Cyprus Business Facilitation Unit (BFU) and companies of foreign interests

The Cyprus Business Facilitation Unit (BFU) keeps the Register of Companies with Foreign Interests, and a registered company can hire highly paid non-EU staff without a labour market test. The BFU sits inside the Business Support Center (BSC) and registers an eligible company with a complete file within ten business days.

The route is for a company that meets one of nine criteria, from third-country ownership to named categories such as shipping, and wants non-EU staff on a fast-track permit. Every eligible company must make a €200,000 initial investment.

The BFU is part of the Cyprus "Strategy for Attracting Businesses for Activities or/and Expansion of their Activities in Cyprus". The Council of Ministers approved the Strategy on 15 October 2021, and it has been in force since 2 January 2022. It replaced the earlier policy on employees in companies of foreign interest.

Briefly about the BFU

The aim of the BFU is to bring international investment and talent to Cyprus and to hold the country's position as a business centre.

The Business Facilitation Unit was set up in January 2022 as part of the Strategy and works under the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry. It is the contact point for businesses already active in Cyprus and for those that want to expand here.

In May 2025, the government brought the Business Facilitation Unit inside the Business Support Center (BSC), which President Christodoulides opened that month as a single point of contact for investors.

Business Support Center (BSC)

The Business Support Center (BSC) is the first point of contact for Cypriot and foreign investors who want to do business in Cyprus or expand here. It gives guidance on setting up and licensing a business, keeps the Register of Companies with Foreign Interests, runs the one-stop shop for renewable energy projects and takes applications to designate a development as a Strategic Development Project.

The BSC consists of:

• the Strategic Development Sector (SDS) of the Department of Town Planning and Housing (DTP&H);
• the Business Facilitation Unit (BFU) of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry;
• a contact point with Invest Cyprus;
• contact points with the departments involved in the licensing sector.

Services under the Business Support Center include the following:

• Personalised guidance on business setup, licensing and registration.
• Registration of foreign-interest companies to enable hiring of non-EU nationals.
• Facilitation and information for energy sector projects.
• Specialised support for businesses operating in the services sector.
• Licensing for designated strategic development projects.

Eligible companies

Nine categories of company can enter the Register of Foreign Interest Companies:

• 1. Companies where third-country shareholders own the majority of the shares;
• 2. Companies where a third-country shareholder holds 50% or less of the shares and that shareholder's share is worth at least €200,000, in addition to the €200,000 initial investment;
• 3. Public companies registered on any recognised stock exchange;
• 4. Companies of international activities, formerly offshore, that operated before the change of regime and whose data the Central Bank holds;
• 5. Cypriot shipping companies;
• 6. Cypriot high technology* or innovative companies;
• 7. Cypriot companies that operate in pharmaceuticals, biogenetics or biotechnology;
• 8. Companies in which the majority of the total share capital is owned by persons who have acquired Cypriot citizenship by naturalisation based on economic criteria, provided they can show that the criteria continue to apply;
• 9. Cypriot private institutes of tertiary education licensed by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth.

* A company counts as high technology or innovative when it is established and present in the market, and one of the following holds:

• it developed products in aviation and space, computers, information and telecommunication technology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical products, research and development equipment, electrical machinery, chemicals or non-electrical machinery, which makes it a High Technology Company;
• it has a high level of experimental research and development intensity, which makes it an Innovative Company.

The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy has published a practical guide on such companies at High Tech Enterprise Certificate - Practical guide (PDF).

Other companies

Two more questions come up often about which companies can register.

Are companies already registered in the Migration Department eligible?

Yes. Companies already on the Migration Department's Register of Foreign Interest Companies retain the benefit of the Strategy without further formalities, so they do not need to register again with the BFU.

Companies that went on that register before 2022 carry one extra duty. Once a year, they file their latest audited financial statements with the department. They add a certificate from the Tax Department confirming that corporate tax and VAT obligations are met, and one from the Social Insurance Services confirming contributions on form Y.K.A. B-7. Any change in the company's particulars goes to the department so the register can be updated.

