EU Blue Card in Cyprus

The EU Blue Card in Cyprus is a residence and work permit for highly skilled nationals of countries outside the EU. It needs a degree, or for two ICT occupations at least three years of comparable experience. The job is in one of the sectors set by decree and pays a gross salary of at least €43,632 a year. Cyprus opened the scheme on 7 July 2025.

The card runs for at least 24 months and brings the family on permits of matching length. Time held on it counts towards EU long-term resident status.

EU Blue Card in Cyprus, attracting talent

Highly skilled workers from non-EU countries who meet the educational and employment requirements can apply for an EU Blue Card.

The EU Blue Card is the European Union's permit for highly qualified staff from outside the Union. It works much like the UK Skilled Worker Visa: tied to a named job, issued for a fixed period, renewable on application, and a step towards permanent status rather than the status itself. It is not an equivalent of the US Green Card, which gives permanent residence from the day it is issued.

Overview and objectives

The EU Blue Card is an employment and residence permit currently issued by 25 member states of the European Union (EU). Denmark and Ireland do not issue EU Blue Cards. The system is based on education or professional experience.

The European Commission describes the Blue Card as a tool to attract highly qualified workers from outside the EU and to address labour and skill shortages. The revised directive makes it easier for card holders to move between member states.

Legal framework

The Blue Card rests on one EU directive and the Cyprus law that transposed it.

• The legal framework for the EU Blue Card is the EU Blue Card Directive, which was revised in 2021.
• The full title of the EU Blue Card Directive is Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for highly qualified employment and repealing Council Directive 2009/50/EC.
• In Cyprus the EU Blue Card sits in the Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105, sections 18ΣΒ to 18ΥΒ. Those sections were inserted by the Aliens and Immigration (Amendment) Law of 2024, L.111(I)/2024, published in the Official Gazette on 1 August 2024.

The new EU Blue Card rules in Cyprus

Law 111(I)/2024 was published on 1 August 2024 and brought Directive (EU) 2021/1883 into Cyprus law. Two decrees of the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance followed on 19 December 2024: K.D.P. 456/2024 names the eligible sectors and sets the admission quotas, K.D.P. 457/2024 sets the minimum salary.

The Migration Department started accepting EU Blue Card applications on 7 July 2025. No application could be filed before that date.

Eligibility and salary threshold

To obtain the EU Blue Card in Cyprus, a highly skilled worker needs a higher education qualification from studies of at least three years, at level 6 of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011). For two ICT occupations, ICT services managers and ICT professionals, at least three years of professional experience at a comparable level, gained in the seven years before the application, can take the place of the degree.

The minimum annual gross salary is €43,632. That figure comes from K.D.P. 457/2024 of 19 December 2024. It is not fixed in the law. Cap. 105 sets a band of 1.0 to 1.6 times the average gross annual salary in Cyprus and leaves the exact figure to the Minister, so it moves by decree rather than by amendment of the statute.

Eligible sectors

Decree K.D.P. 456/2024 names the sectors that qualify, with no cap on admissions. For every other sector the quota is zero:

• Information and communication technology
• Pharmaceuticals research
• Shipping, apart from ships' captains and crew

The sector list is a hard gate, not a preference. K.D.P. 456/2024 sets no maximum admission quota for these sectors and sets the quota at zero for every other profession. Outside them, no Blue Card is issued.

Occupation classification

Form MBCEU1 asks you to place the job in one of three groups: manager, professional, or technician and associate professional. Each group carries its own sub-list on the form, so you can check where your role sits before applying.

This is a separate test from the sector rule, and both have to be met. The form's sub-lists name health, teaching and legal roles because those exist in the international occupation classification, not because such jobs qualify here. If the work falls outside the sectors above, the quota is zero whatever its occupation group.

Reduced salary thresholds

Cap. 105 lets the salary floor drop to 80% of the normal figure in two cases, provided the result is not below the average gross annual salary in Cyprus: shortage occupations named by ministerial decree within the manager and professional groups, and applicants who obtained their degree in the three years before applying. The salary decree in force, K.D.P. 457/2024, sets a single figure of €43,632 and names no reduced figure.

The labour market check

The Department of Labour endorses the employment contract and the qualification documents before the card is issued. Where a decree of the Council of Ministers provides for it, Cap. 105 lets that department check the labour market first, to satisfy itself that the post cannot be filled by a Cypriot citizen, an EU citizen, a third-country national already lawfully resident and working in Cyprus, or an EU long-term resident who wants to move here for highly qualified work.

