Moving to Cyprus: the complete guide to permits, tax and the first months

If you want to move to Cyprus, immigration to Cyprus comes down to four decisions: your residence route, your tax residence, the paperwork at home and the practical set-up here. Moving to Cyprus starts with your passport. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can live and work here freely and register for a Yellow Slip (form MEU1) within four months of arrival; the fee is €20. Others need a permit that fits their purpose: a visitor permit (Pink Slip) if you live on foreign income of at least €2,000 a month, with no local work; a digital nomad permit with net income of at least €3,500 a month; a work permit that your employer applies for; or Category F or investment-based permanent residence. Tax residence is separate: more than 183 days in Cyprus in a tax year, or at least 60 days under the 60-day rule if you work or run a business here, keep a home here and spend no more than 183 days in any other country. From 2026 every tax resident aged 25 to 70 registers with the Tax Department. Get home documents apostilled before you leave.

It is for people planning a move to Cyprus to live, work, retire or run a company here, alone or with family. We are a relocation and business setup company, not a law firm or a government office: we confirm your route, prepare the files and keep you updated. Work that Cyprus law reserves to advocates or auditors is signed by a licensed advocate or ICPAC-registered auditor.

Start with the route finder if you are not sure which permit fits, and the move plan to put the steps in order.

Your passport decides the starting point.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can stay three months with an ID card or passport. To stay longer you must work or be self-employed here, or have enough money and comprehensive health insurance, and apply for a registration certificate (form MEU1, the Yellow Slip) within four months of entry. The fee is €20 and the certificate has no expiry date.
• Non-EU citizens living on income from abroad usually apply for a visitor permit (the Pink Slip) on form MVIS8. It does not allow work in Cyprus. The official checklist asks for foreign income of at least €2,000 a month for one person, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child, paid into a Cyprus bank account. The fees are €70 for the permit and €70 for the first registration.
• Remote workers from outside the EU can apply for the digital nomad permit within three months of arrival, with net income of at least €3,500 a month. The scheme is capped at 500 permits.
• People hired by a Cyprus employer get a work and residence permit that the employer applies for; see work permits.
• Retirees with a stable income often look at Category F, and investors at permanent residence.

Compare the two most common routes in Pink Slip or Yellow Slip, or see all routes on the residency page.

Most delays come from documents obtained at home. A Pink Slip application needs a recent criminal record certificate, and civil status papers such as marriage and birth certificates for family members. Foreign documents must be officially translated and certified, usually with an apostille.

• Order the criminal record certificate close to the move, so it is still recent when you file.
• Get apostilles in the country that issued the document; see apostille and translation.
• Check passports: a visitor permit ends three months before the passport expires.

Use the document checklist and read documents to prepare before moving.

A residence permit and tax residence are different things. Under the Income Tax Law you are Cyprus tax resident if you spend more than 183 days here in a tax year. The 60-day rule makes you resident earlier if, in the same tax year, you spend at least 60 days here, do not stay more than 183 days in any other country, work, run a business or hold an office as director of a Cyprus tax-resident company that is not ended during the year, and keep a home here that you own or rent.

From the 2026 tax year, every Cyprus tax resident aged 25 to 70 must register in the Tax Register, regardless of income. Registration is online only, through the Tax For All portal. You also need a tax number and social insurance number to work; see TIN and social insurance.

Read residence vs tax residency and the 60-day rule, count your days with the days tracker, and estimate pay after tax with the net salary calculator. For the non-dom regime and planning, see non-dom and tax planning.

Leaving your home country has its own rules, and they decide when its tax claims end. Typical questions are deregistration, exit tax on shares and the residence test of the country you leave. We have pages for the most common starting points:

• Moving from Germany: Abmeldung and Wegzugsbesteuerung; check it with the German exit tax calculator.
• Moving from the UK: the statutory residence test, split year and pensions.
• Moving from Israel: centre of life and departure tax.
• Moving from the US: citizenship-based tax and the Cyprus–US treaty.
• Moving from Austria or Switzerland: deregistration and exit rules.

See also exit tax and, for pensioners, retiring to Cyprus.

Living in Cyprus looks different in each city. Limassol is the business hub, Nicosia the capital with ministries and universities, Larnaca sits next to the main airport, and Paphos is popular with retirees. Compare them on our city pages:

• Living in Limassol
• Living in Nicosia
• Living in Larnaca
• Living in Paphos
• Troodos villages

Most people rent first; see long-term rentals or temporary housing. If you plan to buy, read buying property in Cyprus. A rental contract or title deed is also one of the permit documents.

• Bank account: needed for the Pink Slip income proof and for daily life; see bank accounts.
• Health cover: the public system GESY covers people who work in Cyprus, permanent residents, family members of beneficiaries and people insured in another EU country (S1). A visitor permit holder who does not work here is not covered by default and needs private insurance; see health insurance.
• Utilities, schools and car: see utilities, schools and nurseries, car registration and road tax. The car import calculator shows duty and VAT before you ship a car.
• Moving your things and pets: removals and shipping, pet relocation.

Keep the first month checklist at hand.

Official fees are small compared with translations, insurance and rent. A Yellow Slip costs €20 and is decided within one month of a complete file. A visitor permit costs €70 plus €70 for the first registration and is usually decided within four months. A digital nomad permit has the same fees and a stated processing time of five to seven weeks. Other costs, such as lawyers, translations and health insurance, vary with your case; ask for a quote before you start.

• Arriving without apostilled documents, then waiting weeks for them from abroad.
• Missing the deadline: four months for the Yellow Slip, three months for the digital nomad permit, and before the visa expires for a visitor permit.
• Treating a residence permit as tax residence, or the other way round.
• Working in Cyprus on a visitor permit, which does not allow it.
• Leaving home without checking exit tax or the home country's residence test.

If your family has several nationalities, you own shares or a company, or you plan to work here, a mistake in the order of steps costs time and money. Our relocation package coordinates the permit, tax registration, housing and bank account, and a licensed Cyprus advocate signs any legal opinion your case needs; see find a lawyer.