Are small companies, family offices and sole proprietorships eligible?

The Business Support Center names Cyprus companies with shares (HE) and registered branches of overseas companies (AE) as the eligible businesses, and each has to meet one of the nine criteria. A small company can register on the same terms as a large one, because the Business Support Center sets no test of size.

The gov.cy service page limits the online application to HE companies and AE branches, and applications go through that system only, so a sole proprietorship has no way to apply. A family office needs to be set up as an HE or an AE before it applies, and it then has to meet one of the eligibility criteria and the €200,000 investment, like any other company.

The €200,000 investment and the premises rules

The €200,000 initial investment applies to every category on the list. Under criterion 2, the requirement that the minority shareholder's share be worth at least €200,000 is additional to the initial investment.

Where the company proves that share with the Registrar's form HE14 (increase of authorised share capital) or HE12 (report of the allotment of shares), or both, the forms must be accompanied by the corresponding certificate of the cash deposit, such as a SWIFT confirmation or a company bank statement.

The initial investment can be a deposit by one or more shareholders, transferred from abroad into the company's account at a credit institution licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus, or the purchase of an office or equipment, or both, strictly for business use. Electronic money institutions and payment institutions do not count as credit institutions. Our note on opening a Cyprus bank account covers the deposit side.

Buying property as the business itself, as a real estate agency or a developer would, does not satisfy the criterion.

The company needs premises in Cyprus separate from any residence, including a shareholder's own home. A sublease or a shared space is accepted when the agreement gives the full details and addresses of both parties, down to the floor and the number of the room the company will use exclusively.

How to apply as a company of foreign interests

The application goes to the Business Support Center through its online service on gov.cy, which is open to companies (HE) and branches of overseas companies (AE) only. The upgraded service has taken applications since 30 June 2026, and only through the identified CY Login profile of the company that is applying, so the company needs its own CY Login account before it starts.

The form asks for a short description of:

• the company's profile and activities;
• the tasks of the staff it already employs;
• the expertise of the highly skilled staff it plans to hire;
• the activity it plans in Cyprus and its expansion plans.

Copies of the documents listed below are attached to the form. The company is told by email when the application arrives and at each change of status, and it can follow the file on a timeline in its own space on the system.

Where the applicant is eligible, and the file meets the requirements, registration in the Register of Companies with Foreign Interests is completed within ten business days from the date the e-form is duly submitted. A confirmation letter of the registration arrives by email.

What you file with the application

The Business Support Center asks for:

• a search certificate of the ultimate beneficial owners from the Registrar of Companies;
• the memorandum and articles of association, signed and sealed by the Registrar of Companies;
• a title deed, a purchase agreement, or a rental agreement of at least twelve months for the business premises;
• the latest audited accounts, where the company already trades in Cyprus;
• proof of the €200,000: the bank deposit or, as an alternative, the purchase of an office or equipment, or both.

Only an advocate licensed by the Cyprus Bar Association can file the incorporation itself, because the Registrar requires a statutory declaration on form HE1 sworn before the court by the lawyer entrusted with it. The steps and the cost sit on our page about Cyprus company formation.

Services available under the BFU

Several services facilitate the operation of a business under the BFU. Briefly, the BFU:

• Gives information and guidance on the licences a company needs to start or expand its activities in Cyprus, depending on the type of investment and the nature of the business.
• Liaises with the licensing authorities, at the investor's request, when a project meets obstacles or delays, and works to set timetables for the steps that follow.
• Helps speed up a new company's registration with the Registrar of Companies. It does the same for the employers' register of the Social Insurance Services and the Tax Department's register. The BFU page gives no timescale for these registrations.
• Keeps the Register of Companies with Foreign Interests, which gives a registered company access to the government's incentives for employing third-country nationals.

Hiring third-country nationals once you are registered

Registration is what removes the labour market test for the company's non-EU staff. The employee file, the fees and the timeline are a separate exercise, set out on our page on the Cyprus work permit for non-EU staff.

There is no cap on how many third-country nationals a company may employ. The Migration Department cancelled maximum quotas when the Strategy took effect, and a company can hire any number of highly paid third-country staff without a labour market check.