Who cannot apply

Cap. 105 lists ten groups the scheme does not apply to:

• Beneficiaries of temporary protection in a member state
• Applicants for international protection awaiting a decision
• People applying for, or holding, protection that Cyprus grants under its own law and practice
• Researchers applying to carry out a research project
• EU long-term residents moving from another member state to work here
• People entering under an international trade or investment agreement, apart from intra-corporate transferees
• People whose removal has been suspended for reasons of fact or law
• Posted workers, during their posting to Cyprus
• Nationals of non-EU countries whose agreements with the EU give them free movement rights equal to those of EU citizens
• Anyone residing in Cyprus illegally

If you fall into one of these groups, or the job sits outside the three sectors, other routes may fit. Staff of a company registered with the Business Facilitation Unit use the Cyprus work permit for companies of foreign interest. People coming without a job offer look at the pink slip temporary residence permit. Founders have the Cyprus startup visa and the Cyprus business visa.

Application procedure

Applications go to the Central Office of the Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection, at Archbishop Makarios III Avenue 90, 1077 Nicosia. The Nicosia headquarters is the only office that accepts them, and an appointment may be needed.

• The application is made through the employer. It is examined when you are outside Cyprus, or in Cyprus on a valid residence permit or long-stay visa. An application from someone lawfully in Cyprus without either may be accepted too.
• Submit form MBCEU1 with the documents listed below. The same form covers all eight scenarios, from the entry permit and first issue through to renewal and renewal on a change of employer, so tick the right box at the top.
• The authorities issue the EU Blue Card if the requirements are satisfied and there are no reasons for rejection.
• Provided the application is duly completed and the documents are in order, the application will be examined within 90 days. A holder of an EU Blue Card from another member state who applies here for long-term mobility gets a decision within 30 days. If the department asks for missing information or documents, the 90 days stop running until it receives them, and an application whose documents do not arrive within the time it sets is refused.

The form asks the employer for its registration number, the company registration number, the yearly gross salary and the size of the business, from micro under 10 staff up to large at 250 or more. Our Cyprus immigration lawyers prepare the file and attend the submission with you.

Fees

A first application costs €110 for the entry permit and the EU Blue Card together, plus €70 to register in the Aliens Register. That is €180 to the Migration Department.

A renewal costs €95. So does a card issued without an entry permit, for example after entry on a visa, plus €70 for a first registration in the Aliens Register. A card issued for long-term mobility from another member state costs €40, plus €70 for a first registration. For contracts signed on or after January 1, 2026, no stamp duty is payable. For contracts signed before 2026, the stamp duty due under the old rules still applies.

Validity and renewal

The Migration Department states that the card is issued for at least 24 months and not more than 36 months. Where the employment contract is shorter, the card runs for the contract plus three months, up to 24 months.

Apply for renewal in the three months before the card expires. If the card expires during the examination, you remain in Cyprus lawfully until the application is determined. Biometric data is taken again on renewal.

Long-term resident status

Five years of legal and continuous residence in Cyprus, immediately before the application, opens the route to EU long-term resident status. That status is a different document from Cyprus permanent residency, which has its own routes and its own conditions.

A holder who came to Cyprus under long-term mobility can count residence in other member states towards the five years, as a Blue Card holder, a holder of a national permit for highly qualified work, a researcher or a beneficiary of international protection. The last two years before the application must be legal, continuous residence in Cyprus on the Blue Card.

Required documents for the EU Blue Card

The required documents are organised into a single checklist below. The process runs in two phases: documents for the initial entry permit (M70), then documents for registration on arrival in Cyprus.

Phase 1 covers the initial entry permit, submitted before arrival.

Phase 1, from the applicant

The following documents must be submitted to the Migration Department to obtain an entry permit.

• Application form MBCEU1, duly completed. Download the current version from the Migration Department rather than from a copy, because the form is revised from time to time.
• Valid passport: a copy of a valid passport or travel document. Its validity has to cover the whole period of the permit you are applying for.
• Criminal record: an original, clean criminal record certificate from your country of origin, or from your country of residence where that differs. It has to be ratified.
• Medical tests: original blood analysis results for Hepatitis B and C, HIV and Syphilis, and a chest X-ray for Tuberculosis, from your country of origin. Same ratification requirement.
• Proof of qualifications:
  • For non-regulated professions, a true copy of a higher education qualification of at least three years' duration, certified by the issuing authority and accompanied by an official translation into Greek or English.
  • For ICT professions, as an alternative to the degree: certificates of professional experience of at least three years, at a level comparable to a higher education qualification, obtained within the seven years before the application.
  • The experience certificate has to be an original or a true copy from the employer, and it has to give the dates of employment, a detailed description of duties, the name, signature and contact details of the person signing it, and the official seal of the company.
  • For regulated professions: a true copy of your licence to practise, or a certificate of registration with the relevant professional association, council or competent authority, in Greek or English.
• Special status (if applicable): documents proving your status as a beneficiary of free movement, a refugee, or a subsidiary protection holder, whether recognised by Cyprus or by another EU member state.

Phase 1, from the employer

The documents below come from the employer.

