Moving to Cyprus

An English-speaking EU island with low company tax, built around employer-tied permits rather than open ones.

The Republic of Cyprus is a member of the European Union and of the eurozone, and it is the member state where an English speaker has the softest landing: English is used routinely in business, in professional services and in much of public life, a legacy of the colonial period and of decades of international shipping and accountancy work based on the island.

Immigration policy, however, is not built around open permits. With limited exceptions, a third-country national works in Cyprus because a named employer holds a permit for a named post, and several sectors are governed by quotas. The route that changed this for professionals is the Business Facilitation Unit scheme, under which a company registered as being of foreign interest may employ third-country nationals in defined roles above a salary threshold, and their family members may work as well. Alongside it sit a capped digital nomad visa, a permanent residence category for people with secure income from abroad, and a fast-track permanent residence based on a property investment.

One factual point applies throughout. The northern part of the island is not under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus and is administered separately; the permits, health system and property registration described here are those of the Republic, and the rules applied in the north differ. Readers should also note that the Cypriot citizenship-by-investment programme was terminated in 2020 following a public scandal and subsequent investigations, so any guide that still describes a Cypriot passport as purchasable is out of date.

Region	Southern Europe
Capital	Nicosia
Population	about 1 million
Foreign-born residents	roughly a fifth of residents
Official language(s)	Greek, Turkish; English very widely spoken
Currency	Euro (EUR)

Why people move to Cyprus

• English is very widely spoken in business, professional services and daily life, which removes the usual first-year language barrier inside the European Union.
• The corporate tax rate is among the lowest in the union, and the non-domiciled regime exempts dividend and interest income from the special defence contribution for a long qualifying period.
• The Business Facilitation Unit route lets companies of foreign interest hire third-country staff in defined roles, and allows their spouses to work.
• Category F permanent residence exists for people with a secure income from abroad rather than a local job, which is unusual in the union.
• Living costs outside the main coastal tourist districts remain moderate by western European standards.
• The climate is mild for most of the year and the island is small enough that commuting distances stay short.

What to know before you commit

• Almost all employment permits are tied to a single employer and post, and several sectors operate under quotas, so changing jobs is not a private matter between you and a new employer.
• The domestic labour market is small and concentrated in services, shipping and technology; outside those, professional openings are thin and salaries are modest.
• Summers are very hot and long, and the island has chronic water scarcity with periodic restrictions and heavy reliance on desalination.
• Naturalisation requires a long period of residence together with a Greek language requirement, so citizenship is a slow objective rather than a medium-term one.
• The property market has a history of title deed problems, where buyers paid in full but did not receive separate title for years; due diligence on encumbrances is essential.
• The political division of the island affects property history, some travel arrangements and certain administrative matters, and it has no near-term resolution.

The eight guides

Official sources

• Civil Registry and Migration Department, Ministry of the Interior
• Cyprus government portal
• Business in Cyprus — Business Facilitation Unit

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.