Cyprus Fact-File Part 7:
Business Owner Welfare and Lifestyle

7.7 Cyprus Individual or Business Leaving Cyprus

There are no exit taxes or rules devised to discourage or penalise an individual from leaving Cyprus.

A company can simply be struck off the Companies Register (if it has no assets), or can be liquidated if the financial situation is less straightforward; this can take up to 6 months, however.

When leaving Cyprus, various authorities should be informed. These include:

• The Civil Registration and Migration Department, or the Aliens & Immigration Unit within the police force;
• The Ministry of Health (to ensure the cancellation of any medical cards held);
• The Road Traffic Department, if a car purchased in Cyprus is to be exported;
• The Inland Revenue Department (in order to settle any remaining tax bills, either on income or on gains for the sale of property in Cyprus).

Depending on tax system in place in the destination country, there may be benefits in remaining a Cypriot tax resident and travelling abroad to conduct one’s business, returning to Cyprus to meet the residency criteria of the number of days' residency per calendar year. Generally, Cypriot residency will not be lost until it can be proved that a new foreign residence has been established in another country.

There are no exchange controls in place in Cyprus, so money can be freely transferred from the island, but the rules applicable to the receiving of funds by banks in the receiving country should first be checked.

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