Cyprus Startup Visa in 2025

In 2024–2025, Cyprus is cementing its status as one of Europe’s key tech clusters: the demand for relocation of both businesses and individuals is supported by favourable tax conditions, the Non-Domicile regime for individuals and IP-Box for technology companies.

The Cyprus Startup Visa Scheme is a type of residence permit and one of many initiatives to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, allowing owners of technology companies to enter, live and work in Cyprus for 3 years with the right to extend.

Let’s take a closer look at the conditions Cyprus offers under the startup visa programme and how IT entrepreneurs can relocate to the island.

Changes to the Cyprus Startup Visa Programme in 2025

From 1 January 2025, new conditions for the startup visa came into effect:

• The duration of the residence permit has been increased from 2 to 3 years, and the extension of the document from 1 year to 2 years.
• The maximum percentage of shares owned by one or more members of the applicant group has been reduced from 50% to 25%.
• The threshold for hiring foreign employees has been increased from 30% to 50% of the total number of employees.
• The opportunity to hire additional foreign personnel has been opened if the startup demonstrates investment in Cyprus equal to or exceeding €150,000.

Enterprises must create at least three new jobs in the company in Cyprus, participate in a local innovation support programme, or introduce at least one new product or service to the market.

Startups wishing to renew their operations in Cyprus after the first 3 years of the visa are expected to demonstrate an increase in their revenue of at least 15% or attract investments of at least €150,000 during their operational period in Cyprus.

Cyprus’s favourable business environment and tax regime are the leading factors ensuring the influx of foreign capital to the island and the development of the real estate sector.

Find out what opportunities for relocation and real estate investment in Cyprus are available in 2025 in a personal consultation with Tranio experts.

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Benefits of Obtaining a Cyprus Startup Visa

The Cyprus Startup Visa provides the right to reside and conduct economic activities in the country for 3 years. Three months before the end of this period, you can apply for a visa extension — for this, an assessment of the startup’s success will be conducted.

Startup founders receive the right to conduct business or work as employees in their registered company. A special team visa is provided for top managers, which gives the right to employment in the founder’s company.

Family members of founders and top management receive equivalent rights to live and work in the country — the application of one family member can sponsor visas for children and spouses.

Foreigners residing in Cyprus for 5 years with a valid residence permit can apply for permanent residence in Cyprus. After legally living on the island for 3 to 7 years, a foreign citizen can apply for Cyprus citizenship through naturalisation.

The founder of a company registered under the Cyprus Startup Visa Scheme can apply for an innovative enterprise certificate and a tax deduction of up to 50% of the total taxable income for the year the investment is made (startup opening).

Conditions for obtaining and the amount of deduction:

• no more than €150,000 per year (the unused part of the deduction can be carried forward to future periods within 5 years);
• 50% deduction for companies that have not yet entered the market;
• 35% deduction for businesses with a market history of up to 10 years from registration or up to 7 years from the first sale;
• 20% deduction for projects requiring significant venture investments (more than 50% of the average annual turnover over 5 years) for developing a new product or expanding into new geographical markets.

Types of Cyprus Startup Visa

Talented entrepreneurs from countries outside the EU and EEA (both individually and as a team) gain the opportunity to enter, live and work in Cyprus to create or develop a technological startup.

Applications can be submitted both from abroad and while legally residing in Cyprus.

Individual Startup Visa

The visa is available to citizens of non-EU countries who act as the sole founder of an innovative startup.

The minimum charter capital of the startup is not specified in the official provisions of the programme, but when submitting the application, the founder must provide a business plan with proof of the financial viability of the enterprise for the next 3 years: budget and cash flow planning, fixed and variable costs, projected sales, monthly revenue.

When extending the startup visa, a minimum threshold of attracted investments appears — their amount should be at least €150,000.

Team Startup Visa

The visa is intended for teams of up to five people, consisting exclusively of citizens from non-EU countries. The team must consist of startup founders or include at least one founder and top management.

Under both programmes (individual and team), it is required that at least 25% of the company’s shares belong to one or more members of the applicant team.

An applicant who has obtained an individual startup visa can transition to the team type: within 3 years from the moment of approval, there is an opportunity to supplement the team composition. The maximum number of participants is five people.

The programme supports both the creation of new innovative startups and the transfer of existing projects to Cyprus. In the second case, two options are possible: a complete transfer of the business or the opening of a Cypriot branch.

