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The Settlor must not be resident in Cyprus.

At least one of the Trustees must be permanently resident in Cyprus.

The beneficiaries must not be residents of Cyprus.

Generally, the assets of the Trust may include any movable or fixed objects, with the exception of real estate in Cyprus, and anything else which the Central Bank of Cyprus may stipulate.

Cyprus Trusts may be established for a maximum period of 100 years from the date of establishment; in the case of Trusts established for charitable purposes, however, there are no restrictions on the duration of the Trust. At the end of the 100 years, the assets must either be divided between the Beneficiaries, or disposed of as defined earlier.

According to the legal regulations in Cyprus, Cyprus Trusts may be transferred to other jurisdictions, just as Trusts established in other jurisdictions may be transferred to Cyprus. It is important that this possibility be included in the original foundation documents of the Trust. It is also a requirement, in cases where Cyprus Trusts are transferred to other jurisdictions, that the legislation of the new jurisdiction recognises the validity of the Cyprus Trust as well as the rights of the beneficiaries. In cases where Trusts are transferred to Cyprus from another jurisdiction, the laws of the original jurisdiction must permit the transfer of the Trust from that jurisdiction.

According to the regulations regarding international Trusts, neither the Trustees, nor the government, nor the Central Bank may publish information regarding Trusts, unless they are ordered to do so as a result of a decision taken by a civil or criminal court.

Neither the assets of the Trust, nor the beneficiaries are subject to tax in Cyprus with regard to income arising from the growth of the Trust assets or its profits. Similarly, income arising from the inheritance of the assets is not taxable in Cyprus. As a brief summary, in practice no taxes arise in Cyprus in relation to Trusts, other than the 250 Cyprus pound registration duty.

A Trust can only be established with the prior permission of the Central Bank of Cyprus. Permission for the establishment of the Trust is granted if the following conditions are met:

• The assets of the Trust, with the exception of the shares of offshore companies and deposits placed in Cypriot commercial banks or their branch offices, must be situated outside Cyprus,
• The Settlor and Beneficiaries must not be residents of Cyprus,
• The Trust may receive no income of a Cypriot source, other than from deposits opened in Cyprus and incomes arising from shares,
• The fees payable to the Trustees, and any other similar fees, must be converted to Cyprus pounds through an officially authorised financial institution,
• The Central Bank of Cyprus has the right and possibility to examine any of the documents of the Trust, and will have access to any information it may require during the examination,
• The Trust is subject to Cypriot law.