Employment at a company of foreign interests (Strategy for attracting companies to operate and/or expand their activities in Cyprus)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Εταιρείες Ξένων Συμφερόντων as of 2025-12-30[1][3] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Employment at a company of foreign interests (Strategy for attracting companies to operate and/or expand their activities in Cyprus) as of 2025-12-30[1][3] The department's own English rendering; English is not an official language of Cyprus. |
| Legal basis | Council of Ministers Decision of 15 October 2021 approving the Strategy for attracting companies to operate and/or expand their activities in Cyprus, in force since 2 January 2022; applied on top of the conditions set out in the legislation for the single permit. The Strategy abolished and replaced the previous policy on the employment of personnel from third countries by companies of foreign interests. as of 2025-12-30[1][3] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2025-12-30[1][3] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2025-12-30[1][3] The regime applies to third-country nationals; EU and EEA nationals are recorded as outside its scope on that basis. Whether Swiss nationals are likewise outside its scope is not stated. |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source[1][3][4] Not stated. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 1 to 3 years as of 2025-12-30[1][3][4] 'The duration of the permit depends on the duration of the employment contract and can be up to three consecutive years.' The fee schedule prices permits 'valid for 1–3 years', which supplies the lower bound. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | matches the contract |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-12-30[1][3][4] |
| Maximum total duration | Not applicable[1][3][4] For highly paid employees there is no maximum: 'a third country national employed at a company of foreign interests as highly paid may reside in the Republic without a time limit, provided that they hold a valid temporary residence and employment permit.' For support staff the general restrictions on employment of third-country nationals apply (four years — see cy-single-permit-gen). |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2025-12-30[1][3][4] Employment with the company of foreign interests named on the permit. A highly paid employee may change employer regardless of length of stay provided the new employment is found within one month of the previous employment ending and the new company is also a company of foreign interests under the Council of Ministers' criteria, as examined by the Business Facilitation Unit. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2025-12-30[1][3] Highly paid employment requires 'possession of an employment contract of at least two years' duration'. Even where a one-year permit is applied for, the contract must run for two years. |
|---|---|
| Salary threshold | |
| Labour-market test | No as of 2025-12-30[1][3] Expressly disapplied for highly paid employment: companies 'can freely employ any number of highly paid third-country nationals without going through a labour market check.' For employment at the supportive level, by contrast, 'a labour market test and a sealed contract by the Department of Labour are necessary' — that limb is covered by cy-single-permit-gen. |
| Qualification requirement | degree, equivalent experience as of 2025-12-30[1][3] 'Possession of relevant academic qualifications or at least two years of relevant experience to the position to be filled.' The two limbs are alternatives. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2025-12-30[1][3] The employer must be on the Migration Department's Register of Foreign Interest Companies. Businesses not already registered must first register with the Business Support Centre operated by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, which checks eligibility and issues written confirmation; companies registered before 2022 continue under the Strategy without further formalities but must update their information annually. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2025-12-30[1][3] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2025-12-30[1][3][4] A highly paid third-country national may enter for this purpose either on a visa from the Republic's consular authorities abroad or on an entry permit applied for by the employer. For support staff, entry is allowed only with an entry permit. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | 1 month as of 2025-12-30[1][3][4] 'Applications shall be examined within one month, provided that they are duly completed.' The Strategy itself sets the examination time at one month. |
| Fees |
|
| Quota |
|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2025-12-30[2] 'Third country nationals employed in companies of foreign interests as Directors or Key Personnel executives are able to exercise their right to family reunification.' The right is stated for those two categories; the page does not state it for Specialists or support staff. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child as of 2025-12-30[2] Spouse and minor children. Where the spouse or dependent children temporarily fail the family-reunification conditions — for example because of passport validity or the length of the marriage — temporary residence permits for Dependent Visitors may be issued instead. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source[2] Not stated. |
| Family members' work rights | employment only as of 2025-12-29[5] 'Spouses/partners in civil unions of employees at companies of foreign interests have free access to paid employment, i.e. a sealed contract from the Department of Labour is not required… Such spouses/partners do not have access to self-employment.' |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2025-12-29 |
| Newest as-of date | 2025-12-30 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Εταιρείες Ξένων Συμφερόντων
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [2] Family members of third country nationals employed at companies of foreign interests
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [3] Companies of Foreign Interests — Legislation and policy
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [4] Companies of Foreign Interests — Procedure for application submission for entry and residence, processing time and maximum duration of residence
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-30 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [5] Family members of certain third country nationals that are legally residing in Cyprus (FR family reunification)
Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-29 · Accessed 2026-08-08