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 'Strategy for Attracting Businesses for Activities or/and Expansion of their Activities in Cyprus.' In May 2025 it was institutionally upgraded and broadened into the Business Support Centre (BSC).

What it does: The BFU/BSC is a government-operated single-window service that fast-tracks company registration, work permits and residence applications for qualifying foreign-interest companies (FICs) — particularly technology, fintech, R&D and shipping companies. Key innovations include: abolition of headcount quotas for FIC staff; one-month processing target for approved applications; immediate work rights for spouses of key personnel; no mandatory labour-market test for qualifying highly-paid professionals. Companies registering with the BFU gain access to Cyprus's corporate tax rate of 12.5% and IP Box regime.

Results: In 2022 alone — the programme's first full year — 1,637 companies were registered as FICs; 12,402 work permits issued; 22,429 total licences 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 (Invest Cyprus, 2024). The majority of incoming companies and professionals settled in Limassol, which has emerged as Cyprus's primary tech hub. By 2024, the tech sector contributed €8.5 billion to the Cypriot economy and supported over 62,000 full-time jobs, with 300+ technology companies established through the programme (Invest Cyprus, 2024; Tech.eu, 2025).

Why it is a good practice: Cyprus demonstrated that a small EU member state can deploy a focused, procedurally lean one-stop-shop to rapidly grow a tech cluster that is now economically significant at national scale. Read more: https://www.investcyprus.org.cy/

Read the full analysis: https://www.gov.cy/meci/en/business-facilitation-unit-bfu/