Conditions for the employee and benefits

The conditions on the employee are:

• Highly paid employment, as defined by the salary. The old Director, Key Personnel and Specialist labels survive for the department's own records and no longer decide eligibility.
• A minimum gross monthly salary of €2,500.
• Relevant academic qualifications, or at least two years of experience relevant to the position being filled. One of the two is enough.
• An employment contract running for at least two years. A one-year permit still needs a two-year contract.

Staff paid under €2,500 per month are considered support staff. They need a labour market test and a contract sealed by the Department of Labour, and the general rules for employing third-country nationals apply to them. None of the fast-track treatment does.

Two benefits travel with the permit. The employee's spouse or civil partner gets free access to paid employment with no sealed contract from the Department of Labour, and the family can join under family reunification.

Naturalisation arrives earlier as well: four years in total with a B1 Greek certificate, or five years with A2, on top of two years of employment at a qualifying company and a pass in the examination on the political and social reality of Cyprus. Our page on how to get Cyprus citizenship sets out the rest.

Tax incentives

Section 8 of the Income Tax Law gives four exemptions that matter to staff moving to Cyprus, each on its own conditions:

Exemption	Who it is for	How long it runs
50% of the pay, in each tax year the pay is over €55,000, with no upper limit	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. The pay has to pass €55,000 in the first or second year after the employment starts.	Up to 17 tax years, once in a lifetime
The older 50% of the pay, in each year the pay is over €100,000	Closed to employment starting after 26 July 2022. Some people whose first employment here began before 2022 can move to the 17-year exemption, counted from their original start year, under conditions.	Ten years, for those already inside it
20% of the pay, or €8,550 a year if that is less	A first employment in Cyprus starting after 26 July 2022 and by the end of 2027, by a person who worked outside Cyprus for an employer not resident here for the three years just before.	Seven tax years, from the year after the employment starts
25% of the pay or business profit, up to €25,000 a year	A person who starts work or a business in Cyprus between 1 January 2025 and the end of 2030, after seven tax years of non-residence and with residence here at some point before those seven years. Pay or profit has to pass €30,000 in the first twelve months.	The starting year and the next six, once in a lifetime. Each year needs pay or profit over €30,000.

How the exemptions fit together

The 17-year exemption rules out the other three, and the 25% exemption rules out the 20% one. For the 17-year and the 20% exemptions, a first employment is the first salaried job in Cyprus, for an employer resident in Cyprus or abroad, after at least 15 consecutive tax years with no salaried work here.

Employment that began between 1 January 2022 and 29 June 2023 can fall under the earlier version of this 50% exemption, which asked for ten years of non-residence.

The 25% exemption needs Cyprus tax residence in every year after the starting year, and either a recognised university degree and at least 36 months of full-time work abroad for a non-resident employer in the 84 months before the start, or 84 months of such work.

The research and development deduction for the company

On the company side, spending on scientific research and on research and development, as recognised under international accounting standards, is deductible under section 9(1)(d) of the Income Tax Law. For spending in the years 2025 to 2030 the law adds a further 20% of the cost, so the deduction comes to 120%.

The deduction goes to a person carrying on a business who has the economic ownership of the intangible asset the spending produces or may produce. The extra 20% can be waived in part or in full for any tax year. It is not given for spending on an intangible asset that has had the 80% deduction on qualifying intellectual property profits in any year.

Rates and thresholds across the whole system sit on our page about the Cyprus tax system and rates in 2026, and the residence rules on Cyprus tax residency and non-domiciled status.

How to get in touch with the BSC?

As of October 2026, the contact details of the Business Support Center, which houses the BFU, are:

• Address: Kinira 5-6, 1102 Nicosia
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +357 22867120
• Website: gov.cy/bsc

Routes that sit next to this one are the Cyprus business visa for owners who do not qualify as staff, the Cyprus startup visa for founders, the EU Blue Card for highly qualified staff outside this register, and the yellow slip for EU nationals. Companies moving an existing operation should start by relocating your business to Cyprus.