Cyprus Digital Nomad Visa

The Cyprus Digital Nomad Visa is a temporary residence permit for non-EU and non-EEA nationals who work remotely for an employer registered abroad or for clients outside Cyprus. Applicants must show stable net income of €3,500 a month after taxes and contributions, roughly $3,900. The figure rises by 20% for a spouse or partner, which makes €4,200 for a couple, and by 15% for each child. Work for Cypriot employers or clients is barred, and income from them does not count.

The first permit lasts one year. Renewals are issued for up to two years, so the longest possible stay is three years. Time on the permit does not build toward permanent residency or citizenship, which makes it a fixed-term base and not a step on a residency ladder.

The scheme sets no minimum number of days in Cyprus each year. The permit is cancelled after more than 90 consecutive days outside the country, and a renewal can be refused after long absences. Spending more than 183 days in a calendar year makes you a Cyprus tax resident, which brings worldwide income into Cyprus tax.

Applications are filed in person in Nicosia within three months of arriving in Cyprus, and the Migration Department examines them in 5 to 7 weeks. The file needs private health insurance, a clean criminal record certificate, proof of accommodation, and blood tests with a chest X-ray done in Cyprus. A local bank account is not required. Places are limited by a ceiling on permits, and the scheme has paused applications before.

How Cyprus taxes permit holders

The permit does not make you a tax resident. Residency comes from the Income Tax Law, and the main test is more than 183 days in Cyprus in a calendar year. A second route, the 60-day rule, requires a permanent home in Cyprus, a business, employment or directorship tied to a Cypriot company, and no more than 183 days in any other single country. Permit holders cannot work for Cypriot employers, so most rely on the 183-day test.

Residents pay tax on worldwide income. The 2026 personal bands are 0% on the first €22,000, 20% from €22,001 to €32,000, 25% from €32,001 to €42,000, 30% from €42,001 to €72,000 and 35% above €72,000. Dividends carry no personal income tax. Residents who are not domiciled in Cyprus also pay no Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest for up to 17 years, and the 2026 reform added two paid five-year extensions of €250,000 each. Domiciled residents pay 5% on dividends, down from 17%.

Capital gains tax is 20% and applies only to gains on Cyprus real estate and on shares in unlisted companies that own it. Gains on listed securities, funds and other foreign assets fall outside it. Individual returns on Form T.D.1 are due by 31 July of the following year and are filed online through TAXISnet.

What the United States still taxes

The United States and Cyprus have had an income tax treaty in force since 31 December 1985. It relieves double taxation and reduces withholding on cross-border dividends, interest and royalties, but its saving clause lets the United States tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist. US citizens and green card holders therefore file Form 1040 on worldwide income every year.

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on Form 2555 shields up to $132,900 of earned income for tax year 2026, up from $130,000 for 2025. It requires either the Physical Presence Test, which counts 330 full days outside the United States in any 12-month period, or the Bona Fide Residence Test. Dividends, capital gains, rent, pensions and Social Security are outside the exclusion. The exclusion also leaves self-employment tax untouched, and the United States has no Social Security totalization agreement with Cyprus, so a self-employed American can owe US self-employment tax while living there.

The Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116 offsets US tax with Cyprus tax paid, but it adds little on income that Cyprus taxes at 0%, such as dividends of a non-domiciled resident.

Americans with Cyprus accounts file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) when combined foreign balances exceed $10,000 at any point in the year. The non-willful penalty is up to $16,536 for each unfiled report, and willful violations reach the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the account balance. Form 8938 applies at higher asset thresholds that start at $200,000. Cypriot banks report US-person accounts to the Cyprus Tax Department under FATCA, and that department passes them to the IRS.