BCS status — Cyprus
BCS status lets your company hire specialists from outside the EU with no labour market test and no quotas. We will check that your company qualifies, put the document pack together and handle the registration in the Register of Foreign Interest Companies.
When you need BCS status
Investment in the company — from €200,000 · Specialist salary — from €2,500 per month · Register decision — up to 10 working days · Permit — up to 3 years
The specialists you hire are not EU nationals
Without the status, every hire of a specialist from outside the EU goes through a labour market test: you have to show that no Cypriot or EU candidate was available.
People are relocating together with their families
A permit on this route opens the way to Cyprus for the family too: your employee's spouse and minor children move under the family reunification procedure.
The founder is not an EU national either
You take a work and residence permit through your own Cyprus company, on the same grounds as the specialists you hire. No separate investor programme is needed.
You already have a Cyprus company, but it is not in the register
Entry in the Register of Foreign Interest Companies does not follow from simply having a Cyprus company: we gather the ownership, office and staffing evidence and file it.
You have staff hired at the €2,000 threshold
Until 31 December 2026 they renew with the same employer at the same salary, and after that the general €2,500 threshold applies. We plan the renewals well ahead.
What you get
- The company entered in the Register of Foreign Interest Companies
- Work and residence permits for your specialists
- Residence cards and registration in the Aliens' Register
- Family reunification permits for spouses and children
- A renewal calendar with dates for every employee
What is required — from the company and from the employee
The Register of Foreign Interest Companies is maintained by the state business support service, the Business Support Center. Its official abbreviation is BSC; the market usually calls the same scheme BCS.
Work and residence permits are issued by the Civil Registry and Migration Department — the second authority involved in the procedure.
Company requirements
- An investment of at least €200,000 is the baseline condition for every applicant: a shareholder transfers the money from abroad into a company account at a bank supervised by the Central Bank of Cyprus.
- Electronic money institutions and payment institutions are not accepted for that transfer.
- An alternative to funds on the account: buying an office or equipment strictly for the company's operations for the same amount, with invoices and receipts in the company's name.
- Timing of the investment: it was made no later than six months before filing, and the amount is present on the filing date.
- Ownership: over 50% of the shares held by persons from countries outside the EU. Where the share is 50% or less, it must be worth at least €200,000 — that requirement is added to the baseline investment rather than replacing it.
- Separate grounds exist for public companies listed on a recognised stock exchange, shipping companies, high-tech and innovative companies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
- Office: separate premises in Cyprus, owned or leased for at least 12 months; a shareholder's home is not accepted as an office, while sublease and coworking are, if the agreement states the full address with office number and floor.
- Documents with the application: the beneficial owner search certificate from the companies registry, the memorandum and articles, the premises document and evidence of the investment.
- Companies already trading also file their latest audited accounts.
- Workforce: an undertaking to bring the share of Cypriot, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals to 30% over five years.
- Register entry: a decision within no more than ten working days from a duly submitted application. Filing is electronic only, through the company's own profile.
Employee requirements
- A salary from €2,500 gross per month.
- A relevant degree or two years of relevant experience.
- An employment contract for at least two years — even where the permit is requested for one.
- The permit is issued for up to three years and is renewable.
- No labour market test applies, and quotas for this category have been lifted.
What the status does not cover
- Low-paid support staff: they still require a labour market test and an employment contract sealed by the Department of Labour.
- Self-employment of the spouse: access is open to paid employment, but not to working for oneself.
Official fees
- Entry permit and residence permit — €70.
- Issue or renewal of a residence permit — €80.
- Registration in the Aliens' Register — €70.
- Family reunification — €200 for the permit and €70 for registration.
From 1 January 2026 employment contracts are not subject to stamp duty: the stamp duty law has been repealed.
A Cyprus company is needed before filing — if there is none yet, we start with incorporation and opening an account, without which the investment cannot be evidenced.
Thresholds, ratios and timelines
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Investment in the company | from €200,000 |
| Shareholding held by non-EU persons | over 50% |
| Non-EU minority share of 50% or less | from €200,000 on top of the investment |
| Investment made before filing | no more than 6 months |
| Specialist salary | from €2,500 gross per month |
| Transitional threshold until 31.12.2026 | €2,000 with the same employer |
| Local staff ratio | 30% over 5 years |
| Office lease | from 12 months |
| Decision on the register application | up to 10 working days |
| Review of a permit application | 1 month |
| Permit duration | up to 3 years |
Sources: company criteria and the register deadline — Business Support Center; salary thresholds and the local staff ratio — Migration Department legislation and policy; fees and permit durations — application procedure.
FAQ
How long do the register entry and an employee permit take?
The rules allow no more than ten working days for a decision on a duly submitted register application. A permit application is examined within one month.
That month runs from a complete set of documents: where something is missing, the examination period is extended.
Does the €2,000 threshold survive a change of employer?
No. The transitional rule until 31 December 2026 is written as a renewal with the same employer, so moving to another company brings the employee onto the general €2,500 threshold.
The rule covers those who already hold a Key Personnel level permit with a salary from €2,000.
Stages of work
Eligibility check — 2–3 working days.
We will look at the ownership structure, the origin of the funds and the planned headcount. That shows how the €200,000 investment will be evidenced: as funds on the company's account or as the purchase of an office and equipment.
At the same step we work out how many people you can hire and when the company reaches the 30% local staff ratio.
Preparing the company — 1–3 weeks.
We will put in place whatever is missing: incorporation, the bank account, the transfer of the investment with supporting evidence, the office agreement, the ownership documents.
Filing with the register — decision within 10 working days.
We will prepare and submit the package to the Business Support Center: corporate documents, evidence of the investment, office documents, the undertaking on local staff.
Employee permits — one month for review.
For each person we assemble the two-year employment contract, qualification documents and application, pay the fees and run the file through to issue.
Families — in parallel with the employee permits.
We will file for family reunification for those relocating with a spouse and children, so the family does not wait in a separate queue.
Registration after arrival — in the first weeks in Cyprus.
We will help your employee register in the Aliens' Register and obtain the residence card, without which the permit stays only a piece of paper.
Renewals and the local staff ratio — throughout.
We will track renewal dates, the balance between local and foreign staff and changes in the requirements — including the move of all permits to the €2,500 threshold after 31 December 2026.
BCS status solves hiring but not tax: how corporate tax is calculated and when the IP Box regime applies is a separate conversation. The rest of our Cyprus services are collected on the jurisdiction page.
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