Cyprus-Forum.com

[FragnaticDeath]

pretty-as-pink, that is illegal... you must register with social insurance to be self employed.

[Tim Drayton]

pretty-as-pink, that is illegal... you must register with social insurance to be self employed.

You don't say?

[diana85]

Do you want to set yourself up as a self-employed person, or establish a company? Quite frankly, if you just want to be self-employed in Cyprus as an EU national then you can easily go through the procedures yourself without needing an accountant or consultant. You just need to register with the tax office and get a tax number, then register with the social insurance office and get a social insurance number (and you will have to start paying into the fund!), then you go the immigration office to apply for a residence permit. You will also have to think about VAT. The VAT threshold is low in Cyprus, so depending on how much turnover you are expecting to do, you may have to go to the VAT office and apply for VAT registration, in which case you will have to return a VAT form every quarter.

Tanks for Your reply
Yes, I'd like set myself as a self-employed person
Can You give me some precise information?
And what is VAT - with full words? And how mush is it in Cyprus? maybee somewhere is a table with turnover and these VAT?
where are these offices: "tax office" , "the social insurance office", "immigration office "? Maybee these offices are in Larnaca too?
And how much I'll must to pay into the fund!

[diana85]

VAT returns every month if you bill within the EU on frequent basis... VAT must be registered if your sales exceed 10.000 Eur per year. To register a company usualy costs 1000-1200 Eur, Bookkeeping around 200 every quarter.

Thanks for Your reply.
But what is if I have no 10 000 Eur per year?
And it must to be disclose in some accounting documents?

[Raymanoff]

You dont have to use VAT if you invoice less than 10000 Eur a year... and to be honest you need an accountant or atleast a consultant to get you started as you have no idea about anything.

[Tim Drayton]

Do you want to set yourself up as a self-employed person, or establish a company? Quite frankly, if you just want to be self-employed in Cyprus as an EU national then you can easily go through the procedures yourself without needing an accountant or consultant. You just need to register with the tax office and get a tax number, then register with the social insurance office and get a social insurance number (and you will have to start paying into the fund!), then you go the immigration office to apply for a residence permit. You will also have to think about VAT. The VAT threshold is low in Cyprus, so depending on how much turnover you are expecting to do, you may have to go to the VAT office and apply for VAT registration, in which case you will have to return a VAT form every quarter.

Tanks for Your reply
Yes, I'd like set myself as a self-employed person
Can You give me some precise information?
And what is VAT - with full words? And how mush is it in Cyprus? maybee somewhere is a table with turnover and these VAT?
where are these offices: "tax office" , "the social insurance office", "immigration office "? Maybee these offices are in Larnaca too?
And how much I'll must to pay into the fund!

IF you plan to live in Larnaca district, then, yes, you have to deal with the government offices in this district. My advice is to get a good street map of Larnaca and then go to any of the state telephone company (known as "CYTA") offices and get a telephone directory, which is free. On the back pages of this directory you will find detailed lists with the addresses and telephone numbers of all government offices.
The district tax office in Larnaca is at 42 Griva Digeni Avenue. It is a fairly straightforward procedure to register as a taxpayer, and then you have nothing else to do until you get your first tax declaration form at the end of the year. In my experience, just about evryone at the tax office speaks English.
The Social Insurance Office is at Filiou Tsigaridou. There is a short form to fill in if you want to join the social insurance scheme and it is in Greek. You will also have to pay your first premium once you have been accepted. This varies from occupation to occupation and will be in the order of 550 euro per quarter. In my experience not everyone at the social insurance office speaks English but a lot of people there do.
I would recommend that you get these two procedures done before applying for a residence permit, because you certainly need them. I can't remember if anyhting else is required, but they will soon tell you at the Immigration office if you need anything else. All the staff at the immigration department speak English, but they are also notorious for being very rude. You will find this the most difficult place to deal with and may face a very long wait. If you are a bona fide EU national wishing to become self-employed in Cyprus, you should be able to get a five year residence permit eventually.
As to VAT (Value Added Tax), you must register if you expect to have a turnover in excess of 10,000 euro per year. I would get started first and then decide later, depending on the success of your business, whether to register for VAT.
Incidentally, bureaucracy is straightforward and non-intrusive in Cyprus. Once you have gone through the above procedures to get established you will find it plain sailing and you will be able to get on with running your business without much official interference.

[pretty-as-pink]

pretty-as-pink, that is illegal... you must register with social insurance to be self employed.

You don't say?

yes thanks frag for also putting me in the picture

[diana85]

Do you want to set yourself up as a self-employed person, or establish a company? Quite frankly, if you just want to be self-employed in Cyprus as an EU national then you can easily go through the procedures yourself without needing an accountant or consultant. You just need to register with the tax office and get a tax number, then register with the social insurance office and get a social insurance number (and you will have to start paying into the fund!), then you go the immigration office to apply for a residence permit. You will also have to think about VAT. The VAT threshold is low in Cyprus, so depending on how much turnover you are expecting to do, you may have to go to the VAT office and apply for VAT registration, in which case you will have to return a VAT form every quarter.

Tanks for Your reply
Yes, I'd like set myself as a self-employed person
Can You give me some precise information?
And what is VAT - with full words? And how mush is it in Cyprus? maybee somewhere is a table with turnover and these VAT?
where are these offices: "tax office" , "the social insurance office", "immigration office "? Maybee these offices are in Larnaca too?
And how much I'll must to pay into the fund!

IF you plan to live in Larnaca district, then, yes, you have to deal with the government offices in this district. My advice is to get a good street map of Larnaca and then go to any of the state telephone company (known as "CYTA") offices and get a telephone directory, which is free. On the back pages of this directory you will find detailed lists with the addresses and telephone numbers of all government offices.
The district tax office in Larnaca is at 42 Griva Digeni Avenue. It is a fairly straightforward procedure to register as a taxpayer, and then you have nothing else to do until you get your first tax declaration form at the end of the year. In my experience, just about evryone at the tax office speaks English.
The Social Insurance Office is at Filiou Tsigaridou. There is a short form to fill in if you want to join the social insurance scheme and it is in Greek. You will also have to pay your first premium once you have been accepted. This varies from occupation to occupation and will be in the order of 550 euro per quarter. In my experience not everyone at the social insurance office speaks English but a lot of people there do.
I would recommend that you get these two procedures done before applying for a residence permit, because you certainly need them. I can't remember if anyhting else is required, but they will soon tell you at the Immigration office if you need anything else. All the staff at the immigration department speak English, but they are also notorious for being very rude. You will find this the most difficult place to deal with and may face a very long wait. If you are a bona fide EU national wishing to become self-employed in Cyprus, you should be able to get a five year residence permit eventually.
As to VAT (Value Added Tax), you must register if you expect to have a turnover in excess of 10,000 euro per year. I would get started first and then decide later, depending on the success of your business, whether to register for VAT.
Incidentally, bureaucracy is straightforward and non-intrusive in Cyprus. Once you have gone through the above procedures to get established you will find it plain sailing and you will be able to get on with running your business without much official interference.

Thank You very very much for Your consultation:)
I will check everything and choose best way for me
It's very nice to receive answer like these in forum.
Thank You very much

[diana85]

You dont have to use VAT if you invoice less than 10000 Eur a year... and to be honest you need an accountant or atleast a consultant to get you started as you have no idea about anything.

In my country we have similar legislation, but some points not like here in Cyprus (this is my second week in Cyprus), that is why I'm here, in these forum, and ask Your consultation
But anyway, thanks for Your answers.