Moving guides
From Portugal to Cyprus
What changes in tax when you move from Portugal to Cyprus: what you pay today, what you would pay there and the rules Portugal applies when you leave.
What you would save
With €150,000 a year in dividends or foreign income, compared as a genuine resident of each country.
Leaving Portugal
- More than 183 days in any 12-month period. You are resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in the tax year.
- Habitual residence. With fewer days, you are still resident if at any time in that 12-month period you have a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting you intend to keep and use it as your habitual residence.
- Part-year residence. Since 2015 residence normally starts on the first day of stay and ends on the last day, so a year can be split into resident and non-resident periods, with some exceptions.
Rules that can follow you after leaving
- Portuguese nationals moving to a blacklisted territory stay resident 4 more years. Portuguese nationals who move tax residence to a territory on the government blacklist remain Portuguese residents in the year of the move and the four following years, unless they prove valid reasons such as temporary work.
Exit tax in Portugal
No general exit tax for individuals
Leaving Portugal does not trigger tax on unrealised gains on ordinary shares or property. Specific exceptions: gains previously deferred on tax-neutral share exchanges or on transferring a sole-trader business into a company can become taxable on loss of residence, and loss of residence is treated as a disposal of crypto-assets (since 2023).
Arriving in Cyprus
Personal income: 0% div. · Company tax: 15%
EU citizens: simple residence registration. 60-day rule with a home and activity in Cyprus.
60 days a year with a home and activity in Cyprus, or 183.
Non-dom: 0% on dividends and interest for 17 years, extendable twice by 5 years for €250,000 per extension. The 2.65% health contribution, capped, still applies. Company tax 15% from 2026.
Living there
Steps to residency
- 3 weeksRegister Cyprus company and open bank account
- 4 weeksApply for Business Activities Facilitation Unit approval or category F permit
- 2 weeksSubmit residence application to Civil Registry and Migration Department
- 10 weeksBiometrics and residence permit issued
About 19 weeks in total
Official websites: Tax authority · Immigration
Approximate figures that change often; check them before deciding.