Opening an international company

An international company in Cyprus is a company with foreign participation. Registration is subject to specific requirements and conditions, one of which is that 50% of the company's share capital must belong to shareholders from third countries. There is also a requirement for the minimum amount of investment - they must be at least 170,860 euros, which goes to the company's cost.

A company with foreign participation allows the employment of citizens of third countries. In contrast, a private Cypriot company has the right to employ only residents of the country and the European Union. Hiring an employee from a third country is allowed only if no specialists with the appropriate qualifications are found in the EU.

Employees from third countries in an international company can work in Cyprus in that firm and apply for a temporary residence permit.

How to open an international company in Cyprus:

• Choosing a unique name, which should not be identical to other existing names;
• Collecting documents: Articles of Association, Memorandum, Memorandum of Association;
• All documents must be notarized by a Cypriot notary;
• Opening of a corporate account with a bank in Cyprus, to which the share capital is to be transferred;
• Payment of all duties and fees;
• Registration of administrative office in Cyprus and legal address.

What are the advantages of opening an international company:

• The corporate tax is one of the lowest in Europe - only 12.5%;
• Since the employees receive a residence permit, they can move with their entire family under the family reunification procedure;
• Employees from third countries can work in an international company for 1 to 4 years;
• There is no tax on dividends for residents of other countries;
• hiring employees from third countries allows for closing all personnel issues.

To register a company in Cyprus, you will need to collect a particular list of documents:

• Memorandum and Articles of Association;
• An official statement from a lawyer confirming in writing that all documents are prepared per the current Cypriot legislation (form NO1);
• a form with the address of the registered office (form NOT2);
• A record indicating the director and the secretary, who can be in one person and can be both individuals and legal entities and are not required to be shareholders (form NOT3).

When opening an international company, you can close a certain number of positions with employees from third countries:

• executives — 5;
• Managers and key personnel — 10;
• Support staff — the number is unlimited unless candidates from the EU and Cyprus are found.

To hire third-country nationals, you must go through the employment procedure by writing an official letter to the CRMD authorities or submitting a request to the Ministry of Interior of Cyprus. Candidates will also need to submit a specific extensive list of documents.

Generally speaking, the Republic of Cyprus does not impose strict restrictions on the employment of your employees from third countries. SPM Real Estate specialists will advise you on all issues, help you gather the documents, and submit the necessary applications to the official authorities.

---