Figures checked September 2026
Startup visa
Built for founders who want to run their company from Cyprus. You need to own at least 51 percent of the business and bring in EUR 200,000 from abroad, as cash, equipment or office investment. It grants a 3-year residence permit, renewable for two more, but the idea has to be genuinely innovative to get approved, and there are limited spots each year.
Digital nomad visa
Built for founders and remote workers whose income comes from outside Cyprus. You'll need at least EUR 3,500 a month in net income from a foreign employer or foreign clients; Cypriot income doesn't count toward it. It runs an initial year, renewable up to three years total. The quota is the part people misread: it is a standing total of 1,000 permits, not an annual allocation. The scheme began with 500 and a further 500 were added in March 2025. Once the total is taken, it is taken until government raises it again, so timing matters more than an annual quota would imply.
Permanent residency by investment
The heavier route: EUR 300,000 plus VAT into a new-build property, plus an income test of EUR 50,000 a year from abroad. It grants permanent residency, not a renewable temporary permit, and doesn't require you to run a business here at all. Many owners who also want property in Aphrodite Hills end up here regardless of which business route they take, simply because the property purchase and the residency application overlap.
The tax angle for high earners
Separately from all three: an employee new to Cyprus earning EUR 55,000 or more a year can qualify for a 50 percent income tax exemption on that salary, for up to 17 years. The condition attached is the one worth checking first. They must not have been a Cyprus tax resident for the 15 consecutive years before starting. Anyone relocating as an employee of their own company, rather than purely as an investor, should check this before the structure is settled.
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