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The Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property announces that according to the Companies (Amendment) Law 2024, L.25(I)/2024, which was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on March 15, 2024, the annual fee for companies registered in the Register of the Registrar of Companies is abolished from 2024 onwards. The annual fees for the years from 2011 – 2023 continue to apply.

According to the Amending Law 2024, L.25(I)/2024, dated March 15, 2024, for those companies that have already paid the annual fee of 2024, a refund of fees will be made as follows:

a. For online payments made through JCC, the excess amount will be refunded directly to the card with which the payment was made, without any further action by the applicant.

b. For payments made to the Cashier of the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, the excess amount will be refunded to the applicant’s Bank Account upon presentation to the Cashier of the Department of form KE1, the payment document, together with the authorization form for payments by FIMAS, accompanied by a photocopy of the statement of the Bank Account to be credited, as described in the Authorisation Form.

Κατάργηση ετήσιου τέλους εταιρειών για το έτος 2024 κι έπειτα

Το Τμήμα Εφόρου Εταιρειών και Διανοητικής Ιδιοκτησίας ανακοινώνει ότι σύμφωνα με τον περί Εταιρειών (Τροποποιητικό) Νόμο 2024, Ν.25(Ι)/2024, ο οποίος δημοσιεύτηκε στην Επίσημη Εφημερίδα της Δημοκρατίας στις 15 Μαρτίου 2024, το ετήσιο τέλος των εταιρειών που είναι εγγεγραμμένες στο Μητρώο του Εφόρου Εταιρειών, καταργείται από το 2024 κι έπειτα. Τα ετήσια τέλη για τα έτη από το 2011 – 2023 συνεχίζουν να ισχύουν.

Σύμφωνα με τον Τροποποιητικό Νόμο 2024, Ν.25(Ι)/2024, ημερομηνίας 15 Μαρτίου 2024, για όσες εταιρείες έχει ήδη καταβληθεί το ετήσιο τέλος του 2024, θα γίνει επιστροφή τελών ως εξής:

α. Για διαδικτυακές πληρωμές που έγιναν μέσω JCC, το επιπλέον ποσό θα επιστραφεί απευθείας στην κάρτα με την οποία έγινε η πληρωμή, χωρίς οποιαδήποτε περαιτέρω ενέργεια από τον αιτητή.

β. Για πληρωμές που έγιναν στο Ταμείο του Τμήματος Εφόρου Εταιρειών και Διανοητικής Ιδιοκτησίας, το επιπλέον ποσό θα επιστραφεί στον Τραπεζικό Λογαριασμό του αιτητή μετά την προσκόμιση στο Ταμείο του Τμήματος του εντύπου ΚΕ1, του δικαιολογητικού πληρωμής, μαζί με το έντυπο εξουσιοδότησης για πληρωμές από το FIMAS, συνοδευόμενο από φωτοαντίγραφο της κατάστασης του Τραπεζικού Λογαριασμού που θα πιστωθεί, όπως περιγράφεται στο Έντυπο Εξουσιοδότησης.

What changes with naturalisations – The new framework for qualifications and criteria

The Cypriot House of Representatives approved on the 30th of November 2023 an amendment of the Civil Registry Law (‘the Law’), modernising the current legal framework and relaxing the requirements and criteria for naturalisation of foreign nationals.

The amendments primarily relate to the amount of time that foreign nationals need to have resided in Cyprus prior to applying for naturalisation, as well as knowledge of the Greek language. Further, there are special (more relaxed) provisions for applicants with high qualifications/ skills in the technology sector

The specific amendments create favorable conditions for attracting and retaining highly skilled and qualified individuals, along with their families, in the technology sector. This represents a positive move in the right direction, contributing to the continued development of Cyprus as a global technology hub and reinforcing its status as an appealing international business center. Main points introduced:

Main points introduced:

• Legal and continuous physical stay in Cyprus for the twelve months preceding the application for naturalisation (periods of absence not exceeding 90 days in total are not considered to interrupt the 12-month period).
• Legal physical stay in Cyprus for at least seven out of ten years preceding the aforementioned 12-month period (periods of absence not exceeding 90 days in total per year are not considered as absence for the purpose of calculating the duration of physical stay).
• To be of good character and have a clean criminal record.
• To be financially self-sufficient and have a suitable place of residence.
• To have sufficient knowledge of the Greek language (certificate of basic knowledge, Level B1) and basic knowledge of the country’s political and social status.
• To have the intention to actually stay in Cyprus.

Special provisions for persons with high skills and qualifications employed in the technology sector:

• The period of seven years (out of the last ten) of residence in Cyprus is reduced to four years for applicants having a certificate of knowledge of the Greek language of A2 level, and three years if the certificate is of B1 level.
• Family members of the applicants may also apply for naturalisation, under the same conditions. Spouses or civil partners of the applicants need to possess the
• same certificates of knowledge of the Greek language as the applicants. Minor children of the applicants that reach adulthood (18 years of age) during the examination of their parent’s application shall still be considered minors for the purpose of the Law and be eligible for naturalisation. Dependent adult children with disabilities are also eligible.
• Applications by highly qualified individuals shall be examined via a ‘fast-track’ process not exceeding eight months, subject to the payment of a fee. The details of the fast-track process and the relevant fee shall be determined via Ministerial decision.

Pending applications

Applications for naturalisation that were submitted prior to the enforcement of the amendments in the Law shall be examined under the new criteria, as described above.

Enforcement of the amendment of the Law:

The amendment of the Law has not been yet adjusted in the body of the Law, neither is published at the relevant Authorities’ websites, however it is estimated to be adjusted in the near future.

We are standing by to get more information on the procedure in the upcoming days.

For further clarifications please reach out to our Immigration Lawyer, Eftychia Kyprianou at eftychia.kyprianou@aretilaw.com

 On March 8, 2023, China officially submitted documentation to accede to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, commonly known as the Apostille Convention. The Apostille Convention facilitates the use of public documents abroad by replacing the often long and costly legalization process by issuing a simple Apostille certificate.

The Chinese government stated that their decision to accede to the Convention is in accordance with their efforts to simplify the use of public documents abroad and expedite international trade. The Apostille Convention will officially go into effect in China on November 7, 2023. The Convention will continue to apply in Hong Kong and Macao. China has designated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Competent Authority to issue apostilles to documents originating within mainland China.

It is important to note that the Convention will not be applicable between the People’s Republic of China and the Contracting States that China does not recognize as sovereign states.

To be mentioned that until today, documents issued in China shall have been certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and in the Cyprus Embassy, in order to be able to be used in Cyprus for various applications and/or transactions involving governmental bodies of the Cyprus Republic.

Deprivation of citizenship

In the below article 113 of the above-mentioned law, are listed all the possible ways a Cypriot national, who acquired the Cypriot citizenship by any of the available legal means, may lose the citizenship:

(1) A citizen of the Republic who is a citizen according to registration or is a naturalized person, ceases to be a citizen of the Republic if he is deprived of the status of a citizen by a decree of the Council of Ministers issued in accordance with this article:

Provided that, in the event that a person has been deprived of the status of a citizen of the Republic which he acquired pursuant to article 111A, no investment and/or contribution of money and/or donation made to the Republic and/or which was the reason for the granting of the citizenship of the Republic is returned:

It is further provided that, in the event that a person has been deprived of the status of a citizen of the Republic which he acquired by virtue of article 111A, this status may also be deprived of members of his family who acquired this status as members of his family connected to the due person.