Beckham runs out in six years. Cyprus non-dom runs for seventeen.

In plain English: a Cyprus home, a Cyprus company or role, and 60+ days a year on the island. Dual-residency conflicts are now resolved through the tax treaty with your other country rather than by a blanket "not resident elsewhere" test. How the 60-day rule works in practice →

1. 1

   Break Spanish residency properly

   Spend no more than 183 days in Spain, and have no centre of economic or vital interests there, and avoid the family presumption — if your spouse and minor children keep living in Spain, you're presumed still Spanish-resident unless you can prove otherwise. Get a Cyprus tax residency certificate to back up the move. Short trips back to Spain count as days in Spain unless you can show you're tax resident elsewhere.

2. 2

   You don't need the 5-year quarantine

   Spain has a rule that keeps you deemed-resident for 5 years if you move to a listed tax haven. Cyprus isn't on that list — it's an EU Member State with a double tax treaty, so the quarantine doesn't apply. Your clean Cyprus residency starts from day one of a genuine move.

3. 3

   Plan the exit tax before you leave

   If you've been resident for 10 of the last 15 years and you either hold a portfolio over €4m or 25%+ of a company worth over €1m, Spain deems you to have sold on the day before you leave. For moves inside the EU, including Cyprus, the tax is automatically deferred with no security required, and it's wiped if you don't actually sell within the relevant window. It's a paperwork exercise, not a hit on your pocket, if you plan it right.

4. 4

   Finish Beckham years before you switch

   If you're on the Beckham regime, leaving Spain ends it. Time the move so you get the benefit of the flat years, then switch straight into Cyprus non-dom for the longer horizon.

5. 5

   Decide what happens to the Spanish company

   A Spanish SL stays Spanish-resident for corporate tax wherever you live. Typical options: keep it and distribute dividends (treaty and EU rules handle the withholding), put a Cyprus holding on top and restructure, redomicile under the EU cross-border mobility rules, or wind it down. Spanish real estate stays in the Spanish tax net when you sell it, even as a non-resident.

1. 1

   Before you move

   Get the exit side right

   The biggest relocation mistakes happen at home, not in Cyprus. Confirm when your home-country tax residency actually ends, sort out any exit-tax exposure on company shares, and decide what happens to any existing business. This is where most of the money is made or lost.

2. 2

   Month 1

   Set up the Cyprus side

   If you plan to use the 60-day rule, you need a Cyprus company and a role in it. We handle the incorporation, registered office and tax registrations so it's ready before you arrive. About 5–10 business days.

3. 3

   Month 2

   Move and file your Yellow Slip

   You arrive, rent or buy a home, and file the Yellow Slip within four months. It's inexpensive, quick, and confirms your right to be here on paper.

4. 4

   Month 2 onwards

   Build up your Cyprus days

   Whichever route you use — 60 days with ties, or 183 days — the important thing is to track presence properly from day one. A simple log, boarding passes, and receipts are enough. We tell you when you've crossed the line.

5. 5

   Year 1

   First Cyprus tax return, non-dom locked in

   At the end of your first tax year we file the return that formally registers you as a Cyprus tax resident and non-dom. From that point forward, your dividends come to Cyprus on the 0% line for the next 17 years.