The EE 33 circular issued on January 29th of 2019, on the tax residency provisions for individuals, introduced by Law No.119(I)/2017 the provisions of the 60-day rule on the Cyprus tax residency. According to this legislation, physical persons who can prove physical presence in the Republic of Cyprus for one or more periods that equal to 60 days during a tax year, may automatically become tax residents in Cyprus, as far as the following requirements are fulfilled for each tax year concerned:
1. They do not have their tax residency in any other country, for the respective year.
2. They do not reside and/or stay in another country for one or more periods exceeding 183 days in total.
3. They own an enterprise in Cyprus, are under an employment contract or hold shares in a Cyprus tax-resident company which is valid until the end of the tax year in question.
4. Their permanent residence is in the Republic of Cyprus.
Please note that according to the Law, a physical person who is a director of a Cyprus tax-resident company, but delegates his role to an alternate or nominee director at any time during the tax year, does not satisfy the conditions explicitly stated by the legislator, and therefore, does not qualify for a Cyprus tax residency certificate under the 60-day rule.
For further information and a personal evaluation of your case, please contact our legal consultants at Arsen Theofanidis LLC.
By N. Kalifatidou
Advocate – Legal Consultant
Arsen Theofanidis LLC