How much time a shelf company saves
Key figure: Company registration time10 days
The saving is the Registrar’s incorporation time, about 10 days by a secondary source, since the Registrar publishes no service time of its own.
Compare the two packages directly: 3–7 working days of our work for a transfer against 7–15 working days for a new company. The change of directors still has to be recorded by the Registrar, and that processing time is not published either, so the real gap is smaller than the package terms suggest.
What the shelf route costs in total
Key figure: Registrar incorporation fee€165
A new company costs our fee from €1,200 plus the Registrar’s incorporation fee of €165. The shelf route costs our fee from €2,500, the Registrar’s filing fees for the changes, and the price the current owner asks for the company.
This page names no specific shelf company and quotes no seller prices. When you bring us a specific company, or ask us to look at one offered to you, we check its file first and tell you what it carries before you pay the seller.
What we check before the shares change hands
Key figure: Statutory auditYes
Audited financial statements are required every year, and the annual return goes to the Registrar within 28 days of the statements’ drafting date. A company that sat on a shelf without those filings arrives in default.
We read the Registrar’s file for the certificate of incorporation, the current officers, the registered office and every annual return. We confirm the company obtained its tax number within 60 days of incorporation, and we ask the seller for bank statements to show that nothing ever moved through an account.
Levies from before the abolition
The levy stopped for the years from its abolition on 15 March 2024, yet unpaid amounts for earlier years remain due. We check the Registrar’s record and name any arrears in writing.
Beneficial ownership after the transfer
Key figure: Register of Beneficial OwnersYes
Every company must keep its entry in the Register of Beneficial Owners current: the value in our reference is “Yes”. When the shares move to you, we file the new beneficial owner so the register matches the share register.
You will be asked for passport copies, proof of address and the source of the money used to buy the company. The same documents are needed for a new company, so the shelf route does not shorten this part.
Tax residence of a Cyprus company
Key figure: Local director requiredNo
From 1 January 2026, a company incorporated in Cyprus is tax resident there unless a tax treaty says otherwise, whatever year it was incorporated. Company law asks for at least 1 director with no residency condition.
Age brings no tax advantage. A company incorporated years ago pays the same corporate tax as one registered last week.
Bank accounts and company age
Key figure: Business account for a non-resident companyDifficult
Opening an account for a non-resident company is rated “difficult” in our reference, and a shelf company gets no easier treatment. Central Bank of Cyprus guidance asks banks to decide case by case on companies without physical presence or economic substance.
Banks vet the people who own and run the company after the transfer, and some ask for one branch visit.
Who this is not for
For most buyers, a new company at €1,200 plus €165 is the better route. A shelf company is the wrong choice in these cases.
- You want the company to look established to a bank or a client. Its incorporation date says nothing about trading, and banks look at the new owners.
- You are moving to Cyprus on passive income and need a company only to hold investments. Waiting about 10 days for a clean Ltd costs less than a shelf company.
- You cannot get bank statements and filing records from the seller. Without them the history cannot be confirmed.
- You need a public company. Shelf stock is private companies limited by shares.