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Pathway

Cyprus Startup Visa

Cyprus Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you are from outside the EU and EEA and will actively run an innovative startup with strong growth potential, the Cyprus Startup Visa may suit you. The program runs through December 2026, with a stated limit of 150 visas. It is for founders building or moving a business, rather than passive investors.

Who can apply
A non-EU/EEA sole founder, or a team of up to five founders and senior executives with the required ownership or role evidence
Business requirements
An innovative startup that will operate in Cyprus, with an approved business plan and evidence of how its costs will be funded
Program window
Current scheme valid through December 2026; 150-visa ceiling

Summary

Cyprus's Startup Visa lets qualifying founders move there to develop an innovative business, with assessment of the startup preceding the immigration application. The proposal must show innovation, strong growth potential and genuine operations in Cyprus; a new ordinary consultancy or small business is not enough. The route can cover a sole founder or a qualifying team, with the required active roles and funding.

Business approval is followed by separate entry and residence formalities, and continued status depends on later review of the startup. The current scheme runs through December 2026 with a 150-visa ceiling. Official pages conflict on initial approval periods, so the latest guide and individual approval letter need checking.

Startup assessment comes before the immigration stages
  1. Choose the founder or team track Confirm intake, applicant roles, and the ownership or senior-position requirements.
  2. Document the innovative business Prepare the applicable business-plan or revenue evidence, funding, and Cyprus operating plan.
  3. Follow the startup and residence procedures Submit for startup assessment and follow the resulting immigration instructions.

An ordinary small business is not eligible merely because it is new. Startup assessment does not remove immigration requirements.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

EEA means the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

The applicant must not be an EU or EEA citizen. They must apply either as the sole founder of an innovative startup or as one of no more than five qualifying founders and senior executives in a team application. A general employee, advisor, investor, or contractor is not enough merely because they are important to the business.

The current guide defines an innovative startup as an unlisted small enterprise that is generally no more than five years past registration, has not distributed profits, and was not formed through a merger. Its product, service, process, technology, or business model should create a new market or materially disrupt an existing one. The route can cover a new Cyprus startup, the move of an existing startup to Cyprus, or a Cyprus branch, but the business must genuinely establish and operate in Cyprus.

For an early-stage business, the business plan is independently evaluated. The published guide describes scoring for the team, problem and solution, technology or innovation, market and competition, commercial model, growth potential, and Cyprus impact. A qualifying plan must reach the guide's minimum score in each criterion and the total score. A later-stage business with at least €1 million in sales revenue can instead use the guide's audited-revenue route if research-and-development costs are at least 10% of operating costs in one of the previous three tax years.

Applicants should expect to provide:

The current practical guide does not use the older €20,000 individual or €50,000 team figures as a simple eligibility test. Your business plan should show how you will fund the startup and cover its operating costs.

More about this route

The scheme has an individual track for a sole founder and a team track for up to five people. A team must consist only of founders, or of at least one founder together with senior executives. The current practical guide says the authority will ask for evidence that each applicant is connected to the startup as a founder or co-founder owning more than 25%, or as a senior executive.

There are two decisions. First, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy evaluates the startup and issues a Notification of Initial Approval if the business qualifies. That approval does not by itself grant entry, residence, or work permission. The applicant must then complete the visa and residence/work-permit process with the consular and migration authorities.

What This Route Allows

If the startup is approved and the immigration application also succeeds, the route allows the named founders and qualifying senior executives to live and work in Cyprus on the approved startup. It can support either a newly created business or a qualifying innovative business moved to Cyprus.

The current practical guide describes the Notification of Initial Approval as granting a right to economic activity for three years, with the possibility of renewal for at least two more years. The Migration Department's shorter online summary still says two years with renewal for at least one more year. These two official summaries are not aligned. The approval letter and the latest guide should therefore control the applicant's planning. In either case, the residence card is a separate document with its own validity and renewal requirements.

Before expiry, the startup is re-evaluated. The current guide looks for evidence of viability and growth, contribution to the Cyprus ecosystem, and specified digital skills. Examples include revenue growth of at least 15% or at least €150,000 invested during Cyprus operations, creation of at least three jobs, participation in a local accelerator or incubator, or launch of an innovative product or service. A positive final evaluation can support continued residence and employment; a negative one can require the founders to obtain another status or leave.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a general self-employment permit for any small business. A restaurant, consultancy, property business, or ordinary online service is not eligible merely because it is new. The business must satisfy the scheme's innovation and high-growth assessment.

It is not a passive-investor residence route. Someone who only contributes money, does not hold the required founder connection, and will not actively build the startup should consider a different pathway. It also does not automatically allow every employee or advisor to move with the company.

Initial startup approval is not a visa and does not guarantee a residence or work permit. The applicant still has to meet entry, immigration, document, fee, and biometric requirements. Nor is this automatic permanent residence or citizenship. Continued status depends on the startup's performance and the later re-evaluation.

The scheme is currently authorized only through December 2026 and is capped at 150 visas. A future extension, changed criteria, or available place should never be assumed without checking the live government pages.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm that the scheme is still accepting applications and that space remains under the 150-visa ceiling.
  2. Decide whether the application is for one sole founder or for a team of no more than five founders and senior executives. Map each applicant to the ownership or senior-role evidence required by the guide.
  3. Check that the business fits the official definition of an innovative startup and choose the early-stage business-plan assessment or the audited-revenue category.
  4. Prepare the application, business plan, ownership records, product and technology evidence, market analysis, financial forecasts, funding and runway evidence, and the company's plan for real operations in Cyprus.
  5. Submit the startup application to the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy. Its published target is five weeks for a complete application, but it can request more information.
  6. After receiving Initial Approval, follow the applicable deadline: an applicant abroad generally has six months to apply for entry and residence arrangements, while a person already lawfully in Cyprus generally has one month to apply to the Migration Department. A visitor must first request permission to change status.
  7. Submit the residence/work-permit package at the Migration Department headquarters in Nicosia, pay the current fees, and provide biometrics.
  8. Keep audited financials, investment records, payroll, product-launch evidence, accelerator participation, and digital-skills certificates from the start. Those records may be needed at re-evaluation.

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