This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Cyprus. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June
1, 2014 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January–December 2013).

Cyprus has an open, free-market, service-based economy with some light manufacturing. Internationally, Cyprus promotes its geographical location as a “bridge” between East and West, along with its educated English-speaking population, moderate local costs, good airline connections, and telecommunications.

August 2015 officially marked the end of the recession in Cyprus, less than three years after it was bailed out by its international lenders. 

President Nicos Anastasiades’ government approved its third state budget on 19 September. The 2016 budget is seen as a step forward as stipulations from the Eurozone’s bailout package have largely been met,

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Cyprus. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy’s per-capita gross national income.

Administrative procedures for registering a company have been simplified, reflecting the importance placed on the country’s development as a centre of international business. A list of business set up procedures is provided…

The Corporate Tax Rate in Cyprus stands at 12.50 percent. Corporate Tax Rate in Cyprus averaged 17.02 percent from 1995 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 29 percent in 2000 and a record low of 10 percent in 2005. Corporate Tax Rate in Cyprus is reported by the Inland Revenue Department of the Republic of Cyprus.

A company is considered to be tax resident in Cyprus if its management and control is exercised in Cyprus . The Cyprus tax authorities normally assume that a company having its majority of board members, statutory seat and board meetings in Cyprus is considered to be managed and controlled in Cyprus .

The Personal Income Tax Rate in Cyprus stands at 35 percent. Personal Income Tax Rate in Cyprus averaged 34.75 percent from 1995 until 2014, reaching an all time high of 40 percent in 1996 and a record low of 30 percent in 2003. Personal Income Tax Rate in Cyprus is reported by the Inland Revenue Department of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Cyprus Income Tax Law defines a “resident in the Republic”, when applied to an individual, to being an individual who stays in the Republic for a period or periods exceeding in aggregate 183 days in the year of assessment. A “nonresident or resident outside the Republic” will be construed accordingly.

VAT is charged on every supply of goods or services at the standard rate of nineteen per cent (19%). The reduced rate of 5% is imposed on the supply of coffins, services supplied by undertakers, services of writers, artists, on the supply of fertilizers, foodstuff for animal, live animals, seeds, non bottled water, newspapers, books, periodicals, certain products for persons with special need, ice cream, certain types of nuts (salted etc), transport of passengers and their accompanying luggage with urban and rural buses, the letting of camping sites and caravan parks.

Cyprus introduced Value Added Tax in July 1992. The rules on Cyprus VAT registrations, returns and compliance are based on European Union EU VAT Directives which Cyprus has transposed into its VAT Act. Cyprus VAT is administered by the Tax Department within the Ministry of Finance.

Visa information for tourists, students and business

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus

Applications for the issue of entry and work permits in general categories of employment are submitted to the Civil Registry and Migration Department by the intended employer, through the respective District Aliens and Immigration Branch of the Police, on condition that the foreigners are abroad.

The competent authority dealing with the granting of Entry Permits and also Temporary and / or Permanent Residence Permits to EU, as well to Third Country nationals, is the Civil Registry and Migration Department, of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Cyprus.

A guide to public transportation in Cyprus

A new public transport system was launched on 5th July 2010 to expand the bus network over the third most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Expats can use public transport to get around Cyprus.

The Cyprus Telecommunication Authority, the state-owned telecommunications company, manages most telecommunications and Internet connections on the island. However, following the recent liberalization of the telecommunications sector, a few private telecommunications companies have emerged.

The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority website

Scope of employment regulations including minimum wage, worktime restrictions, employee representation

Labor rules from the Cyprus Department of Labour

The Cyprus Social Insurance Scheme covers compulsorily every gainfully occupied person working in Cyprus, either as an employed or a self-employed person.

Cost of living information includes price indices for rent, food, utilities, transportation, restaurants, clothing and more

The cost of living in Cyprus has been heavily affected by the country’s banking crisis, the measures imposed by the European Union in exchange for a bail-out loan and the country’s shrinking economy.

The dos and don’ts of business etiquette in Cyprus

Face to face meetings are preferred in Cyprus to written or telephone communication, so you should make frequent visits if conducting business there.

Welcome to the website of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture. The website contains information regarding the Cyprus Educational System, the Departments, Services and Committees of the Ministry.

Schedule of National holidays and Observances

Cyprus has an intense Mediterranean climate with the typical seasonal rhythm strongly marked in respect of temperature, rainfall and weather generally. Hot dry summers from mid-May to mid-September and rainy, rather changeable, winters from November to mid-March are separated by short autumn and spring seasons of rapid change in weather conditions.

Cyprus enjoys an intense Mediterranean climate of hot dry summers starting in mid-May and lasting until mid-September and rainy, quite mild winters from November to mid-March. Spring and autumn are effectively short intervals in between, characterised by smooth weather.

Cyprus is generally a safe country and is safer in terms of violent crime than many European countries of a similar size.

US Department of State – Go to Safety and Security for updates from the Swedish government

Education is mandatory up to age of twelve(12). The primary school lasts for six(6) years and secondary education is divided into two parts: Gymnasium for three years, and Lyceum for another three years. Therefore for a Cypriot citizen, education is mandatory up to the end of the gymnasium,i.e the total mandatory education lasts for nine(9) academic years.

Public holidays in Cyprus are paid days-off provided to all part-time and full-time workers, in addition to the paid annual leave they are entitled by law to take each year.

Welcome to the Cyprus Customs and Excise Department’s website. … supply chain of goods, the enforcement of restrictions and prohibitions on goods imported, …

Cyprus, once a center for the cult of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, is a modern island nation that retains an essentially Mediterranean character. Its 3,572 square miles (about the size of Connecticut) encompass citrus and olive groves, pine-forested mountains, and some of Europe’s cleanest beaches.