EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: the yellow slip
Key figure: Deadline after entry4 months
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen staying more than 3 months files form MEU1 within 4 months of entry and pays €20. The Migration Department decides within 1 month, and the certificate has no expiry date.
Registration rests on one of three grounds: work, self-employment, or sufficient resources with sickness insurance. An Irish passport qualifies, because Ireland is an EU member state; a UK passport does not.
We prepare and file MEU1 from €400, in 5–15 working days.
Moving to Cyprus from the UK after Brexit
Key figure: Pink slip decision time4 months
MEU1 is closed to third-country nationals, and a UK passport is not an EU, EEA or Swiss one. A British citizen moving to Cyprus now applies as a non-EU national: the pink slip alone usually takes 4 months from a complete file.
Choose by what you will do in Cyprus. A job offer from a company of foreign interests points to the work permit. Remote work for a UK employer or UK clients points to the digital nomad visa. Retirement or savings without any work points to the pink slip. Capital to invest points to permanent residence.
UK nationals who settled in Cyprus before Brexit hold residence documents under separate rules; this guide covers people moving now.
When this applies
Refused once already?
A refusal letter states its grounds. Send it to us with the original file: we compare each ground with the list for your route and tell you whether to refile on the same route or switch to another one. A refiled pink slip is examined again, usually within 4 months.
Job in Cyprus: the work permit
Key figure: Minimum gross salary€2,500/month
A highly paid employee of a company of foreign interests needs a gross salary of at least €2,500/month, a relevant degree or experience, and a contract with the employer. The permit is issued in about 1 month and runs up to 3 years.
The employer applies, not you, and it must first be registered with the Business Facilitation Unit. For support-level staff a labour market test applies, which is why junior roles are harder to move on.
We prepare the employer's file from €1,200.
Remote work: the digital nomad visa
Key figure: Minimum net monthly income€3,500/month
Remote workers for employers or clients abroad need a stable net income of €3,500/month and apply within 3 months of arrival. The decision takes 5 weeks; the first permit is valid for 1 year.
The scheme is capped at 500 permits. Family members can join but may not work in Cyprus. Spending more than 183 days in Cyprus in a tax year makes a nomad Cyprus tax resident, which matters for anyone still on a UK payroll.
No work in Cyprus: the pink slip
Key figure: Pink slip fee€70
The visitor permit, known as the pink slip, costs €70 per issue or renewal, lasts 1 year and forbids any economic activity in Cyprus. You enter with a visa and file form MVIS8 before that visa expires.
Cost for a couple with two children, each holding their own permit: 4 × (€70 + €70) = €560 in Migration Department fees for the first year. The same family with EU passports would pay 4 × €20 = €80 for four yellow slips.
The Migration Department page gives no income figure for the pink slip, so we check your bank evidence against current practice on the day we build the file. Our fee for the main applicant starts at €900.
Can you move to Cyprus permanently?
Key figure: Fast-track minimum investment€300,000
Yes, by three routes. The fast-track permit needs an investment of €300,000 plus secured income of €50,000/year, with a decision in about 2 months; holders may not take jobs in Cyprus except as directors of the company they invested in.
Category F of the general immigration permit asks for secured income from abroad of €9,568/year and has no published examination time. EU long-term resident status comes after 5 years of legal, continuous residence.
Citizenship is a separate step: 8 years of residence plus Greek at B1. Cyprus has had no citizenship-by-investment route since 1 November 2020.
Tax identification number (TIN)
Key figure: Company TIN deadline60 days
A Cyprus company must obtain its TIN within 60 days of incorporation. The application goes to the Tax Department as a taxpayer registration.
For individuals our reference holds no deadline and no form number, so we do not quote one here; the TIN guide covers the individual procedure.
Tax residency: the 183-day and 60-day tests
Key figure: Minimum days in Cyprus60 days
You are Cyprus tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Cyprus in a calendar year, or at least 60 days under the 60-day rule. That rule also needs a permanent home in Cyprus, a job, office or business here, and no more than 183 days in any other single state.
A resident who is not Cyprus-domiciled pays 0% Special Defence Contribution on dividends, until deemed domicile after 17 years of residence. From 2026 the first €22,000/year of chargeable income is taxed at zero.
Residency is not automatic from a permit: you prove the days and the home yourself. We prepare the residency file and non-dom registration from €500.
Working for yourself: register a company
Key figure: Incorporation fee€165
The Registrar of Companies charges €165 to incorporate a company with share capital. The Registrar publishes no service time; a secondary source puts it at about 10 days including name approval.
A company does not by itself give its owner a residence right: a non-EU founder still needs a permit, such as the work permit or the startup visa. We register the company from €1,200, in 7–15 working days.
Living in Cyprus: pros and cons on paper
Key figure: Tax-free income band€22,000/year
The biggest measurable plus is tax: from 2026 the first €22,000/year of chargeable income is taxed at zero. The biggest minus for British movers is the loss of free movement: every route above has an income test, a quota or a work ban.
Advantages
Tax residency after 60 days under the 60-day rule, if you keep a home and a business or job in Cyprus.
0% Special Defence Contribution on dividends for non-domiciled residents.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register on MEU1 for €20, with a decision within 1 month.
A yellow slip, once issued, has no expiry date to track.
Disadvantages
Cyprus is outside the Schengen area, so a Cyprus permit does not replace Schengen visa rules for non-EU holders.
The pink slip forbids any work in Cyprus, and the digital nomad scheme is capped at 500 permits.
Citizenship takes 8 years of residence and Greek at B1.
Rent, salaries and living costs are not in our reference, so we do not quote them; check current figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service before you budget.
Who this guide is not for
The routes above assume a stay of more than 3 months and a passport you already hold.
- Short visits: MEU1 registration starts at stays of more than 3 months, and this guide covers moves, not holidays.
- Anyone looking for citizenship by investment: that programme closed on 1 November 2020.
- Buyers of a holiday home: property alone gives no residence right unless it meets the €300,000 fast-track test. See the property checklist instead.
- UK nationals already resident in Cyprus before Brexit: your status follows separate rules.