“Offering a combination of ease of doing business, natural beauty & high quality of life, CYPRUS allows investors and their families to enjoy the best of both worlds”.
STRATEGIC LOCATION
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. As a member of the wider EU and Euro zone community, Cyprus ensures safety and stability for investors, while also offering them market access to more than 500 million EU citizens. The local infrastructure is ideally suited for business people who need to get things done. Thanks to its modern road network, extensive port facilities and two new international airports, travel and transport in and beyond Cyprus is fast, efficient and economical.
TOURISM IN CYPRUS
Being one of the island’s most resilient economic sectors, tourism continuously experiences substantial growth. Tourist arrivals in Cyprus between January and November 2023 reached 3,722,022 visitors, reflecting a notable increase of 20.4% when compared to the same period in 2022. Not only is Cyprus blessed with exceptional natural beauty and millennia of history, it is also well known for the hospitality of its people, its appealing gastronomy and rich culture. With its golden sandy beaches and clear blue waters, beautiful mountains and vineyards, pleasant Mediterranean climate, year-round sunshine, Cyprus caters to all tastes.
QUALITY OF LIFE
High quality of life is without a doubt one of Cyprus’ most compelling advantages. Indicatively, the island was ranked as the 5th best relocation destination worldwide by the Knight Frank Global Lifestyle Review, while Limassol, the second biggest city in Cyprus has been ranked 4th best retirement destination globally by the Knight Frank Global Lifestyle Review.
NATURAL BEAUTY & CLIMATE
Cyprus has an excellent Mediterranean climate with more than 320 days of sunshine. Many coastlines with beautiful sandy beaches and clear blue waters as well as glorious mountains of wild natural beauty create the best combination and place Cyprus as a destination of all seasons. According to Cyprus Tourism Organization, the island consistently receives awards, accolades and top rankings for its water quality and safety, its eco-initiatives and the general cleanliness of its beaches. Cyprus is the proud recipient of 76 Blue Flag beaches (74 beaches and 2 Marinas – 2022) – an eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas across the globe that meet its standards – and is also regularly crowned ‘Cleanest Bathing Waters in Europe,’ with Cyprus consistently reaching the highest scores in the Mediterranean, year after year.
SAFETY & SECURITY
Among its many attributes, Cyprus also boasts safety. The Island has less violent crime than other European countries of similar size. Cyprus was nominated as the SAFEST country in the world of population less than 5 million people and at the same time to be one of the safest countries in the world in general. The island is known as a safe place to live with the crime rate being only 1/6 of the E.U average. Children and the elderly can safely walk the streets alone and the environment is a warm, welcoming one.
TAX ADVANTAGES
Cyprus is certainly among the countries with the lowest corporate tax rate. This is a great advantage for the expansion of business activities especially taking into consideration the treaties that Cyprus has signed with several countries, for the avoidance of double taxation, when a company is registered in two countries, for instance Cyprus and Russia. Cyprus offers an attractive and transparent tax regime, fully compliant with EU, OECD and international laws and regulations. Providing access to an extensive network of more than 60 Double Tax Treaties, and maintaining a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, one of the lowest in the EU. Cyprus offers international investors and domestic businesses confidence to invest, grow and prosper. Some of the main features of the Cypriot tax system include: Dividend participation exemption – Exemption on disposal of securities (e.g. shares, bonds, debentures) – No inheritance taxes – No withholding taxes – Attractive IP regime – Tonnage tax for shipping companies – No tax on dividends.
LEGAL SYSTEM
Cyprus offers a robust and transparent legal and regulatory framework along with an attractive tax regime, which offers a wide range of incentives and advantages both for legal and naturalised persons. Cyprus’ legal system, based on English Common Law principles, is widely recognised as a business-friendly and effective system that ensures transparency and reliability in business practices. 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.
DOUBLE TAX TREATIES
Cyprus has an extensive network of Double Tax Treaties with 58 countries around the World attracting International investment to and from Cyprus. The establishment of Double Taxation Treaties with multiple countries aim to remove the double taxation of income or gains that arises from one region to another region. They work by dividing the tax rights of each country claims by its domestic laws over the same income and gains.
EDUCATION
Education is a major aspect of the important benefits that one may gain as a citizen of the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus has two highly recognized public universities (University of Cyprus and Cyprus University of Technology). Cypriot citizens who secure places at state universities are not subject to any tuition fees as all undergraduate courses are free. Additionally, Cypriot citizens have the right to study in another EU Member States with the same conditions and fees as nationals of the said country. This is an exceptional advantage given that several EU Member States provide free education or low tuition fees for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. A great example of counties with low or free tuition fees are Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Greece.
HEALTHCARE
The Republic of Cyprus provides healthcare at extremely low costs and in many cases public hospital charges are non-existent. All EU citizens have extensive and clear rights with respect to healthcare in any of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Cypriot public hospitals are equipped with the latest technology which aims to provide high quality healthcare. As with respect to healthcare in any of the 27 EU Member States, patients have the benefit to receive healthcare in any EU Member State and receive treatment under the same conditions and at the same cost as people insured in that Member State.
