Cyprus tax residency certificates for individuals can now be issued before the end of the relevant tax year.

The Tax Department of the Republic of Cyprus has issued circular 2017/8 on 10 March 2017 stating that individuals can now apply for a tax residency certificate at any time during the tax year without first having to reside in Cyprus for 183 days.

The applicant will have to first register with the Tax Office and declare that he intents to stay in Cyprus for more than 183 days in the relevant tax year. If at any time during the year becomes apparent that the applicant would not be able to meet the 183 day requirement then the Tax Department must be notified immediately and the tax residency certificate issued will be revoked. 

Before this recent amendment tax residence certificates were issued strictly after the relevant prerequisite was satisfied and only after the tax return for the relevant year had been submitted. This created various administrative problems for individuals that relied upon double tax treaty benefits usually resulting in tax being withheld at source with the applicant having to subsequently apply for a refund. The new policy objective is to rectify this problem.