• Employment contract: a valid employment contract, signed by both sides, or a binding job offer from the specific employer, for a highly qualified post of at least six months in Cyprus. It has to carry a detailed description of the specialised duties and responsibilities, and a gross annual salary that meets the decree in force. A contract naming only a job title and a salary does not meet this.
• Declaration of return cost: a declaration from the employer covering the cost of your potential return.
• Social security certificate: confirmation from the Social Insurance Services that the employer's contributions are paid, on Form Y.K.A. B-7 or equivalent. Contributions count as paid up to the end of the calendar month following the month they fell due, so an application submitted in June needs contributions paid up to and including April.
• Tax Department certificate confirming the employer meets its corporate tax and VAT obligations, issued within the six months before the application is submitted.
• Company status confirmation: from the Registrar of Companies, confirming the business is not in liquidation and that there is business activity, issued within the last six months.
• Employer criminal record: a police confirmation that the employer has not been sanctioned for employing illegally staying third-country nationals, or for undeclared or illegal employment, issued within the last six months.

Phase 2: for registration and Blue Card issuance (submitted after arrival)

Within seven days of arriving, register at the Central Offices of the Migration Department in Nicosia, where your photograph and fingerprints are taken and you sign in person. Registration in the Aliens Register produces your ARC number, which you need for most administrative steps, including opening a Cyprus bank account.

• Original entry permit (M70).
• Proof of last arrival: a copy of your passport page showing the last arrival in Cyprus and the entry visa where one applies. You have to produce the original passport at submission so it can be checked.
• Employment contract: the contract or binding job offer again, on the same terms as before arrival.
• Medical tests in Cyprus: the same tests listed above, this time certified by a specialised doctor in Cyprus.
• Proof of residence: a rental agreement, a property sale contract, or the title deed for your home in Cyprus. The Migration Department's checklist still asks for a rental agreement over €5,000 to be stamped, which means stamp duty, repealed from 1 January 2026. For an agreement signed on or after January 1, 2026, no stamp duty is payable. For one signed before 2026 with a value over €5,000, the stamp duty due under the old rules still applies.
• Health insurance:
  • a certificate for in- and outpatient care (Plan A), OR
  • GESY registration plus private insurance covering transportation of the deceased.
• Employer liability insurance with automatic renewal.

Renewal and renewal on a change of employer

A renewal needs the passport copy, the contract, the declaration on return costs, the rental agreement or title deed, the insurance documents and the employer's social insurance and tax certificates again. The checklist adds:

• A statement of the employee's insurable earnings from the Social Insurance Services
• A copy of the first page of the employee's tax return for the previous year, with the pages on the tax assessment for GESY, income tax and special defence contribution
• For a renewal on a change of employer, the termination of employment from the previous employer
• For a renewal on a change of employer, the new employer's contract or binding job offer, on the terms set out above
• For a renewal on a change of employer, a certificate from the Registrar of Companies, issued in the last six months, that the new employer is not in liquidation and is trading
• For a renewal on a change of employer, a Police certificate, issued in the last six months, that the new employer has not been sanctioned for illegal employment

For the complete official list and details, please refer to the website of the Migration Department: EU Blue Card - Migration Department - gov.cy.

Benefits of having a Cyprus EU Blue Card

Key benefits of the EU Blue Card include:

• Entry, re-entry and residence in the Republic of Cyprus
• Family reunification with permits equal in duration to those of the cardholder
• Employment in high-demand sectors
• Equal treatment with Cypriot citizens in terms of working conditions, education, and social security
• Time held on the card counts towards EU long-term resident status, and after a move here under long-term mobility, residence in other member states can be added once the last two years before the application were spent in Cyprus on the card without a break
• Mobility: after 12 months the holder can move to another EU member state to work
• Equal rights and access to public services, education and goods

Family reunification

Family members come on facilitated terms. The Blue Card application and the family reunification application can be submitted at the same time, and family permits run for the same period as the card where the travel documents allow it.

Family members get free access to the Cyprus labour market, and that includes self-employment. This is the point most applicants ask about, because a spouse does not need a separate job offer to work.

Income tax for EU Blue Card holders

The Migration Department tells Blue Card holders that they may qualify for a 50% income tax exemption on their employment income, whatever changes of employer follow, provided the conditions are met. Those conditions are in section 8(23A) of the Income Tax Law. The two that decide most cases are 15 consecutive years of non-residence before the first employment in Cyprus and pay above €55,000.

Who qualifies for the 50% exemption

Half of your employment income is exempt in each tax year in which that income is over €55,000, for up to 17 tax years, provided your pay passed €55,000 in the first or second year after the employment started.

The exemption is for a person who was not resident in Cyprus for at least 15 consecutive years before a first employment here starting on or after 1 January 2022, and it is given once in a lifetime. A holder who starts on the €43,632 floor and passes €55,000 only in the third year or later does not qualify.

Smaller exemptions

Smaller exemptions apply at lower salaries, on their own conditions. Read our guides to the Cyprus tax system and to tax residency and the non-dom rules, and take advice on your own figures before relying on any of them.