The Council of Ministers, with its Decision of 7.10.2020, reviewed the policy regarding the issuance of temporary residence and employment permits to employees of existing and new companies of foreign interests registered in the Republic, as well as companies that have joined the Fast Track Business Activation Mechanism.
If you are aware of the current policy for companies of foreign interests, you can follow the steps below for the preparation of the application and documents to be attached to it. If you are interested in further information on the policy in place, please read first the paragraphs following the steps below.
Step 1:
Follow the link below and study the content of the page.
Step 2:
Follow the link below that corresponds to the category of staff you are interested in.
Step 3:
Download the documents on your computer.
Step 4:
Print the documents you downloaded. From the list of accompanying documents, choose the one that meets your needs, depending on which permit/ permits you will apply for.
Step 5:
After studying the list of accompanying documents for both the company's suitability and for obtaining a permit, collect the documents you need to submit.
(Attention to the documents that need to be submitted in their original form and duly validated/ certified. You can learn more in the validation of documents, here).
Attention, also, to the documents required to be collected by other Departments/ Services and documentation that may be required from abroad, since requisition in such cases may take time!
Step 6:
Fill in and sign any other forms that may have to accompany the application.
Step 7:
Fill in all the fields of the application form and sign it. Beware of the parts requiring signatures from third parties.
Step 8:
Submit the application and the documents to the Central Offices of the Civil Registry and Migration Department.
It is emphasised that at the time of the application submission, the photograph, fingerprints and signature of third country national will be captured by authorised personnel. For convenience purposes, the capturing of the above may take place up to one (1) week after the submission of the application, at the District Units of the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Police, at the District of residence (for all Districts except Nicosia) by presenting the application submission receipt and a valid travel document. The application is not considered complete and cannot be processed further if these data is not captured.
Note:
- For information on the general application process for registration and obtaining a residence permit click here
 Policy
Eligible Companies
 Staff Categories
Companies that meet the above conditions, are entitled to employ third country nationals in the following categories, provided that they first obtain temporary residence and employment permits.
Category 1 - Directors:
In this category the following third-country nationals are included:
The minimum acceptable gross monthly salary for Directors is €4.000, an amount that may be adjusted from time to time, depending on fluctuations in the wage index.
Category 2 - Middle management executives and other key personnel:
In this category the following third country nationals are included:
- Upper / middle management personnel,
- Other administrative, secretarial or technical staff
The minimum acceptable gross monthly salary for this category is €2.000. Amounts may be adjusted from time to time, depending on wage index fluctuations.
Category 3 - Specialists:
Companies are entitled to employ third country nationals in professions / with skills as listed in Table 1 below:
| # | Professions / Skills |
| 1 | Software and System Engineers |
| 2 | Application and Data Architects |
| 3 | Information and Communication Technology and Enterprise Solution Architects |
| 4 | Technical Assurance Professionals |
| 5 | Telecom and Space Engineers |
| 6 | Data scientists |
| 7 | Machine Learning Engineers |
| 8 | Web Developers and designers |
| 9 | UX User Experience Professionals |
| 10 | Quantitative Analysts |
| 11 | Quality Assurance Analysts |
| 12 | Mobile Application Developers |
| 13 | Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality Programmers |
| 14 | Digital Marketing Specialists |
| 15 | Video Production Multimedia Specialists for Mobile Apps and Software |
| 16 | Analysts for Mobile Apps and Software |
| 17 | Designers of Prototype for Mobile Devices |
| 18 | DevOps Engineers |
| 19 | Cyber Security Specialists |
| 20 | Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Big Data Specialists |
| 21 | Pharmaceutical Formulation Technologists |
| 22 | Pharmaceutical Engineer Validation Specialists |
| 23 | Pharmaceutical Patents Specialists |
| 24 | Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Quality Assurance Professionals |
| 25 | Marine Engineers |
| 26 | Naval Architects |
The minimum acceptable gross monthly earnings for Specialists is €2.000, an amount that can be adjusted from time to time, depending on fluctuations in the wage index.
Companies already registered in the Register of Foreign Companies of the Civil Registry and Migration Department can automatically benefit from the Policy for employment of third country nationals in the Specialists’ category.
Category 4 - Support staff:
All third country nationals not included in the above categories.Companies are expected to fill in positions in this category with Cypriot or European citizens. In the case where there are no qualified Cypriots or European citizens available, a company may employ third country nationals in posts in this category at a rate of 30% of the total staff.
For this category, the General Employment procedure is followed, by submitting the certificates / supporting documents described in the relevant list of accompanying documents, after securing the positive recommendation (sealed employment contract) of the Department of Labor, which, for the granting of its positive recommendation, considers the above percentage.
The market test is not necessary for third country nationals with free access to the labour market.
Maximum number of third country employees per staff category
Conditions for third country nationals
Entering the Republic of Cyprus
Third country nationals falling under staff categories 1-3, can enter the Republic for the purpose of employment at company of foreign interests either by obtaining:
- an entry permit from the Civil Registry and Migration Department (see steps above for application submission), or
- a visa from the Consular Authorities of the Republic abroad. Find the Consular Authorities of the Republic abroad click here.
For third country nationals falling under staff category 4, entry is only allowed through an entry permit.
Required Actions After Arrival
Validity of Temporary Residence and Employment Permit
Change of Employer
Family Members
Third country nationals with residence and employment permits under staff categories 1-3 of the Policy, have direct access to family reunification with their family members (spouse and minor children), provided that the relevant conditions of the Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap.105 as amended, are met.
In such cases, third country nationals who are family members (spouse and minor children) can enter and reside in Cyprus after the sponsor has followed the procedure for family reunification.
For family members (spouse and dependent children) who temporarily do not qualify for family reunification (e.g. because of the duration of the passport or the duration of the marriage), temporary residence permits of Dependent Visitor may be issued. These family members can enter via a visa and then apply to the Department for obtaining a temporary residence permit. For the application and the documents to be attached, click here. For filling in the application form and preparing the documents to be attached, follow the same steps as described above.
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