The income test: remote work first, passive income on top
Key figure: Minimum income€3,500/month
The Migration Department asks for a stable net income of at least €3,500/month from remote work for an employer registered abroad or for clients abroad.
Rent, dividends and interest can add to your budget, but they do not replace the remote-work condition. A household that lives on investment income alone and does no work fits the visitor permit, the “pink slip”, which allows no economic activity in Cyprus.
What we count as proof
We ask for the employment contract or client contracts, bank statements showing the payments arriving, and a tax return or payslips that show the net figure. Where income varies from month to month, we compare the average with the threshold before anything is filed.
The cap on permits
Key figure: Permit cap500
No more than 500 digital nomad permits can be in force at once. Cap raised from 100 to 500 permits on 3 Mar 2022; the Migration Department is accepting applications again with the cap unchanged at 500.
On 31 December 2025 the scheme was recorded as accepting applications again. Because the number of permits is capped, we check that the scheme is open on the day we file.
Changed
Digital Nomad Visa scheme accepting applications again; cap remains 500 permits.
Checked on cy-md-digital-nomad
Arrival, filing and the decision
Key figure: Processing time5 weeks
The Migration Department examines a complete file in 5–7 weeks.
Apply within 3 months of arrival at the Migration Department in Nicosia. In practice you enter Cyprus first, visa-free or on an entry visa, and the 3 months window starts on the day of arrival. Our own part, 15–30 working days, runs from your brief to submission and can start while you are still abroad.
Spouse and children on the same permit route
Key figure: Family includedYes
Your family can join you: Spouse/civil partner and minor children, without the right to work in Cyprus.
Our fact reference does not state how much the income threshold rises for each family member. We confirm the figure from the Migration Department page on the day we check your file and write it into your quote.
How long you can stay
Key figure: Permit validity1 year
The first permit runs for 1 year. First permit 1 year; renewal for up to 2 more years.
Each renewal carries the permit fee of €70 per person again. Staying on after the last renewal needs a different status: a work permit, a startup visa or permanent residence.
Digital nomad tax in Cyprus
Key figure: Tax-free personal income band€22,000/year
Staying more than 183 days in a tax year makes the holder Cyprus tax resident. The visa itself does not change that day count.
Once you are resident, personal income tax starts above €22,000/year a year and reaches 35% at the top band, from 1 January 2026. A resident without a Cyprus domicile pays 0% Special Defence Contribution on dividends, against 5% for domiciled individuals under the same reform.
The 60-day tax residency rule can make you resident after 60 days, but it also requires a business, a job or an office held in Cyprus in the same year. Remote work for a foreign employer alone is not on that list.
Who this is not for
The permit is built for remote employees and freelancers with foreign clients earning €3,500/month or more. It is the wrong route in these cases.
- You live on rent, dividends or a pension and do no remote work. The visitor permit is the category for that.
- You want to take a job with a Cyprus employer or sell to Cyprus clients. The permit covers work for foreign employers and clients only.
- Your spouse needs to work in Cyprus. Family members on this route have no right to work there.
- You are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen. You register for a yellow slip instead.
- You want a long-term base: the permit and its renewals end after the period in the rule “First permit 1 year; renewal for up to 2 more years.”