Cyprus/September 2014
On the 23rd of August 2014 the Civil Registry and Immigration Department of Cyprus (CRID), announced that new special residence permits for third country nationals who are employed by foreign-owned companies will be issued. In addition, the CRID specified that the new residence permit document will be fitted with biometric features, such as fingerprints and other electronic-stored data.
Foreign-owned companies are those who are owned by a foreign shareholder or the majority of their shareholders are foreigners. In the case where the percentage of the foreign participation is equal or less than 50% of the share capital of the company, this should represent an amount of at least EUR 171.000 so that the company could be considered as a foreign. As such, if the foreign-owned company satisfies the aforementioned requirements, it is allowed to employ third country nationals in the following positions:
– Executive Director
– Middle-management staff, executive staff and other key personnel
– Supporting staff
Where a third country national falls under the above mentioned requirements and his/her application for permit is still pending, it is necessary to submit an additional application for the new permits of the CRID.
The CRID also stated that all residence permits already issued shall remain in force until their expiry and that any additional applications must be submitted by 25th of October or the application will be rejected.
Zoe Kokoni
zoe.kokoni@eurofast.eu
+357 22 699 222
www.eurofast.eu