I have been living in Limassol since March 2018, so roughly a year and a half now. Long enough to get past the starry-eyed tourist phase, not long enough to call myself a local. In that time, entrepreneurs from Romania have kept asking me the same thing: “Is Cyprus worth it? Or is it just a low-tax story?”
I have already written about why I moved to Cyprus. This time I want to do something different: take the myths I hear most often, one by one, and set them against what I have actually seen. A fair warning up front: I am neither an accountant nor a lawyer. What follows is an entrepreneur’s observations, not tax or legal advice.
Myth 1: “Cyprus is just a tax haven, an offshore”
That is the picture most people arrive with, and I understand why. For years Cyprus was associated with letterbox companies, accounts for clients from the East and complicated structures. The 2013 banking crisis left its own mark on the island’s reputation.
Today’s reality is different. Cyprus is an EU member state with European legislation and a 12.5% corporate tax rate, one of the lowest in the EU, but perfectly legal and public. It is not a secret system; it is a tax policy choice, much like Ireland’s. And the banks, having been through the crisis, have become far more careful about who opens an account with them. Companies with no real activity are no longer welcome, and the know-your-customer process can take a serious amount of time.
Myth 2: “Everything is done under the table”
I came from Romania with that reflex, I admit. You expect to need “someone” to get a file moving. My experience has been the opposite: the Cypriot state is fair and transparent with entrepreneurs. The rules are written down, they are the same for everyone and, most importantly to me, they do not change from one month to the next.
That does not mean everything is perfect. But you feel the difference immediately between a state that treats you as a partner and one that treats you as a suspect. Two years ago I wrote about what a fair society means to an entrepreneur. Here I have found a good part of what I was describing back then.
Myth 3: “Nobody speaks English”
Probably the easiest one to dismantle. Officially, the country’s languages are Greek and Turkish. In practice, English is used everywhere: in public administration, at the bank, at the accountant’s, in contracts, in meetings. My impression is that it works as a second official language. The British legacy shows, and the international community in Limassol is large.
For a Romanian entrepreneur who speaks English, this means you can handle almost anything without a translator. Which, honestly, I could not say about many other European countries.
Myth 4: “It’s an island for retirees and tourists”
Yes, plenty of tourists come. Yes, there are many retirees, especially British ones who chose the sun. But Limassol in particular has become a business city: shipping companies, fintech, software firms, investment funds, international teams working from here for clients all over the world. The new buildings along the seafront tell the same story.
And quality of life is not a detail for tourists; it is a business argument. Good weather almost all year, the sea a few minutes away, clean air and an open society where foreigners are simply welcomed make good people want to move here. That matters enormously when you are trying to build a team.
Myth 5: “You can move your company there and change nothing”
This is the most dangerous trap. The idea that you open a company in Cyprus, keep everything in Romania and pay Cypriot taxes is naive, to put it mildly. For several years now the EU and the OECD have been tightening the rules on economic substance and transparency: automatic exchange of information between tax authorities, registers of beneficial owners, tougher rules against artificial structures. The direction is clear, and I do not think it will reverse.
A real company needs a real presence: an office, people employed there, decisions taken there, management that actually lives and works in the country. If all of that is somewhere else, your tax obligations are very likely somewhere else too. So before any move, talk to a good local accountant and lawyer and, ideally, to one back home as well. It costs less than a problem three years down the line.
What actually works
Myths aside, here is what I concretely appreciate after a year and a half:
- Labour taxes are reasonable. You can pay people properly without half the cost going to the state. The result: employees who can live decently on their salary and do not look for cash-in-hand arrangements.
- Predictability. You know today what rules you will have next year. For planning, that is worth more than any percentage.
- English as the working language. Contracts, banking, administration, all of it can be done in English.
- Quality of life. Sun, sea, clean air, short distances. You work better when you do not lose two hours a day in traffic.
- Location. Between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with direct flights to many European capitals, Bucharest included.
What nobody tells you (or tells you too late)
It would not be fair to talk only about the good parts. Cyprus has its downsides, and some of them are serious:
- The market is small. The island has around a million inhabitants. If you want to sell locally, you hit the ceiling fast. Cyprus is a good base for international business, not a market in itself.
- Red tape can be slow. Fair, yes. Fast, not always. Opening a bank account or getting certain approvals can take weeks. Patience has to be part of the plan.
- Limassol has become expensive. Rents and property prices have risen noticeably in recent years as more and more companies arrived. It is no longer the cheap town it was a decade ago.
- Distance from your people. For me, the only thing I truly miss about Romania is my friends. I wrote about this in what I miss about Romania. My fix: I visit often. But it is an emotional cost you have to factor in.
Who it is actually worth it for
From what I have seen, Cyprus makes sense for entrepreneurs building something international: software, digital services, e-commerce with customers in several countries, consulting, investments. It makes sense for those willing to actually move, not just change their address. And it makes sense for people who want a calmer life without giving up on ambition.
It does not make sense if your business lives off the local Romanian market and the only reason is saving a few percentage points of tax. I compared the two countries in more detail in doing business in Cyprus vs. Romania, and my conclusion from back then still stands: low taxes are a bonus, not a business model.
My verdict after a year and a half
Cyprus is neither the paradise in the brochures nor the “offshore” of office jokes. It is a small European country with a state that lets you get on with your work, open-minded people and a quality of life that is hard to match. If you come with realistic expectations and a serious plan, it can be one of the best decisions you make. If you come looking for shortcuts, you will be disappointed, probably sooner than you think.
Have you ever thought about moving your business to another country? What stopped you, or what convinced you? I would love to hear.