Cyprus day-count rules
Cyprus runs some of the most searched day-count rules in Europe. Its 60-day rule lets internationally mobile people become tax residents — with non-dom benefits — on as little as 60 days a year, provided four extra conditions hold. Its citizenship rules run the other way: generally 7 years of residence (3–4 on the fast track for highly skilled employees), with no more than 90 days abroad in the final qualifying year.
Each page below covers one Cyprus rule in plain English — the thresholds, the four 60-day-rule requirements, the fast-track years — with links to the Cyprus Tax Department and Civil Registry official guidance.
Frequently asked questions
A route to Cyprus tax residency for people who aren't tax resident anywhere else: spend at least 60 days in Cyprus in the calendar year, no more than 183 days in any other single country, hold a Cyprus business/job/directorship, and maintain a permanent home there. All four conditions must hold in the same year.
Two routes: the automatic 183-day rule (more than 183 days in Cyprus in the calendar year, no other conditions), or the 60-day rule with its four extra requirements — not resident elsewhere, under 184 days in any other country, a Cyprus economic link, and a permanent home in Cyprus.
Only on the fast track for highly skilled employees of companies of foreign interests: 3 years of residence with Greek at B1 level, or 4 years with A2. The standard route is 7 years of cumulative residence. Both require a continuous final year with at most 90 days abroad.
Non-domiciled tax residents pay no Special Defence Contribution — in practice 0% Cyprus tax on most dividend and interest income for 17 years — plus no tax on gains from selling securities, and a possible 50% income-tax exemption on higher first-employment salaries.