Cyprus Business Facilitation Unit — fast-track settlement for international tech companies and talent

The Business Facilitation Unit (BFU) was established on 1 January 2022 by the Republic of Cyprus as part of its national strategy to attract businesses and expand their activities in Cyprus. In May 2025 it was institutionally upgraded and broadened into the Business Support Centre (BSC).

The BFU/BSC aims to fast-track company registration, work permits and residence applications for qualifying foreign-interest companies, particularly in technology, fintech, R&D and shipping, to rapidly grow Cyprus's tech cluster.

The single-window service abolished headcount quotas for foreign-interest company staff, set a one-month processing target for approved applications, granted immediate work rights to spouses of key personnel, and removed the mandatory labour-market test for qualifying highly-paid professionals. Registered companies also gain access to Cyprus's 12.5% corporate tax rate and IP Box regime.

In 2022, its first full year, 1,637 companies registered as foreign-interest companies, 12,402 work permits were issued and 22,429 total licences were granted, up from 9,000 in 2021. From January 2023 to August 2024, Cyprus issued 48,212 residence permits to third-country nationals under the strategy, with most companies and professionals settling in Limassol. By 2024, the tech sector contributed €8.5 billion to the Cypriot economy and supported over 62,000 jobs, with more than 300 technology companies established through the programme.

Cyprus demonstrates that a small EU member state can use a focused, procedurally lean one-stop-shop to rapidly grow an economically significant tech cluster; the figures cited are drawn from government and industry-promotion sources rather than an independent audit.