Moving to Cyprus from the USA

Start with the honest part

Most pages on this site lead with the tax saving. For Americans we have to lead with the catch: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live. Move to Cyprus, become a non-dom, receive dividends at 0% Cypriot tax — and the IRS still expects its share, plus the annual filing stack (1040, FBAR, FATCA forms, possibly GILTI if you own a foreign company). Cyprus non-dom status does not switch any of that off. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

So what does work for Americans

• The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion can shelter roughly $130,000 of salary income per spouse from US tax once you genuinely live abroad, and foreign tax credits offset Cyprus tax paid against US liability on the same income.
• Cost and lifestyle arbitrage: an EU-adjacent base with 300+ days of sun, healthcare that costs a fraction of US premiums, and living costs well below any coastal US city.
• A green-card holder who surrenders the card (carefully — long-term holders can face the expatriation regime) can exit the US net entirely and then use Cyprus non-dom like anyone else.
• Renunciation is the nuclear option some high-net-worth Americans take. It can trigger the US exit tax for "covered expatriates" (deemed sale of worldwide assets above an exemption). This is specialist-adviser territory several times over.

The Cyprus side itself is covered in the non-dom guide — the mechanics work the same; it's the US side that doesn't let go.

Getting the right to live here

US citizens are non-EU, so unlike Europeans you need a route: employment through a Cyprus company (including your own, under the foreign-interest companies scheme), permanent residency via a €300,000+ property investment, the digital nomad visa for remote employees of non-Cypriot companies, or a visitor "pink slip" for those living on passive income. Details and timelines are on the residency permits page.

The practical side

No direct flights — you'll connect through Athens, London, Vienna or a Gulf hub; door to door from the US East Coast is a long day. Cyprus drives on the left, so your American car is a poor shipping candidate (and non-EU imports carry duty and VAT; see the car guide). English is spoken everywhere, the expat community is large, and international schools teach in English — see schools and cost of living.