In short
- The Registrar's pages on directors and members state no condition of nationality or residence.
- A UK national who moved to Cyprus after 1 January 2021 is a third-country national.
- A UK e-Apostille costs £35 a document and takes up to 2 working days. Paper costs £45.
- Services to UK businesses fall outside Cyprus VAT. Corporate tax is 15% from 2026.
In this guide
Can a UK resident set up a company in Cyprus?
Yes. A private company in Cyprus has one shareholder or more, up to fifty, and one director or more. It also has one secretary and a registered office in Cyprus. A director and the secretary are 18 or older. The Registrar's pages on directors, members and the private company state no condition of nationality or residence. A UK passport number and a UK home address go on the forms as they are.
| Part of the filing | Form or document | What the Registrar asks |
|---|---|---|
| Shareholder | Memorandum of association | Full address, identity number, nationality and profession. Each shareholder signs by hand and writes by hand the number of shares |
| Director and secretary | Form HE3 | Identity or passport number, country of origin, date of birth, profession and full address |
| Registered office | Form HE2 | An address in the Republic of Cyprus, written in Greek |
| Declaration | Form HE1 | Signed and sworn before the court by the entrusted lawyer in Cyprus |
We prepare the forms with the Cyprus lawyer. You sign, the originals travel to Cyprus by courier, and you do not need to visit. The full procedure is company formation in Cyprus. The rules that every non-resident founder meets are in the guide to a Cyprus company for non-residents.
What Brexit changed for a UK owner of a Cyprus company
Brexit changed who may live and work in Cyprus. It left alone who may own a Cyprus company and sit on its board. The dividing date is 1 January 2021.
| Your situation | Your status in Cyprus | What you hold or need |
|---|---|---|
| You lived in Cyprus legally before 1 January 2021 and still do | Rights under the Withdrawal Agreement to reside, work and move freely | Your earlier EU residence document stays valid as proof. You may apply for the biometric MUKW card: MUKW1 is valid for 5 years, MUKW3 is permanent and valid for 10 years, and the fee is €30 a person |
| You live in the UK and travel to Cyprus for the company | Visitor | No visa or permit for 90 days in any 180 days for business such as board meetings, signing contracts and meeting clients |
| You moved to Cyprus after 1 January 2021, or plan to | Third-country national | A temporary residence permit. For work, a work permit under one of the routes the UK government lists |
Cyprus is outside the Schengen area and counts its 90 days apart from the Schengen days. The Migration Department says Cyprus chose the declaratory system of the Withdrawal Agreement: a UK national covered by it keeps the earlier document as proof and may apply for the new one. A UK national without that right needs another residence permit to stay.
The UK government lists three routes to a work permit in Cyprus. They are a Cypriot employment contract of a year or more, employment in a company of foreign interests, and self-employment in categories A to D. The guide to the foreign interest company covers the route through your own company.
UK documents for a Cyprus company: certified copy, apostille, translation
A UK solicitor or notary certifies the copy of your passport and of your proof of address. The Legalisation Office of the UK government then adds an apostille, the certificate of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 that replaces an embassy's legalisation. The Convention has been in force for the United Kingdom since 24 January 1965 and for Cyprus since 30 April 1973.
| UK service | Fee a document | Time |
|---|---|---|
| e-Apostille, for a PDF signed electronically by a UK notary or solicitor | £35 | Up to 2 working days |
| Standard, on paper | £45, plus courier or postage | Usually up to 25 working days, plus courier or postage time |
| Next-Day, on paper, registered businesses only | £40 | Next working day |
| Restricted Urgent, on paper, registered businesses only | £100 | Same day, with approval by email beforehand |
Two owners each send a certified passport copy and a certified proof of address, four documents in all. Four e-Apostilles cost 4 × £35 = £140. The paper service costs 4 × £45 = £180 and £32 for a courier to a European country, £212 in all.
The Legalisation Office also apostilles a certificate of incorporation from Companies House, which a UK company that holds the shares may be asked for. It does not legalise a document issued outside the UK. Ask us and the bank which documents need an apostille before you order one. The Registrar's page on applying to incorporate lists none, and each bank sets its own list.
The Registrar files the memorandum and articles in Greek. A set in English needs a certified translation, and the Registrar charges €160 for the file of translations. The Ministry of Justice and Public Order apostilles a Cyprus document for €5 in stamps, for a UK bank or a UK adviser.
