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From Greece to Cyprus, paperwork first.

A Cyprus company pays 15%, and with non-dom status you pay no tax on dividends. Greece doesn't tax you for leaving, but it keeps you resident if your exit file is late or incomplete. So we build the Cyprus side first.

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  • Fixed prices
  • Eligibility checked before you pay
  • One team for the Cyprus side
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Run your own numbers.

Greece's headline is lower than most, 22% on profit and 5% on dividends. The gap is narrower here, but it's there. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Greece
Corporate tax
−€44,000
Tax on dividends
−€7,800
You keep
€148,200
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€17,295every year

More in your pocket +€17,295 every year

Greece: 22% corporate tax, then 5% on dividends, together 25.9% on distributed profit. The yearly business levy on companies and the social insurance (EFKA) category you choose come on top and aren't counted here.

Headline rates for a founder who takes the profit out as dividends and has become Cyprus tax resident with non-dom status. Your own figures will differ. This is an illustration, not tax advice.

What Greece wants before you go.

Leaving Greece costs you nothing in tax. Leaving it badly costs plenty. Settle these with a Greek adviser before anything is filed.

  • No exit tax on you

    Moving your tax residence out of Greece costs you nothing. Greece's only exit tax hits a Greek company that moves its assets, its residence or its business abroad. Because Cyprus is in the EU, the company can pay it in five yearly instalments.

  • Two deadlines to leave

    In the year after you leave, apply to move your tax residence and name a tax representative in Greece by 10 March. Send your Cyprus tax residence certificate and proof that you've settled by 10 September. If the file fails, you stay Greek resident.

  • File on time, even if incomplete

    A file sent on time but judged incomplete is rejected without a penalty. A late or missing one is rejected too, and your Greek return on worldwide income then counts as late, with a penalty. So send what you have by 10 September.

  • A spouse in Greece raises the bar

    If your spouse or civil partner stays Greek resident, your file must show lasting work in Cyprus, a Cyprus bank account, a Cyprus home with utility bills in your name, and a Cyprus tax or social insurance number. All four, not one.

  • A company run from Greece is Greek

    A company is Greek if its real management sits in Greece at any time in the year, not just most of it. A sole director working from Athens can be enough. Take the decisions, keep the books and hold the general meeting in Cyprus.

  • Inheritance tax follows Greek nationals

    Greek inheritance tax reaches movable assets abroad owned by a Greek national, your Cyprus shares included, wherever you live. Gifts of such assets can become exempt after ten years in a row living abroad. Cyprus has no inheritance tax.

What Cyprus makes easier.

One 15% rate, no yearly business levy, no tax on a minimum income you never earned, and no tax on dividends for 17 years with non-dom status.

Corporate tax
15%
One flat rate, with no local surcharges.
Tax on dividends
0%
As a non-dom, for up to 17 years.
Days a year for tax residency
60
Under the 60-day rule, with a home and a business here.
Wealth or inheritance tax
0
Cyprus has neither.
  • As a Greek citizen you're an EU citizen, so you register with the Yellow Slip, which we file with you. No visa, no permit.
  • The Cyprus lease the 60-day rule needs is the same lease your Greek exit file asks for. Running your own Cyprus company counts towards the rule too.
  • Greek rules that tax a foreign company's profit at home need its tax below 11%. A Cyprus company at 15% clears that, unless the IP Box takes it lower.
  • Under the tax treaty, royalties and share sales are taxed only in Cyprus once Greece no longer counts you as resident. Greece's 15% tax on share sales then falls away.

The move, by the Greek calendar.

Your timing depends on how fast you build the Cyprus evidence. The Greek dates don't move.

Book a free call
  1. Before you go

    Plan the company side

    A Greek tax adviser looks at your departure date and your Greek company. If assets will move, they price the exit tax first, because it falls due within three working days. They also pull your EFKA record. We can recommend an adviser if you need one.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Form the Cyprus company

    We register it with tax, VAT and VIES. Your books open the day you order.

  3. Month 1 to 3We do this

    Yellow Slip and a lease

    We apply for your Yellow Slip with you. You sign a Cyprus lease in your own name and become a director of your Cyprus company.

  4. Month 3 to 9

    Build the evidence

    Live in Cyprus and keep what the Greek file asks for, such as your days here, utility bills in your name, your Cyprus social insurance and any school enrolments.

  5. After 31 DecemberWe do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    We apply for your Cyprus tax residency certificate and register your non-dom status, then keep your day counts and Cyprus filings in order.

  6. By 10 March

    Apply to leave Greece

    Your adviser files the application to move your tax residence, with the declaration naming your tax representative in Greece.

  7. By 10 September

    Send the proof

    Your adviser sends your Cyprus certificate on the two-language treaty form, which needs no apostille. It goes in on time, even if something is missing. The tax office then has two months to decide.

The Cyprus side, done for you.

Fixed prices, excl. VAT, agreed before you start. Government fees are charged at cost, on top of our fee, once your application is approved.

Questions from Greek founders.

Still unsure? Talk to a person on WhatsApp, or book a free call below.

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No, not on you personally. Moving your tax residence out of Greece is forms and deadlines, with no charge. Greece's only exit tax falls on a Greek company that moves its assets, its residence or its business out. Within the EU, the company can pay it in five yearly instalments.

When Greece accepts your exit file, not when you move. Greece keeps you resident if your main home, your usual stay or your personal, economic or social ties are still there, or if you spend over 183 days there in any 12 months. Any one is enough. A complete file on time makes you non-resident from 1 January of the year you left. The treaty won't settle it if both countries claim you.

Send what you have anyway. A file lodged on time but judged incomplete is rejected, and you file a Greek return on your worldwide income with no late-filing penalty. A file that's late or never sent is rejected too, and that return counts as late, with a penalty. Files completed by 31 December of the same year are still accepted without sanctions.

No. A company is Greek if its real management sits in Greece at any time in the year. A sole director in Athens meets most of the tests, and the company then pays Greece's 22% on its worldwide profit. You'd stay Greek resident yourself, so the dividend is taxed in Greece too.

Your IKE or AE stays Greek wherever you live, so it keeps filing, paying 22% and paying the business levy. You can keep it, for example under your Cyprus company, or wind it up. Moving its assets out triggers the exit tax, so price that first. Converting it into a Cyprus company is possible in principle, but it's specialist work.

Yes, but your file must then prove more. If your spouse or civil partner stays Greek resident, Greece wants lasting work in Cyprus, a Cyprus bank account, a Cyprus home with utility bills in your name, and a Cyprus tax or social insurance number, all four together. Family left in Athens also counts as a tie to Greece, so build the evidence early.

You leave Greek social insurance (EFKA), which covers your pension and health, and join the Cyprus system. Joining it is part of the proof that you've left. Under EU rules your Greek years still count towards a pension, but contributions you've paid aren't refunded. Before you go, get your EFKA record in writing, with the categories you paid and the years they cover.

No. Under the 60-day rule you can be Cyprus tax resident with 60 days a year here, a home you rent or own, a business or job in Cyprus, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Running your own Cyprus company can count as the business. You can visit Greece, but keep it under 183 days in any 12 months.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. Settle your Greek exit file, the exit tax and anything else in Greece with a Greek tax adviser. We can recommend one if you need it.

Plan your move with us.

Tell us what you own and when you'd like to move. We'll tell you what applies, what it costs, and what to do first.

  • Which rules at home affect you
  • The order to do things in
  • A fixed price for the Cyprus side

30 minutes, by video, free

Moving from somewhere else?

All countries

Your move, one partner.

We form your company, apply for your residency with you and keep your books.

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What can we help with?

30 minutes, by video, free.