Cyprus Mail 20 December 2024 - by Tom Cleaver
The labour ministry on Friday set out the government’s new rules regarding the employment of third-country nationals in Cyprus who are either students or high earners.
For high earners, Cyprus is now a part of the European Blue Card scheme, with third-country nationals earning above a certain amount and working in certain sectors offered extra rights compared to ordinary third-country nationals, including the right to live and work in 25 European Union member states – all except Denmark and Ireland.
To qualify for the blue card in Cyprus, a third-country national must be earning a gross salary of at least €43,632 per year and must be working in either information and communication technologies, pharmaceuticals for research purposes, or the maritime sector, excluding ship captains and crews.
The government also amended the rules for third-country nationals students in Cyprus to be able to work on the island while studying, with them now able to work in a large number of professions.
These include wholesale and retail trade and repairs, as porters, as petrol pump or car wash operators, in health and social care, in elderly care, as ward assistants at clinics, provided that they have a secondary school diploma and a basic knowledge of the Greek language.
They can also work in bakeries, feed mills, recycling plants, waste disposal, or as night shift workers in manufacturing industries, or as labourers in the fields of agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, or at animal shelters, in the service sector as cleaners, sewer workers, or distributors.
In the hospitality sector, they will be able to work as kitchen assistants, food distributors, cleaners, waiters, bartenders, receptionists, or maids.
Additionally, students studying in related fields will be able to work as assistant application programmers, assistant systems analysts, assistant software designers, and assistant internet and multimedia designers provided that they have completed the first semester of their studies.
Students who find jobs will be required to secure an employment contract with their employer, and must provide a certificate of full-time studies and a document with their study schedule from a recognised educational institution, as well as their residence permit.
They will then be required to notify the labour department of their monthly work schedule.
