Cyprus Business Facilitation Unit for foreign companies

Cyprus has spent several years building a single point of contact for international businesses that want to operate on the island. The Business Facilitation Unit, created under the government’s strategy for attracting companies, registers companies of foreign interest and simplifies the employment of staff from outside the EU. In July 2026 the government launched a new Business Support Center website with an upgraded online registration service for the register.

For owners who are still at the incorporation stage, our guide on how to set up a company in Cyprus explains the basic steps. This article focuses on what registration with the unit involves, based on the government’s published strategy and the Business Support Center as of October 2026. Because the criteria are set by decisions of the Council of Ministers and can change, they should always be checked at the time of application.

What the unit does

According to the government’s strategy, the unit acts as the central point of contact for companies of international interest that already operate in Cyprus or wish to do so, and for Cypriot companies in certain sectors. It is staffed by officials from the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, the Tax Department and the Social Insurance Services, with a contact point at the Department of Town Planning and Housing.

Since December 2023, applications for registration have been submitted electronically, and the system also provides guidance on business licensing and on registering with the Tax Department and Social Insurance. The new Business Support Center website, launched in July 2026, now hosts the online application for registration in the register.

Which companies can register

The strategy lists four groups of eligible businesses:

• companies of foreign interest that operate, or intend to operate, in Cyprus from independent offices in suitable premises, separate from any private residence or other office;
• Cypriot shipping companies;
• Cypriot high-tech and innovation companies;
• Cypriot pharmaceutical companies and companies active in biogenetics and biotechnology.

International higher education institutions were added by a decision of July 2022. The detailed eligibility criteria, including the ownership tests for companies of foreign interest, are published by the Business Support Center and should be reviewed before an application is prepared.

The €200,000 initial investment

In November 2022 the Council of Ministers reintroduced the requirement to prove an initial investment in Cyprus of at least €200,000 for all companies seeking to qualify. The type of evidence accepted, such as funds deposited in a Cyprus bank or documented business expenditure, is set out in the current criteria, and planning the investment early helps avoid delays.

If you are weighing up registration with the unit for your company, our corporate services page explains how we prepare the company file and the supporting evidence.

Employing staff from outside the EU

The main practical benefit of registration is a simpler route to employing third-country nationals. Under the strategy, highly skilled employees qualify where they:

Requirement	Detail in the published strategy

|—|—|

Salary	At least €2,500 gross a month
Qualifications	A university degree or equivalent, or two years of relevant experience
Contract	An employment contract of at least two years
Permit validity	Residence and work permits of up to three years

Support staff earning less than €2,500 a month may also be employed, provided they do not exceed 30% of the company’s support staff and the contract is certified by the competent authority. The strategy sets a target that, over five years from joining, at least 30% of the workforce should be Cypriot, with third-country nationals limited to 70%. If the target is not met, the position is reviewed case by case.

To obtain staff permits, the company provides certificates from the Registrar of Companies and the Tax Department, so its corporate filings need to be current. Our guides on registering as an employer and on registered office requirements cover two of the steps that usually come first.

Founders and their families

Registration concerns the company and its staff. Owners who also want long-term residence for their family often look at the separate permanent residence route, which our Cyprus permanent residency guide explains.

If you would like to talk through how these rules might apply to your own circumstances, our team would be glad to help. You can call +357 979 42 388 or write to us through our contact page.

Sources

• Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Strategy for attracting companies to operate or expand in Cyprus, February 2024.
• Government of Cyprus, Business Support Center, as of October 2026.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. Figures are stated as of 2026 and may change; confirm current requirements with the relevant authority and an independent adviser before acting. AT Express is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government or official programme.

Featured image: “Limassol Skyline” by Στέφανος Νικολάου, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.