Corporate Administrative Services
Cyprus is an ex British colony and member of the Commonweal of Nations, a member of the United Nations, and a full European Union Member State since 2004. Cyprus has a strategic geographical position being located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa so businessmen have easy access many important business locations such as London, Frankfurt, Dubai and Hong Kong. It is a financial, hospitality and service centre with a big Russian and British community; it has ties with many countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Africa and Australia and is a popular jurisdiction for setting up companies with offshore activities, and for residence.
- Being a full EU member, Cyprus implements:
- Free movement of goods without any import taxes and VAT being paid only once.
- Free movement workers without visa restrictions.
- Free movement of services and establishment of companies or business without restrictions.
- Free movement of capital and funds earned or transferred in Cyprus are not subject to any restrictions, which allow any amount to be transferred to any bank internationally.
Cyprus has political and legal stability with a reliable legislative and regulatory framework, and being a member of the Eurozone it uses the euro (€) as its currency which means that economic transactions are stable, assured and with low inflation. It has an advantageous and stable tax environment and the lowest corporate tax in Europe at 12.5%, enriched by many double taxation treaties and agreements (with over 60 countries worldwide) guaranteeing that income is not taxed in more than one country at the same time.
Cyprus has a good motorway infrastructure linking all major cities together, a well maintained road network, two international airports, two ports, easy access to the internet and reliable telecommunications.
Cyprus has easy legal and governmental procedures with minimum bureaucracya favourable business climate, a lucrative property market, good services, an advantageous tax and banking system, a liberalised foreign investment regime, and a broad network of high level specialized multilingual professionals in the legal, accounting and banking sectors as well as highly qualified labour force.
For the individuals, Cyprus offers a westernised society, vibrant modern cities with good public and private education at all levels with many schools and universities, and good public and private hospitals with good medical services. For leisure it offers marinas, golf courses, five star large and boutique hotels, shopping centres, restaurants offering dishes from worldwide cuisine, cafés and cosmopolitan nightlife. Culturally, Cyprus offers, small, quaint and picturesque villages, open air markets, traditional taverns, coffee shops, museums, art galleries, ancient and historical sites and other cultural riches. Cyprus also offers sandy beaches with clean warm waters and scenic mountains and nature trails. It has a temperate climate with short and mild winters and long and hot summers.
Cyprus is well known for its comfortable standard of living, low crime rate and safety, family life, good housing standards, and comparatively low cost of living. According to the latest publication of the Human Development Index (HDI), a measure of the standard of living of a country, published by the UNDP, in 2017 Cyprus ranked as the 33st highest in the world (among 187 economies), with an HDI of 0.856, life expectancy at birth at, 80.3 years, expected years of schooling at 14.3 years, and Gross National income (GNI) per capita at $29,459 per annum.
From Cyprus, a businessman may purchase property or invest in any EU Member State with capital gains from the sale of immovable property situated outside Cyprus being tax exempt. Its climate and relaxed lifestyle offer a good location for permanent residence or for a second home or property investment.
Businessmen and Investors can also obtain Cypriot residency or citizenship and take advantage of various schemes for them and for their families i.e. spouse, children (under 18 years old), and adult dependent children e.g. university students (from 18 years up to 28 years old). For investors who would like to obtain citizenship there is no requirement to be physically present in Cyprus either before or after obtaining citizenship.
No Cypriot citizen is a tax resident unless they reside in Cyprus for more than 183 days per year.
Facts and figures about Cyprus.
Location:South East Mediterranean at the crossroads of three continents.
Area: 9.251 sq. km. The southern part of the island is controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and the Northern part of the island is a Turkish Protectorate with the Turkish population leaving mostly in the north.
Climate: Temperate Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and mild winters.
Population: Greek 832,000 (2011 census), Turkish, 332,000 (est.)
GDP Per Capita: (US$) 32,195 (2017).
Capital: Nicosia.
Religions: Christian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Christian Maronite, Christian Catholic, Muslim.
Official languages: Greek, Turkish (English widely spoken).
Legal System: Common law.
Government: Independent Sovereign Presidential Republic.
Economy: Services-oriented free market economy.
Competitiveness: Cyprus ranks 64th among 144 economies (World Economic Forum, Competitiveness Index 2017-2018).
Doing Business: Cyprus ranked 53rd among 185 economies worldwide based on the “Doing Business Report 2018” of the World Bank.
Currency: Euro (€).
Main Sectors: Financial & Insurance Activities; Real Estate; Banking; Professional; Scientific & Technical Activities; Tourism.
Export partners: United Kingdom 12%, Greece 10.2%, Sweden 6.9%, Liberia 5.8%, Libya 4.9%.
Import partners: European Union 65%, Asia 15%, Middle East 10%, Other European 3%, USA 7%.
Main airports: Larnaca International and Paphos International.
Memberships: The United Nations (1960). European Union (2004) and Eurozone (2008), The World Trade Organization (1995), IMF (1962), The World Bank (1962), The Commonwealth (1961), The Council of Europe (1961).