Cyprus offers many key benefits to foreign investors and their dependent family members who are looking for a jurisdiction that offers a gateway to Europe, high quality standards of living and working infrastructure and services.
Strategic Location
With its ideal geographical position at the crossroads of three continents - Europe, Africa and Asia - Cyprus plays a key establishing role in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean. The island is an ideal investment gateway to the European Union, as well as a portal for investment outside the EU, particularly into the Middle East, India and China.
Attractive Tax System
Cyprus offers an attractive and transparent tax regime, fully compliant with EU directives, OECD requirements and international laws and regulations. Its main features are:
- One of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the EU at 12.5%
- Dividend participation exemption
- Exemption on disposal of “securities” (e.g. shares, bonds, debentures)
- No succession taxes
- No withholding taxes
- Attractive IP regime
- Tonnage tax for shipping companies
- Notional interest deduction
- Personal tax exemptions for new residents and non-domiciles
Dynamic EU Member State and Member of the European Monetary Union
As a member of the European Union and the European Monetary Union, Cyprus is committed to quality, efficiency and transparency. Its EU membership ensures safety and stability for investors, also offering market access to more than 500 million EU citizens.
Robust Legal and Regulatory Framework
Based on English Common Law principles, Cyprus’ comprehensive and robust legal and regulatory framework is widely recognised as a business-friendly and effective system that ensures transparency and reliability in business practices. Offering foreign businesses a familiar and reliable framework within which to operate, Cyprus’ legal system is also fully compliant with the EU, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), OECD, FATCA, the Financial Stability Forum laws and regulations and EU AML directives.
Human Talent & Level of Services
Human talent probably constitutes Cyprus’ most compelling advantage, complemented by a broad range of high quality professional services. As a dynamic business centre, Cyprus offers an abundance of highly educated and skilled individuals, multilingual in their majority, ready to serve the needs of any business. Cyprus ranks amongst the top countries in Europe for tertiary education per capita, recording an impressive 54.6% in higher education attainment, way above the EU average of 38.7%. Cyprus is widely recognised as a centre of excellence for the provision of professional services that support all business needs at competitive rates. Indicatively, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) selected Cyprus as the first country in the world outside the UK to train ICAEW and CIMA accountants.
Advanced Infrastructure
Cyprus benefits from a modern and advanced infrastructure, as well as an extensive telecommunications network, ideally suited for business people with demanding schedules. Thanks to its sophisticated road system, bustling port facilities (in Limassol and Larnaca) and two international airports (in Larnaca and Paphos), travel and transport in and beyond Cyprus is always fast, efficient and cost effective.
High Quality of Life
Cyprus residents enjoy an enviable lifestyle in a safe, clean and healthy environment with high living standards. Low crime and stress levels, the 2nd best climate worldwide (InterNations, 2016), with year-round sunshine, centuries of art and culture, and appealing gastronomy all contribute to a high quality of life, ideal for businesspeople and their families seeking the perfect balance between work and pleasure. Safety is amongst the major advantages of Cyprus; the island was ranked 1st safest small country in ValuePenguin’s Safest Countries in the World (2015) report and 5th safest country globally
"Strike out beyond the sun-soaked stretches of sand to discover an island of compelling culture and landscapes, steeped in myth and riddled with ancient riches”