Open a company in Cyprus

This is the most common type of company used in Cyprus and it is founded by one or more partners – up to 50. Other important requirements for setting up a private limited liability company are a local address and a secretary. 

Private limited companies must have a registered physical office address located in Cyprus, where the company must keep all statutory records and other documents which must be available for review.

The Company must have at least one director who may be a natural person or a legal entity, resident or non-resident.

Limited companies may be formed by one shareholder, who can be either natural or legal persons, residents or non-residents, without limitations. Details of shareholders are publicly accessible.

In a private company limited by shares, there is no minimum required capital. The shareholders subscribe shares, monetary or non-monetary, which are given a nominal value and cannot be transferred. The members of a private company limited by shares are liable to the company’s debts and obligations only to the extent of the nominal value of their shares. 

Incorporating a company in Cyprus is comparatively easier and faster than in most other European countries. The process is initiated with an application for name approval, and then registering a company is processed by the Registrar of Companies. The company will be incorporated within 7-10 days.

Therefore, the requirements for a Cypriot LTD are low and almost everyone can apply.

The Cyprus International Trust (CIT) enables non-tax residents of Cyprus to create a trust in Cyprus and enjoy the highest possible degree of asset protection. You can estate plan internationally while receiving tax benefits and maintaining strict confidentiality.

Your CIT can be employed in commercial and business transactions but also as a vehicle for charitable and other purposes.

Assets transferred to a trust are no longer part of the property owned by you, “the settlor” and cannot be claimed by creditors and litigators. That means that in the case of bankruptcy or liquidation, that your assets are protected (unless there is reason to believe the trust was made with the intent to defraud). 

Because the beneficiary of the international trust is not a legal owner of it, the income and capital gains are taxed in accordance with the rules of the residence of the legal owners – the trustees. That said, you as the Settlor have the ability to maintain certain powers in relation to the trust and/or to grant yourself certain powers in the capacity of protector of the trust or supervisor on the application of the trust.

A trust deed is not a public document and a trust arrangement is thus regarded as highly confidential. Such information can only be revealed by a court order, allowing a high degree of anonymity. 

An interesting point is the wide span of protection a CIT provides as an asset protection vehicle. Its assets are immune from the right of inheritance, and there is no limit on the period for which a trust continues to be valid and enforceable.

To add to that, CITs are treated as tax transparent, hence not subject to any form of Cyprus tax provided the Beneficiary is not Cyprus resident, and the trust does not own/dispose immovable property situated in Cyprus.

In order to qualify as a CIT, The “settlor” should not have been a permanent resident of Cyprus during the entire year previous to the creation of the trust. 

To add to that, the beneficiaries of the CIT should not have been permanent residents of Cyprus for a full year prior to the creation of the trust, but relocation to Cyprus the year after the trust is established is permitted. 

Finally, it’s necessary that at least one trustee of the CIT be a permanent resident of Cyprus.

The trust property itself can include all kinds of assets situated anywhere in the world and/or real estate property located in Cyprus.