Cyprus granted more than 48,000 temporary residence permits to employees of foreign-interest companies and their family members between 1 January 2023 and 26 August 2024, according to data submitted to parliament by Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou.
The minister provided the figures in response to a parliamentary question from Nicosia MP Alexandra Attalidou, showing the government issued 48,212 permits during the period.
The permits were distributed as follows: 20,997 to employees of foreign-interest companies, 25,053 to family members under family reunification programmes, and 2,162 to family members classified as dependent visitors, including parents, partners and children.
Russian citizens received the majority of permits, with 33,517 grants, according to the ministry data. Ukraine followed with 3,504 permits, whilst Belarus received 2,713.
Israel was granted 1,957 permits, India 1,230, and Lebanon 1,193. Kazakhstan received 336 permits, the United Kingdom 322, the United States 254, and China 241. The remaining 2,945 permits were distributed among other countries.
The ministry said the data covers temporary residence and employment permits as well as family reunification and dependent visitor permits.