Conditions for Obtaining a Startup Visa

Cyprus provides startup visas to managers of small enterprises that are not listed on the stock exchange and meet the following criteria:

• the company was registered no more than 5 years ago;
• the startup has not yet distributed profits and was not created through the merger of other companies;
• the enterprise is engaged in developing new products, services, or processes that create new markets or transform existing ones;
• the startup is based on new technologies, adaptation of existing ones, or implementation of new business models.

Category A: startups at a preliminary stage or with revenue up to €1 million

Projects that do not yet generate income from the sale of products or services. It is important to provide a business plan in English demonstrating:

• compliance with the definition of a startup according to EU Regulation No. 651/2014;
• the ability to create new or significantly improved products with high technological risk.

The business plan is reviewed by two independent experts. The project receives «innovative» status when achieving a score of 3 or higher on each criterion and 15 out of 20 or more in total from both experts. If such a result is obtained from only one expert, a third evaluator is involved, whose positive conclusion can be decisive.

Category B: startups with a threshold revenue level of €1 million

The company submits an application demonstrating how the proposed startup complies with EU Regulation No. 651/2014:

• sales revenue of at least €1 million before the last audit;
• research and development (R&D) expenses constitute at least 10% of operating costs in at least one of the three previous tax periods.

R&D expenses must be clearly defined in the financial statements, which must be confirmed by an external auditor’s certificate.

Procedure for Obtaining a Startup Visa in Cyprus

The basis of the application for a startup visa is a business plan that must demonstrate compliance with the criteria of an innovative enterprise according to EU regulations.

Although there is no universal form of a business plan for submitting an application, the Ministry of Innovation suggests covering the following steps:

1. The unique proposition of the startup (purpose and value).
2. The problem and its solution through the startup’s product.
3. Total market size, real audience, market niche.
4. Competitor analysis and leadership strategy.
5. Technological foundation of the startup.
6. Business model, cost structure, profit strategy.
7. Marketing strategy.
8. Team experience and achievements.
9. Financial forecasts.

The volume of the business plan should not exceed 10–15 pages.

Category B startups are exempt from preparing a business plan. Instead, the founder must provide financial statements and external audit results.

The application and business plan are submitted in English to the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy by email at [email protected] or at the office in Nicosia.

The business plan is evaluated by two independent experts according to the criteria of Annex IV. To obtain a visa, a minimum score of 15 out of 20 from both experts is required. Projects scoring more than 12 points but not reaching the passing threshold can be refined and resubmitted.

After successful evaluation, the applicant receives preliminary approval with the right to economic activity for 3 years. It’s important to note that approval does not guarantee visa issuance. Its formalisation is a separate process, adjacent to the registration of a company in Cyprus.

Submit an enquiry and receive a personal consultation on the types of residence permits in Cyprus and other EU countries from Tranio experts.

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Required documents

It is assumed that the applicant will register the startup as a separate company before applying for an entry visa. Read more about how to register a company in Cyprus in a separate article.

Package of documents required for applying for an entry visa:

• valid passport or travel document: validity of at least 2 years from the date of application;
• certificate of company registration;
• certificates of office availability and organisational structure (directors and shareholders of the company);
• confirmation of payment of the contribution to the company register;
• certificate of no tax arrears;
• notification of preliminary approval of the startup;
• certificate of no criminal record from the country of origin (or from the country of residence, if different);
• results of medical tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis.

Cost and timelines

You can submit an application to the Ministry of Innovation for free — all fees appear at the stage of company registration and visa processing.

When Is a Startup Considered Unsuccessful

Lack of growth and business scaling, as well as contribution to the development of the entrepreneurial environment, may be grounds for refusal to extend the Cyprus Startup Visa after the three-year period.

To extend the startup visa, the applicant must demonstrate an increase in startup revenue of at least 15% or attraction of investments of more than €150,000 during its operation period in Cyprus.

Additional necessary conditions for visa extension are considered to be:

• creation of at least three new jobs in Cyprus;
• participation in a local incubation or acceleration programme for technology enterprises;
• launch of a new innovative product or service.

It is sufficient to meet one criterion from the list.

During the re-evaluation of the startup, the team must provide international certificates in basic digital skills (IT, data analysis, project management). For an individual visa, at least two certificates in the specified areas are required; for a group — one certificate for each member.

Author: Maksim Skorykh