More foreign firms set up shop in Cyprus

The adoption of the New Strategy for Attracting Business and Talent has led to an impressive increase in the number of foreign companies interested in establishing a presence in Cyprus, said the island’s Interior Minister Nicos Nouris, noting that 5,475 applications were submitted in 2021, while by August 2022 the number of applications had reached 7,883.

Nouris, who was speaking during the VIII Business Conference in Limassol, said the initiatives, on the part of the ministry and the government, “create new opportunities for both existing and new businesses that intend to relocate to Cyprus.”

Presenting the laws and regulations that make it easier to set up foreign businesses in Cyprus, employing staff from third countries, accompanied by their families, Nouris said the aim is to enable businesses to better cope “with this new reality created by the pandemic and the recent effects of the economic crisis.”

He explained that the incentives provided by the Ministry of Interior fall under the New Strategy for Attracting Business and Talent, the New Development Licensing Policy and the New Licensing and Local Plans Policy. He assured that “the government’s efforts to improve the economic and business climate are systematic and continuous.”

Nouris referred to the mechanism that came into force in 2020 for the rapid establishment of businesses in Cyprus, which evolved in 2022 into the Business Facilitation Unit under the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry. He also noted the contribution of the revised policy on foreigners arriving in the country in the context of business activity, facilitating the relocation of third-country nationals and their family members, as well as allowing the employment of spouses.

He further explained that by the end of 2026, existing foreign interest companies will be able to employ workers from third countries without any limitation on numbers, while from 2027, the maximum number of such employees will be 70% of the total number of employees of the company.

“The adoption of the New Strategy has led to a dramatic increase in interest from foreign companies to establish themselves in Cyprus,” Nouris said, adding that in January-August there were also 4,524 applications from foreign company-linked families to settle in Cyprus, against 4,242 over the whole of 2021.