tuberculosis, certified by a specialist doctor. Family members provide the same. Children under 15 take a Mantoux skin test in place of the x-ray.

• Health insurance, Plan A

  Covering inpatient care, outpatient care and repatriation of remains.

  Digital nomads do not join the national health system. The Health Insurance Organisation treats a third-country national as a beneficiary only when that person is employed in Cyprus, holds permanent residence status, has refugee or supplementary protection status, is the family member of a beneficiary, or is insured in another EU member state.

  A digital nomad permit does not allow work for employers or clients in Cyprus, so the employment route into the General Healthcare System is closed and the other routes rarely apply to a nomad. Budget for the private policy from the start. The categories are set out by the Cyprus Health Insurance Organisation.

Further documents for the applicant and family

The file is completed with these documents:

• Title deed or rental agreement of a house or apartment, with the corresponding utility bill

  The Migration Department checklist of 19 March 2025 still asks for a title deed or rental agreement that is "duly stamped" if valued above €5,000, which refers to stamp duty. For contracts signed on or after January 1, 2026, no stamp duty is payable. For contracts signed before 2026, the correct duty is paid to the Tax Department before registration.

• Marriage or civil union certificate, and birth certificates for children *
• Original certificate of clear criminal record for the applicant and spouse *

  From the country of origin or, where the applicant lives elsewhere, the country of residence. Children under 16 are exempt.

• Court decision granting exclusive parental custody, or an affidavit from the other parent

  Agreeing to the children staying in Cyprus for the period applied for, where this applies.

• Certificate of registration or attendance from a school or academic institution

  In Cyprus or abroad, for pupils and students.

• Income documents
• An affirmation on local work

  Committing that neither you nor any family member will provide work, services or a project in any way to an employer or clients established in Cyprus.

Certification and translation of documents

*The Migration Department requires every accompanying document to be certified or authenticated, and a copy in the same way as an original.

Documents must be in Greek or English. Otherwise they need an official translation from a sworn translator, or from a consular authority or a government department of the issuing country.

Public documents carry an Apostille where the issuing country is a party to the Hague Convention, and diplomatic certification where it is not. Non-public documents are certified by a certifying authority of the issuing state. Documents issued by Russia or Serbia need no certification if they are properly signed and bear the official seal of the issuing authority. Certain public documents issued in an EU member state need no Apostille.

Documents for employees

• Employment contract

  For an indefinite duration or at least equal to the requested residence permit.

• Contact details of the company abroad.
• Information about the applicant's status in the company.
• Employer's confirmation that:
  • The applicant can perform duties remotely.
  • The project/work is not concerned with providing services to an employer registered in Cyprus.
• Duly certified copy of the company's registration certificate abroad, stating the company's legal name, registered base, field of activity and corporate purpose.

Documents for self-employment

• Contract(s) for a project or services with a duration at least equal to the requested residence permit.
• Confirmation from the applicant that the work can be done remotely and does not concern services to a client established in Cyprus.

Proof of monthly income

• Official evidence of salary payment showing the net income and
• Bank statements from the last 6 months showing payment of salary or income.

What the permit does not allow

The permit allows you to work remotely from Cyprus for an employer registered abroad or for clients located abroad. It does not allow work for employers or clients established in Cyprus.

Every applicant signs an affirmation committing that neither they nor any family member will provide work, services or a project in any way to an employer or clients established in Cyprus. Taking on a Cyprus client breaches the condition the permit was granted on.

Family members get residence for the same period and cannot work or run a business here either.

If you want to work for a Cyprus employer, the route is the work permit for companies of foreign interest. If you want to found a company here, look at the Cyprus Startup Visa.

Cyprus Digital Nomad taxes

A digital nomad becomes a tax resident of Cyprus after more than 183 days in the country within one tax year. A separate 60-day rule exists, with conditions of its own on days spent in Cyprus, work, a home here and time spent in other countries. The tax year runs from January 1 to December 31.

Residence brings the income into charge here. Salary from a foreign employer, and fees from foreign clients, are taxed in Cyprus once you are resident.

Income tax rates in 2026

• Up to €22,000: no tax
• €22,001 to €32,000: 20%
• €32,001 to €42,000: 25%
• €42,001 to €72,000: 30%
• Above €72,000: 35%

On the 2026 bands, tax on chargeable income of €42,000 comes to €4,500, around 11% of the total. The 30% band applies to income above €42,000. The scheme's €3,500 minimum is a net figure, measured after tax and contributions, so the income behind it is higher.

On chargeable income of €50,000 the tax is €6,900, about 14% of the total, and €8,000 of that income is taxed at 30%. The full band table sits in our guide to the Cyprus tax system.

Dividends, interest and capital gains

Dividends are outside income tax, and so are gains from selling securities such as shares and bonds. Capital gains tax at 20% is the exception: it applies to gains on property in Cyprus and on shares in companies that own such property, subject to the exemptions in the Law. Shares listed on a regulated market of a recognised stock exchange are outside it.

From the 2026 tax year, gains from disposing of crypto-assets are taxed at 8%. A disposal means selling, gifting, exchanging one crypto-asset for another or paying with one. Crypto losses can be set only against crypto gains of the same tax year and cannot be carried forward. Gains on mined crypto-assets do not get the 8% rate and are taxed under the general income tax rules.

Special defence contribution

A newly arrived resident is normally non-domiciled, which keeps the special defence contribution off dividends and interest. Domicile is deemed acquired once a person has been Cyprus tax resident in at least 17 of the 20 tax years before the tax year concerned, and it can arise earlier through a Cyprus domicile of origin, subject to exceptions.

