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

The Cyprus Business Facilitation Unit (BFU) registers foreign-owned companies so they can hire non-EU staff without a labour market test. It sits inside the Business Support Center (BSC), the government's single contact point for investors, and it decides on a registration file in ten business days.

The route is designed for a company with third-country ownership or at least €200,000 in foreign participation that wants to bring non-EU employees to Cyprus on a fast-track permit. Entry in the Register of Foreign Interest Companies is what opens that door. Everything else on this page follows from it.

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.

In May 2025, the Business Facilitation Unit became part of the Business Support Center (BSC).

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.

On 2 January 2022, the fast-track business activation mechanism became the Business Facilitation Unit. The new Strategy opened facilities to foreign companies that employ high-skilled non-EU nationals.

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 primary contact for investors in Cyprus. It handles business setup, licensing, and registration for local and foreign companies, and it carries out strategic development projects as well.

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;
• 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 third-country shareholders hold 50% or less of the shares, and the foreign participation is at least €200,000 in the capital;
• 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

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?

Yes.

The €200,000 investment and the premises rules

The €200,000 initial investment applies to every category on the list. It can be a deposit by one or more shareholders into the company's account at a credit institution licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus, or the purchase of an office and equipment 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.

Two conditions catch applicants out. The investment must have been made within the six months before the application, and the money or asset must still be in place on the day the application is submitted.

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 includes the full addresses of both parties, down to the office and floor number.

How to apply as a company of foreign interests

The application goes to the Business Support Center through the online service on gov.cy. Since 30 June 2026, it can be filed only from the CY Login profile of the company that is applying, so the company needs its own identified CY Login account before it starts. The form asks for:

• A description of the nature of the business.
• The number of employees.
• The plan for expanding to Cyprus and other details.
• The services the company wants to obtain through the BFU.
• Any relevant documents attached to the application.

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 stamped by the Registrar;
• 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, being the bank deposit or the purchase of the office and its equipment.

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:

• Helps establish a company by expediting the necessary registrations*. The Business Support Center liaises with the Registrar of Companies, the Social Insurance Services and the Tax Department on the company's behalf. It publishes no fixed timescale for them.
• Facilitates the licensing for the establishment and operation of companies in Cyprus, with the information a company needs to obtain the permits to begin work.
• Facilitates the issue of Cyprus residence and employment permits for third-country nationals.
• Points the company to the licensing contact points inside the departments involved.

*The necessary registrations are:

• Name approval and company registration.
• Registration in the Social Insurance registry.
• Registration in the Employers' registry.
• Registration in the VAT registry and for income tax.

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.

What the Strategy asks for instead is a commitment that Cypriots and EU citizens make up 30% of total staff within five years. From 2 January 2027, the department checks that the 70:30 ratio applies to new hires. A company that misses it is assessed on its own facts rather than refused automatically.

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, stamped for the full two years.

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

Five exemptions matter to staff moving to Cyprus, and one deduction matters to the company.

• A 50% exemption on pay above €55,000 a year, for 17 years, once in a lifetime. It goes to a person taking up first employment in Cyprus who was not resident here for at least 15 consecutive tax years before that employment began. There is no upper salary limit.
• The older 50% exemption, for pay above €100,000 over ten years, closed to new entrants on 26 July 2022. Anyone already inside it keeps it for the years remaining. People whose employment began before 1 January 2022 may be able to move across to the 17-year version.
• A 20% exemption capped at €8,550 a year, for seven years, on first employment starting from 26 July 2022. It needs three consecutive tax years of non-residence in Cyprus immediately beforehand and employment outside Cyprus by a non-resident employer. Nobody claims it alongside the 50% or the 25% exemption.
• A 25% exemption, capped at €25,000 per year, for employment or business in Cyprus, starting between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2030. It is aimed at people returning after seven or more tax years abroad, with pay above €30,000 in the first twelve months and a qualifying record of employment outside Cyprus. It runs for seven years.
• A 50% exemption for individuals who invest in an approved innovative company, extended to 31 December 2026.

On the company side, expenditure on scientific research and on research and development is subject to an additional 20% allowance of the qualifying cost for the years 2022 to 2030, so the effective deduction is 120%. It sits in Article 9(1)(d) of the Income Tax Law. The allowance cannot be combined with the 80% intellectual property allowance, and a company may waive it for a given year.

It applies to persons carrying on a business and to small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Article 9A of the Income Tax Law. Those must not be SMEs of foreign interest.

Research and development must fall within the categories recognised by international accounting standards. Research is an original and planned investigation undertaken to gain new scientific or technical knowledge. Development is the application of research findings to a plan or design for new or improved materials, products and systems.

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

• Address: Kinira 5-6, 1102 Nicosia
• Email: bfu@meci.gov.cy
• 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.