CURiousT

Recently been to Cyprus and looks like a nice place to live. Met several Brits living there so I am curious.

First question is –
How difficult is it for a Brit to start a business in Cyprus?

Many thanks

toastaddict

speaking as a brit whose done this themselves i can tell you its extremly difficult!

The CY goverment does nothing to encourge new businesses. And as soon as you mention to them that you intend to start one up they will pounce all over your business from every angle and start sucking money out of it vampire style.

Added to this that Cyprus is a highly rascist community. Be under no illision that the Cypriots like the British. They like them so long as their spending money but as for doing busniess with them... no! There is even a strong Cypriot attitude that if they dont use one of their own then they are somehow letting down their fellow community by using "xenos"

Laws here do not protect the British, even when they are meant to , and going to the police to report a crime against you is a dead loss if the criminal is likely to turn out to be Cypriot. The police will nodd and smile and then you will hear nothing ever again.

The CY goverment regularly picks on ex pat businesses to check that all is in order, not a single cent is allowed to be out of line. And the paper work is extremly confusing not even trained accounts here understand it to well. It seems to have been designed so that the person will get it wrong and can then be fined.

The Cypriots on the other hand operatate on a backhanded, cash only and wink wink basis. But do not be fooled, us Brits are not allowed to get away with this.

Also do not be fooled by the Cypriots telling you that Cyprus law is based on English law. This is a lie. It used to be based on English law but when they got independence from the Brits they threw out the English laws and instead modeled their legal system on Indian instead. This means there really isn't any workable legal system. bribery is commanplace.

Added to this be prepared that you will be regularly scammed at every oppotunity. You will pay up to 50% more simply because your british. Even utility bills have extra added on if your British.

There is a great strength of feeling here against the Brits. They still remember 1950 and blame the Brits for 1974. You won't see this immedaitly but scratch the surface and you find deep resentment and anger underneath. In fact the whole 1974 problem is normaly used as the exhuse as to why they rip off and scam the Brits so much.

I know many people who have been out here for years running a business, they barely make a profit and have had to resign themselves to this fact. You eventually get wise to the scams and see beyond the oily smiles. But theres no chance out here of having a profitable business. Everyone is struggling, the Cypriots support their own and Brits are very much on their own.

Unemployment is sky high, even waitressing jobs are fought over. My advice to you would be come out here with a lot of capital behind you. A good 4 years worth, this is normaly how long it takes to break even. Always hire a good lawyer. never ask a cypriot for a recomend of services because they will recomend their cousin rather than the best person for the job.

Sorry i'm not giving you an all roses view, but this is how it is...

CURiousT

Hey Toast,

Interesting reply. I gather what your are saying is that you have set-up a business in Cyprus and these are your expediencies?

How long have you lived in Cyprus?

I must admit it all seems strange with Cyprus being part of the EU but they are not governed according to the EU and obviously the whole aim of the EU is open trade and residency,

I certainly saw a complete opposite (or lack of) health and safety in Cyprus.

It just doesn’t stack-up and the whole EU is a con if this is what is happening in Cyprus.

Thanks for your interesing reply.

toastaddict

hi

Cyprus is part of the EU. They are very happy to take the EU handouts given to them but what they are not yet doing is obeying the EU laws.

Go into any goverment office and you will find them blatently doing things in a totaly illegal way, when you point out to them that under EU law they are not allowed to do this, you will just get a Cypriot shrug of the shoulders and be told "you are in cyprus now!" to which you might respond " yes and Cyprus is in the EU!" but the response is again ... "you are in Cyprus now!"

Until the EU gives them big enough fines for breaking the laws they won't tow the line. Right now its more profitable to pay the small fine and rake in the big illegal profit.

.... this BTW is the country that is about to take on the EU presidency (!)

CURiousT

Hey Toast,

It makes it all crazier that the British tax payer will probably have to bail Cyprus out as well and if we go there we are hated.

Back in Britain you will be jailed for showing or talking any disregard for immigrants – it’s the EU way and Brussels tell what to do & how to think.

Someone needs to burst the bubble on this lot but as you are probably aware the bankers and the whole EU cronies and probably just the same as the Cypriot mafia.

One rule for them & one rule for us

To be honest – I think if we took the time to actually sit & engage with some of the rioters we will find that these issues are major frustration for the youth but the media are just the government / banker puppets.

Do you still live in Cyprus?

Also be interesting to see if anyone else has any comments on this thread.

Have a nice weekend

toastaddict

hi curious,

Yes in the UK rascisum is socaily unacceptable, here in CY it is socaily applauded!

this is an island still constantly harkining back several decades. Trouble is they are coaching their children to have the same views. So i can't see it changing too much.

If Cyprus ever enters the 21st century it will have to be dragged kicking and screaming...

Itsy101

Hi Curious & Toast. I have been here 8 mths setting up a new business that is CY owned on a consulting basis. A lot of what Toast says is true...however there are always two sides to each story.