For a domiciled resident the contribution on dividends is 5% from 2026, down from 17%. Interest is charged at 17%, or 3% on listed corporate bonds and certain Cyprus or EU public-sector securities.

Dividends paid out of profits up to and including 2025

A domiciled resident still pays 17% on dividends from a Cyprus-resident company that are received by 31 December 2031 and paid out of profits of tax years up to and including 2025.

The dividend is first reduced by any part of it already deemed distributed under the old rule or the rule for 2024 and 2025 profits. It is reduced in the same way by any part paid out of dividends that already bore the contribution.

The 50% exemption on employment income

An employee who was not tax resident in Cyprus and did no salaried work here for the 15 consecutive years before the first employment, whose first employment in Cyprus began on or after 1 January 2022 and whose pay for work in Cyprus is more than €55,000 a year, can claim a 50% exemption on that pay.

It runs for up to 17 tax years from the year the first employment starts, and applies whether the employer is resident in Cyprus or not, which brings employed digital nomads inside it. It can be claimed once in a lifetime and does not combine with the exemptions in subsections (21), (21A), (21B) and (23) of section 8.

Who the exemption does not reach

The condition that catches most people is the 15 consecutive tax years of non-residence in Cyprus immediately before the employment starts, with no salaried services performed here in that period. Self-employed nomads cannot claim it, because the relief is on employment income.

The €55,000 threshold is a figure for pay, and the scheme minimum of €3,500 is a figure for net income, so the two do not compare directly. The exemption is more likely to reach the better-paid end of the scheme. Take advice on your own figures before relying on it.

Permit duration and family members

The Digital Nomad residence permit is valid for one year, with renewal for a maximum of two further years. Three years is the ceiling.

His or her family members can reside in Cyprus for the same period as the digital nomad. Family members are the spouse or partner in a civil union, and underage children. They must not engage in economic activity in Cyprus.

The permit does not give visa-free access to the Schengen area. Read which countries you can visit with a Cyprus residence permit before booking anything.

Nomad visa application process

If the applicant already resides in Cyprus under a different status, he/she will still be eligible, provided that he/she fulfils the applicable criteria.

The Migration Department gives the examination time as 5 to 7 weeks.

You can stay in Cyprus until the application has been examined. Keep the submission receipt. The Migration Department states that an applicant faces no problem with the Police up to that point, and that the receipt is what you show if you are checked.

Biometric data, meaning a photograph and fingerprints, plus your signature, is captured at the department's offices in Nicosia or at the district Aliens and Immigration unit of the Police. Children under six give only the photograph.

Settling in is easier with a local account. See our guide to opening a bank account in Cyprus.

Renewing the permit

Apply for renewal at the Migration Department in Nicosia at least one month before the current permit expires. The renewal fee is €70, the same as the first issue.

The renewal file repeats the core evidence:

• a passport
• current employment or service contracts
• proof that net income still meets €3,500 with the family uplifts
• Plan A health insurance
• the accommodation documents
• the affirmation on local work.

The employer's confirmation, the company's registration certificate, its contact details and the applicant's status in the company are needed only when the employer has changed. The passport rule is the same as at the first application. Biometric data is captured again.

The renewal checklist does not ask for the criminal record certificate or the medical tests. It does not ask for the passport page showing the last entry either. Those belong to the first application.

A renewal is issued for a maximum of two years, which closes out the three years the scheme allows. People who want to stay beyond that move to another status. Our guide to long-term resident status after five years sets out that route and its conditions.

Government fees

The applicant is expected to pay the Cyprus Digital Nomad visa fees as follows:

• Issue or renewal of the temporary residence permit: €70, for the applicant and for each family member.
• Initial registration at the Aliens' Registry: a one-time fee of €70. This is where your ARC number comes from.

Best places in Cyprus for digital nomads

All four main cities have fibre broadband, coworking space, English-speaking services and enough cafés to work from. What separates them is cost, pace, the size of the foreign community and how far you sit from an airport.

Larnaca

The international airport is close to the city, which matters when you fly often, and rents are among the lowest of the four. The seafront and the old town hold most of the cafés people work from, and coworking space has grown alongside the arrival of remote workers.

It is quieter than Limassol. If your work is solitary and your budget matters more than nightlife, look here first.

Limassol

Limassol is the business capital: shipping and technology firms are based here. Networking is easiest here and so is finding a serious desk. It is the most expensive of the four cities to rent in.

Nicosia

The capital is inland and has no beach. It is where the government sits, including the Migration Department counter you will file at. Rents are moderate, the student population keeps prices down, and it feels like a working Cypriot city rather than a resort.

Paphos

Paphos is the quietest of the four, with a large established expat community and quick access to both the mountains and the sea. Rents sit near Larnaca levels. Fewer coworking options, more working from home.

Villages inland are cheaper again. The trade is distance from an airport and from other people. Your lawyer and estate agent will tell you what a given area actually rents for.

Why would Cyprus be one of the best hubs for digital nomads?

Two things make Cyprus practical for remote work rather than merely pleasant to visit.

• The first is connectivity. Fibre is widely available and coworking spaces operate in the main cities. Cafés carry Wi-Fi as standard. The coffee culture means nobody minds you holding a table for three hours.
• The second is the legal and business system. Company formation is quick, and the rules on renting or buying property, on residence permits, on employing people and on running your financial affairs are clear and written down. Cyprus keeps the common law tradition it inherited, inside EU financial regulation.

Past that: English is widely spoken and there is an established community of remote workers and founders you will meet quickly.

Living costs decide whether €3,500 a month works for you. Rent, food, transport and schooling are set out with current figures in our guides to moving to Cyprus and the cost of retiring here.