The Council of Ministers, with its Decision of 7.10.2020, reviewed the policy regarding the issuance of temporary residence and employment permits to employees of existing and new companies of foreign interests (IBC) registered in the Republic, as well as companies that have joined the Fast Track Business Activation Mechanism.

Main differences from previous policy are as follows:

  • For new companies to be registered, an investment of ?200.000 is required (previously investment was ?171.000).
  • For new Directors, minimum salary in now set to ?4.000 and for new Key Personnel to ?2.000
  • A new category of employees is created, called Specialists (in addition to the Directors, Key Personnel and Supporting Staff). Companies are entitled to employ third country nationals in professions / with skills as listed in Table below:

#

Professions / Skills

1

Software and System Engineers

2

Application and Data Architects

3

Information and Communication Technology and Enterprise Solution Architects

4

Technical Assurance Professionals

5

Telecom and Space Engineers

6

Data scientists

7

Machine Learning Engineers

8

Web Developers and designers

9

UX User Experience Professionals

10

Quantitative Analysts

11

Quality Assurance Analysts

12

Mobile Application Developers

13

Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality Programmers

14

Digital Marketing Specialists

15

Video Production Multimedia Specialists for Mobile Apps and Software

16

Analysts for Mobile Apps and Software

17

Designers of Prototype for Mobile Devices

18

DevOps Engineers

19

Cyber Security Specialists

20

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Big Data Specialists

21

Pharmaceutical Formulation Technologists

22

Pharmaceutical Engineer Validation Specialists

23

Pharmaceutical Patents Specialists

24

Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Quality Assurance Professionals

25

Marine Engineers

26

Naval Architects

  • The minimum acceptable gross monthly earnings for Specialists is ?2.000, an amount that can be adjusted from time to time, depending on fluctuations in the wage index.
  • Maximum number of third country employees per staff category, as per new policy:

#

Staff Category

Maximum allowed number

1

Directors

5

2

Middle management executives and other key personnel

10

3

Specialists

Based on annual turnover*

?1 million: 5

)?1 - ?3 millions: 10

)?3 - ?5 millions: 20

)?5 - ?10 millions: 30

)?10 - ?20 millions: 50

)?20 - ?30 millions:100

)?30 millions: 200

* For eligible companies that relocate to Cyprus and have joined the Fast Track Business Activation Mechanism, the turnover that will be taken into account will be the one of the company's abroad. This will be valid for the first two years of operations in Cyprus. Following the first two years, the annual turnover of the company in Cyprus will be taken into account.

4

Support Staff

30% of the total staff (will be reviewed by the Department of Labour during the labour market test).

For more information, feel free to contact our Immigration Specialists, that will be able assist you implement the above policy and take advantage of the new potentials that can give to your company.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.