I am a middle aged Brit living in Nicosia. I work with and live with Cypriots and have very little ex pat comms. My experience is that the ex pat community do very little to blend in, learn the language, eat the food and get involved in the customs and activities outside of their own ex pat communities. My stay has been fun and I have found the Cypriots, of all ages, I meet to be very generous and accommodating to a fault. Just learning a few phrases has really helped me to become friends with many locals who have gone out of their way to take me places that tourist don’t go and never accepting any money. Indeed I have trouble spending money.
Now down to business. Yes it very corrupt and you will defo need some local help. Business is done by introduction. Who you know is very important to break down the barriers. That said if you are a British business owner you are respected and know for honesty when locals will bullshit customers a lot.
Do lots of research before opening a business. The one solid piece of advice would be to do something different or cutting edge. Cypriots love to boast about having the latest and greatest of everything. If it’s cheap and cheerful that will count against you. Be expensive and V good. I know that sounds crazy but from what I have seen and heard they like to tell friends how much something cost

CURiousT

Hi,

Yes it is true – usually there are three sides to a story

Bottom line exercise - to go in to a potential business opportunity knowing that your target market are anti and on top of that know that your product / service has a high price tag is leaning heavy on the risk-mometer.

So – if like I others that see the obvious and access the risk they will shy away from what is called – investment.

In a country that is bankrupt investment is needed and sometimes it takes dire consequences before the “change” button is pressed.

Outside that I can not understand why most Cypriots run around in Mercedes (and other flash cars) in a country that is bankrupt but reading your (Itsy101) input offers explanation that we are dealing with very large egos.

Not a crystal ball reader but – bankruptcy and egos don’t go well together so I foresee some serious impact

I am enjoying this thread and it is really interesting.

Take care

zygiman

As with many businesses, you have to do your feasibility study, to see if it is worthwhile. This also means, for you to see if you can live in Cyprus too.

Living in Cyprus is becoming more difficult, and setting up a "winning " business becomes harder, as the competition is becoming more intense.

A lot of the previous comments are quite true, but you really should come and see for yourself first. Then you can see about committing time and money into a venture in Cyprus.

CURiousT

Hi Zygiman,

Yes what you say is true but competition is not exclusive to Cyprus, anybody with basic business experience should understand competition

Ultimately what has been discussed above translates to being “allowed” to have a business in Cyprus if you are not Cypriot A bit like the boys club thing that is not uncommon

The thing is – we are not dealing with a boys club here – it seems to be a cultural stance and there is one thing taking on competition (on a business level) and another taking on cultural strongholds.

The strangest thing is that this is - all this happening in an EU zone and guess who foots the bill for these bankrupt countries let alone going down questioning the multi-cultural group-hug in the EU rule book

Lets face it the EU thing many times doesn’t stack up and this is a fine example.

Hope you all have a good Friday

Domino

Hi
as I am sure you realise, it can depend on the type of business you are looking to start up, what products\services and who will be your customers.

some people are saying you will not get any help anywhere, well I would suggest a trip to
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/busin...p/index_en.htm
and more specifically
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/busin...s/index_en.htm

locally in Cyprus you may wish to look at http://www.enterprise-europe-network...es/CY/Lefkosia

if a particular market is worth (say) €10m as a newcomer and there are 10 players, all you need to do is take 1% from each, which they are unlikely to notice, and you are on your way.
work on your SWOT analysis to see if it worth the effort.

hope this helps a bit for you and anyone else looking in
rgds
Dom

Stevienic

This is a very interesting thread, not least in the way it throws up xenophobic attitudes of some of the posters. I would find it strange for example that there should be legislation in place specifically to 'protect brits' in Cyprus, or that anyone who knows anything about history should wonder why there is a mild xenophobia at large here. I've seen many small British owned businesses in the Larnaca area (as evidenced by white vans) which have logos and names (all in english) which suggest that they are 'honest' and implying that the locals are not...mildly offensive in anyones' book, and these same business folk complain when they get few customers.

I've dealt with many Cypriot businesses (trades etc) and have never had any problems about being ripped off. I think it's a case of there being good and bad everywhere (not just here)...

The biggest problem for any new business would be to break through the family and associates network here. It is a big part of the culture and might be misread as xenophobia, but for a small, close-knit community - breaking down business barriers is very difficult...

Domino

I am watching this in Spain, and have designed all my literature in the 2 languages, have 2 mobile phones and working on migrating the website to dual language as well

if you are living in another man's country you should respect his differences and his strengths and weaknesses.
in exactly the same way as they insist incomers do in the UK, although there there are the fluffy bunny brigade who welcome everyone with open arms, before going home to the hubby and 2.5 kids on a private estate.
in the uk local council translates forms into about 12 distinct languages and a couple of dialects. in spain all forms are in 3 languages - spanish, spanish and spanish.
its their country and they will run it how they want.

rgds

Iztheman

Hello everyone,

I am liking this thread. I am a British born Turkish Cypriot, looking to start a business in Cyprus (on the south side).

I use to spend 6 weeks every year in the north of Cyprus and I can tell you as for "how things work", it is very much a case of who you know. The north is not much different from the south in terms of how things are done in an official manner. Just because the south has a nice EU coating on it do not let that fool you. The island is small with a low population, when you have that mix things are done through people you know in places and if you are related to them then this a massive bonus. When the islands hits maybe 5 to 10 million then it will be a totally different story, but this is not going to be in out life times.

A massive benefit to help tackle this is as "Itsy101" mentioned is to try and learn some phrases and MINGLE with the populous. Once they see you are taking in their culture and language I tell ya they are the most welcoming and hospitable people in the world! I am even learning Greek to make things easier for me, being a Turkish Cypriot an all I KNOW I will need to learn Greek to keep them off my back.

That being said, I wanted to know if there are many British Turkish Cypriots or just Turkish Cypriots from the north of the island that work or have businesses set up in the south? And what is business life for them in the south?

If anybody has any info on this I would be very thankfull.

zygiman

Sound advice here!