Greece and Cyprus for living rather than for status
Both are usually assessed as programmes. Assessed instead as places to spend years, they compare very differently — and the tax regimes matter more than the permits.
Greece and Cyprus are almost always assessed as programmes — thresholds, permits, processing times. Assessed instead as places to live for years, they compare very differently, and the deciding factor is tax rather than immigration.
Cyprus
- Non-dom status for new tax residents exempts dividends and interest from the defence contribution for a long period, which for someone living on investment income is the single most valuable feature of the jurisdiction.
- A 60-day tax residence rule exists alongside the ordinary 183-day one, subject to conditions on not being tax resident elsewhere, having a business or employment tie, and maintaining a home. It is unusually accommodating and is frequently misapplied.
- No inheritance tax.
- Common law system, English widely used, and a real professional services sector.
- Not in Schengen, which affects daily travel more than people expect.
Greece
- A lump-sum regime for high-net-worth new residents, paying a fixed annual amount on foreign income, with family members addable — structurally similar to Italy's.
- A separate favourable regime for foreign pensioners transferring residence, taxing foreign pension income at a flat rate for a period.
- An inbound regime for employees and self-employed relocating, exempting part of income for a period.
- ENFIA, the annual property tax, which falls due regardless of use.
- Schengen membership, and a genuine domestic market rather than an island economy.
How to choose between them
If the income is dividends and interest and the family is internationally mobile, Cyprus's non-dom treatment is difficult to beat and the 60-day rule makes the residence achievable. If the income is a pension, Greece's pensioner regime is aimed precisely at that. If it is a large foreign income of mixed character, the lump-sum regimes in Greece and Italy compete directly and the choice is about the country rather than the number.
The point that applies to both
Every one of these regimes is elected, conditional, time-limited and periodically revised. None of them is a property of the passport or the permit. Choosing a country for a regime means checking, before moving, that you qualify for it, how long it runs, and what happens at the end — because at the end you are an ordinary resident of an EU tax system.
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Related reading
Neighbouring write-ups in this section and news on the same subject.
Cyprus as a jurisdiction: the company, non-dom status and opening a bank account
Why people move to Cyprus for more than the sea: the corporate tax rate, the non-dom regime with its exemption from defence contribution, the 60-day tax residency rule and what opening a bank account really involves.
Cyprus taxes through a company and non-dom status: the four-step structure and the honest 2026 arithmetic
A Cyprus company, 15% corporate tax, non-dom status and dividends free of Defence Contribution. We run the numbers on €100,000 of profit after the 2026 reform and show where the structure stops working.
Relocating a team: what an employer has to solve
Moving one person is immigration. Moving a team is immigration, payroll, tax, social security and a permanent establishment question — and the last one is the expensive surprise.
If the move does not work out: going back without losses
A meaningful share of relocations reverse within three years. Planning the return at the start costs nothing and changes what the reversal costs.
The notifications and filings people forget when they move
A relocation generates a set of obligations towards the country you left. They are small, individually trivial, and generate penalties out of proportion when missed.
Selling a business before you move: sequence, tax and the money afterwards
For most people relocating with capital, the business sale is the largest single event. Whether it happens before or after the residence changes decides a great deal of the outcome.
This write-up is published for information only. It is not legal or tax advice and does not replace a qualified adviser in the relevant jurisdiction. Programme terms, timelines and requirements change — check them against the rules in force on the day you apply.