Bank account for a UK-owned Cyprus company, and payments
The Central Bank of Cyprus register of credit institutions lists Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank Limited and Alpha Bank Cyprus among the licensed banks. Since 1 January 2021 a UK owner counts among the owners outside the EU in the timings below.
| Route | Time in our files |
|---|---|
| Bank of Cyprus, for a newly incorporated company with owners outside the EU | 10 to 12 weeks |
| Alpha Bank Cyprus, for such owners, with video identification | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Wise payment account, for payments, invoicing and currency exchange | 1 to 5 working days |
A bank asks for the passport of each owner and director, a proof of address and a bank reference from the last 3 months. It also asks for the source of wealth, written out with tax returns or audited accounts. The Registrar's certificates that go to a bank are no older than 3 to 6 months.
Which bank fits your company and what it asks first are in the guide to a Cyprus business bank account. We file the application as part of bank account for a Cyprus company.
We do this for you Company formation in Cyprus from €1,699
VAT on sales from a Cyprus company to UK customers
The UK is outside the EU. Article 10A of the Cyprus VAT Law puts the place of a service for a business customer where the customer belongs. A UK business customer belongs in the UK, so the service falls outside Cyprus VAT and you charge none. This is the rule for services, the usual case of a small Cyprus company with UK clients. The special rules of the Thirteenth Schedule for services tied to land and for passenger transport come first.
| Your UK customer | Your service | Where the VAT Law places it | Cyprus VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| A business | Any service | The UK, where the customer belongs | None charged |
| A private person | Consultancy, legal, accounting, advertising, rights and licences, data processing, banking, insurance, staff hire | The UK, where the customer belongs | None charged |
| A private person | Electronic, telecommunication, radio and television services | The UK, where the customer lives, unless the service is used in Cyprus | None charged |
| A private person | Any other service with no special rule | Cyprus, where you belong | 19% |
19% is the standard rate of the Tax Department. Whether and when a Cyprus company registers for VAT is set out in VAT registration in Cyprus. Sales of goods to the UK follow other rules of the VAT Law and are outside this guide.
Cyprus tax on a company with a UK owner
A Cyprus company pays corporate tax at 15% from 1 January 2026. The rate was 12.5% from 2013 to 2025. We file the returns and the payments as part of tax services in Cyprus.
The Tax Department treats a company incorporated in Cyprus as tax resident in Cyprus. It also treats as resident a company managed and controlled in Cyprus. The first test gives way where a double tax treaty in force makes the company resident in the other state. The department's own example is a company incorporated in Cyprus and managed in Germany. For a company managed from the UK the UK-Cyprus convention decides, and the guide to the UK Cyprus treaty sets out its articles.
The department looks at where the board meets and where the key decisions are taken. It looks at where the directors live, who manages the company day to day, where the books are kept and where the important contracts are signed. No single factor decides. A company with a UK-resident sole director who signs its contracts in the UK shows two of those factors in the UK.
A UK-resident shareholder pays no Cyprus Special Defence Contribution on dividends, because the contribution does not reach a person who is not tax resident in Cyprus. The HMRC summary of the treaty lists 0% for dividends, interest and royalties, and 15% for dividends from property income.
You become a tax resident of Cyprus yourself under the 183-day rule or the 60-day rule. The 60-day rule needs four conditions together, among them a home in Cyprus that you own or rent. The guide to Cyprus tax residency sets out both.
Timeline and cost of the Cyprus side for a UK owner
The Registrar charges €10 for the name and €165 for the incorporation, and a certificate costs €20. Our packages are €1,699 for Starter, €2,749 for Standard and €4,999 for Premium, before VAT, with the state fees, the registered office and the secretary for the first year. Standard adds the articles in English, the four apostilled certificates and help with a Wise account. The guide to the cost of Cyprus company formation lists every fee.
- Wednesday 28 October 2026: your UK solicitor has certified your copies, and you order e-Apostilles. They return by Friday 30 October 2026.
- Monday 2 November 2026: your documents are with us, and we file the name application and prepare the bank application.
- Between 12 and 18 November 2026: the Registrar registers the company, expected 8 to 12 working days after the documents.
- Between 30 November 2026 and 25 January 2027: the bank account opens, 4 to 12 weeks after the application on 2 November 2026.
Order the apostilles before anything else when you use the paper service. It usually takes up to 25 working days, longer than the Registrar. Start with company formation in Cyprus and send us your documents.
What we do not advise: UK tax, reporting and company law
We advise on the Cyprus side. UK income tax and capital gains tax on what you take out of the company belong to your own UK adviser. So do UK corporation tax, the controlled foreign company rules, UK VAT, reporting to HMRC and any duty under UK company law.
The HMRC pages on tax on foreign income and on controlled foreign companies are listed under Sources. We do not interpret them. Take them, with the Cyprus facts in this guide, to your UK adviser.
