Wealth & Estate
Founder Relocation
Personal relocation to Cyprus aligned with the corporate structure and the exit plan.
What we do
We handle a founder's move to Cyprus and the company's side of it as one exercise. Permit or registration, tax registration, the non-domiciled claim, health cover, the address evidence the Migration Department asks for, and the board and governance changes on the company.
For a founder-led business those are not two questions. Where the founder is the person actually deciding, their own location is part of what the company's residency position rests on, alongside the resident board and the governance record that evidence it. Moving one without the other leaves a gap that has to be explained later.
What you get
- Route selection modelled against the travel and family circumstances you actually have
- For an EU or EEA national: the registration certificate, the MEU1 or yellow slip, due within four months of entry and with no expiry after that
- For a third country national: the work permit application, medical certificate, employment contract, and the annual renewals that follow
- Personal tax registration, and the non-domiciled claim
- Health insurance arranged with the premium included, where it is required
- The accommodation evidence the Migration Department asks for, whether the property is leased in your own name or provided by the company
- The same applications for a spouse, partner and children, prepared alongside rather than after
- Employment structuring where the Cyprus company will employ you, including the 50 percent and 25 percent income exemptions
- Board and governance changes timed so the company's management and control move with you
- Personal and company banking, with the documentation prepared ahead of the applications
How it works
Sequencing comes first. Both residency routes are measured across the calendar year, so the opening question is which year the move lands in and what that means for anything you have in view. A relocation begun in the autumn is a relocation for the following tax year.
The permit and the tax position are not the same exercise. Several popular routes into Cyprus specifically prohibit working here, which is exactly the tie the 60 day test needs, so we match the immigration route to the tax outcome rather than solving one and discovering the other.
Family circumstances are facts rather than details. Where a spouse stays abroad or children remain in school elsewhere, the treaty tie-breaker may not land where you expect. We raise it early, because it is the point on which otherwise sound relocations fail.
How the country you are leaving treats your departure belongs to an adviser there. We advise on the Cyprus position and give you the list of questions to put to them, usually answered in one meeting.
Working with us
Four steps, and the first one is a conversation
A call
Where you are now, who is coming with you, and roughly when. No charge for it.
A proposal in writing
Fixed fees, not estimates, per person, with the timetable and the year the move lands in.
You accept
Engagement letter signed, then onboarding. Neither takes long.
You are here, and registered
Permit or registration certificate issued, tax registration and non-domiciled status in place, health cover running, and the company's board moved on the same timeline.
Common questions
Which comes first, the company or the move?
They are planned together, and the order depends on the route. A founder using the 60 day test needs a Cyprus tie, usually the company, so the corporate side leads. A founder intending to spend more than 183 days here does not, and the sequence is freer.
How long does the immigration side take?
For an EU, EEA or Swiss national, registration is due within four months of entry, costs 20 euro at the counter and is commonly decided in days. For a third country national it is a permit application rather than a registration, the counter fee is 150 euro, and the company's own registration has to be in place first.
Do I need to renew anything?
An EU registration certificate does not expire, so there is nothing annual to budget for. Third country permits and their health insurance both renew every year, for the permit holder and for each family member, and we run those renewals as a matter of course.
Can I keep a home in the country I am leaving?
Often, and it is one of the facts that decides the answer rather than a detail. Availability of a home, where your family lives and where your economic interests sit all feed the tie-breaker your current country applies. That analysis belongs with an adviser there, and we set out the questions to put to them.
Can the company employ me here?
Yes, and it is usually the cleanest way to hold the Cyprus tie. Employment income also carries its own exemptions: 50 percent where the salary exceeds 55,000 euro, or 25 percent capped at 25,000 euro on salaries above 30,000. We structure the contract and run the payroll.
What follows
The personal tax position runs annually from the year you arrive, alongside your non-domiciled status, and payroll where the company employs you. Both sit with accounting and tax compliance.
On the company side, the move is what makes the substance position straightforward, and the board calendar that evidences it starts from the same date.
| Personal residency routes | More than 183 days, or the 60-day rule on four conditions |
|---|---|
| Corporate consequence | Where the founder decides, the founder's location shapes management and control |
| Timing constraint | Both are measured over the calendar year and cannot be created retrospectively |
| Departure risk | Exit charges, deemed disposals and trailing residence rules |
| Dividend position once resident and non-domiciled | No Special Defence Contribution, GESY still applies |
| Employment income exemptions | 50 percent above 55,000, or 25 percent capped at 25,000 above 30,000 |
Also in Wealth & Estate
- Cyprus Non-Dom Tax ResidencyNon-domiciled status, the 60-day and 183-day tests, and the resulting dividend position.
- Cyprus Trusts & Estate PlanningCyprus International Trusts, succession planning and asset protection.
- Family Office ServicesConsolidated administration, reporting and governance for private wealth.
Find out whether Cyprus fits your plans
It starts with three questions: where your revenue comes from, what you own, and where you are tax resident. From there, the conversation is about what you are building and where you want to take it. After the call, you receive a written proposal covering the recommended structure, the implementation roadmap, and a fixed fee quote.