Advantages Of Cyprus

What make Cyprus one of the best places to live, to work and invest?

Why Cyprus?

The Republic of Cyprus has always been one of the most attractive places for tourism and business. The country’s evolvement the last 40 years has been a phenomenon.

Below you can find a great number of reasons why foreign buyers choose Cyprus for their holiday and permanent residence and why international companies choose Cyprus as their headquarters.

Strategic Location

With its ideal geographical position at the crossroads of three continents – Europe, Africa and Asia, Cyprus plays a key stabilizing 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.

Best Climate and Healthy Environment

We have lately asked one of our clients why he chose Cyprus in particular? His answer was brief – “because Cyprus is the only European country where one can bathe in the sea in November”. There are moreover 320 sunny days a year in Cyprus. At the same time there are mountains in Cyprus with snow cover in winter and with 4 ski lifts installed for skiers.

The environmental conditions are as good as the climate. Cyprus population is only 1mln people. There are no large industrial enterprises, which could pollute the environment. Car park is modern and uses only petrol/diesel of European quality. Forty nine Cyprus beaches, i.e. hundreds of kilometers of coast line have been awarded the international certificate of environmental friendliness “Blue Flag”.

Excellent Education System

Perhaps in Cyprus there is one of the best systems of secondary education in the entire Mediterranean. One can choose both English and Greek and even Russian schools.

There are private English schools providing complete cycle of primary and secondary education in all the major cities of Cyprus.

Tax System

Cyprus offers an attractive and transparent tax regime, fully compliant with EU, OECD 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 withholding taxes on dividend, interest and royalty payments abroad
  • No capital gains tax (except for disposal of real estate in Cyprus or shares of company holding real estate in Cyprus to the extent gains are attributable to the real estate holding)
  • No succession taxes
  • Attractive IP regime
  • Tonnage tax for shipping companies
  • Notional interest deduction for investments into Cyprus companies
  • Personal tax exemptions for new residents and non-domiciled individuals
  • More than 60 double tax treaties

EU and EU Member State

As a member of the European Union since 2004 and the European Monetary Union since 2008, Cyprus is committed quality, efficiency and transparency in transactions.

Its EU membership ensures safety and stability for investors, also offering them market access to more than 500 million EU citizens.

Easy Immigration Law

The immigration legislation is currently extremely liberal. Provided that you are purchasing property exceeding €300,000 you can obtain a permanent lifelong residence permit in the EU. Term of obtaining residence permit – 2 months maximum. Investors in the economy of Cyprus are entitled to obtain citizenship of Cyprus.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

Based on English Common Law principles, Cyprus’ comprehensive and robust legal and regulatory framework, is widely recognized 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 and Quality Services

Human talent constitutes one of Cyprus’ most compelling advantages, 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.

Advanced Infrastructure

With a constantly evolving system of advanced and modern infrastructure, Cyprus offers sophisticated road, air and sea transport solutions and services, which are widely recognised as an important competitive advantage in attracting foreign direct investment.

Cyprus’ two multi-purpose deep sea ports are located in the coastal cities of Limassol and Larnaca. The Limassol port handles both passenger and freight cargo while offering logistics solutions through advanced facilities for cost-effective transport and processing. In addition, the Limassol port is a renowned cruise liner hub and a popular “stop-over” for international cruise ships.

Two modern international airports in Larnaca and Paphos, offer their services to approximately 10 million visitors per year, connecting the island to the most popular transit hubs throughout the world.

Considerable investment has also been made to transform the island into a major telecommunications hub in the region, connecting Cyprus via submarine fiber optic cable and satellite to other networks in the Eastern Mediterranean basin and beyond.

Safe and Comfortable Life

In Cyprus there is one of the lowest crime rate in the European Union. There are no places where it is not recommended to purchase property due to proximity to this or that problematic area. There are no steel entrance doors as a notion. Fencing height is limited to 1.2m.

Cyprus is a European country on the one hand. There is democracy and order there. On the other hand the whole Cyprus life is wrapped around by the spirit of openness and lightness opposite to the heavy spirit of pedantry and life according to the rules. One of the reasons is surely small size of the country where people know one another. One can come to a bakery and, having forgotten to bring along money, ask to be allowed to take a loaf of bread and to bring the money later on.

Cypriots are not xenophobes. In contrast to residents of many other countries Cypriots historically treat foreigners very well. Almost all the Cypriots speak English and at a high level at that. Cypriots gladly and willingly marry foreigners.

High Quality of Life

Cyprus offers an enviable lifestyle in a safe, clean and healthy environment with high living standards. Low crime levels, year-round sunshine, centuries of art and culture, and a delicious gastronomy all contribute to a high quality of life.

Safety is amongst the biggest advantages of Cyprus, which has been ranked the safest smaller country in ValuePenguin’s Safest Countries in the world (2015) and fifth worldwide.

The government’s commitment to the continuous introduction of progressive measures for reform and growth has resulted in the impressive recovery of the Cypriot economy, much earlier than expected. Cyprus constitutes today a success story for the EU, a fact enhanced by continuous upgrades from credit rating agencies, such as Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s.

By continuously enhancing and developing key economic sectors, introducing structural changes and important reductions in expenses and operational costs, Cyprus has regained its credibility and reinforced its competitiveness as an attractive investment destination offering numerous opportunities and potential.