How to open an account in Cyprus for a non-resident
In the matters related to opening an account in Cyprus, Ukraine is one of the largest sources of clients for Cypriot banks.
Opening an account in Cyprus for a non-resident is a fairly simple process, provided that the person knows the requirements for opening bank accounts in Cyprus and fully complies with the required procedure of actions.
Advantages of opening an account in Cyprus:
- The Republic of Cyprus is a part of the European Union and is not officially an offshore jurisdiction;
- Opening an account in a Cypriot bank is subject to a large system of treaties for the avoidance of double taxation;
- Opening a bank account in Cyprus means getting a good and competent support service of the relevant bank, which will help you get answers to your questions;
- Before opening an account in a Cypriot bank, it is also important to take into account that in Cyprus you can manage your account using online banking.
Depending on which entity is going to open an account in Cyprus – an individual or a company – when registering with the bank, it will be necessary to provide a different list of documents.
In order for an individual to open an account in a Cypriot bank, he/she must submit the following documents to the bank:
- Identity card or passport;
- A bank reference;
- A document confirming the residence address of the applicant;
- Filled in form for opening an account in Cyprus (in the form of a Cypriot bank);
- Documents confirming the financial security of the depositor.
If a company plans to open a bank account in Cyprus, it will need to provide the following documents:
- Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company;
- Certificate of state registration of the company;
- A document that confirms the positions of the director and the secretary (certificate);
- A document confirming the legal address of the company registration (certificate);
- Certificate of shareholders of the company (if any).
Types of accounts in Cyprus
VigoLex conventionally divides all bank accounts that are opened in Cypriot banks into offshore, brokerage and personal accounts.
Opening an offshore account in Cyprus is a popular practice. On the one hand, Cyprus is not officially an offshore jurisdiction. On the other hand, Cyprus has a fairly loyal tax regime, which makes it possible to actually open an offshore account in Cyprus for the purpose of operating a business.
Opening a brokerage account in Cyprus may be needed by persons who invest at foreign stock exchanges. Opening such an account will largely depend on the jurisdiction in which your entity (company) is registered to conduct brokerage activities, as well as whether you have a license. In order to open a brokerage account in Cyprus, you may need to obtain a Cypriot brokerage license.
Opening a bank account in Cyprus for personal use is a popular practice today. One of the reasons is that when considering the issue of opening an account in Cyprus, Ukraine or other CIS countries offer significantly less favourable conditions for opening and using a bank account. As in other jurisdictions, an individual can open a credit or a deposit bank account.
An important detail – when opening a bank account in Cyprus, a mandatory step in the opening procedure is a personal meeting of the person who registers the account with a bank representative. Some banks provide an online meeting or a meeting at a bank branch in Kiev. If this is not possible, you will need to make a personal visit to Cyprus.
List of banks
In order to open an account in Cyprus, you can use the services of many banks, in particular:
- Bank of Cyprus
- AstroBank
- Hellenic Bank
- RCB Bank
- Eurobank Cyprus
- Expobank Cyprus Branch
- Unlimint (previously CardPay).
The specifics of the procedure, cost and terms of opening an account in a Cypriot bank will directly depend on the choice of a particular bank, since such features are directly related to the internal corporate AML, KYC and other policies of a particular bank.
Open an account quickly and easily with VigoLex
The specialists of VigoLex team have extensive experience in supporting the process of opening bank accounts for the company clients and their business in various jurisdictions, specifically in Cyprus.
The available expertise in this field allows us to provide services with high quality, within the agreed terms and with the least possible level of client’s involvement in the legal part of the account opening process.
VigoLex lawyers will be happy to help you with your request and advise on the cost and the terms of opening an account in a Cypriot bank, the nuances of how to open an account in Cyprus for a non-resident, the algorithm of actions at each stage and the cost of VigoLex services in this situation.