The conditions of entry to, and residence in, of third-country nationals who are admitted to Cyprus for a training programme for the purpose of gaining knowledge, practice and experience in a professional environment, for a period exceeding 90 days in, are based on the current legislation, i.e. the European Directive (EU) 2016/801, which was transposed in national law, the Aliens and Immigration (Conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects) Law of 2019, L. 7(I)/2019.

The European Legislation has established conditions for the admission of third country national trainees that are common to all EU Member States. Therefore, the national legislation, which was based on the European one, determines, among other things, the general and specific conditions for the admission of trainees, the type and the validity of their residence permit and the reasons for rejection, withdrawal or non-renewal of their permits.

The above should not apply to third-country nationals who are admitted as trainee employees to Cyprus or to another Member State in the context of an intra-corporate transfer, or third-country nationals who are admitted as highly qualified workers to Cyprus or to another Member State.

A third-country national who is admitted for the purpose of training must present a training agreement, which provides for a theoretical and practical training, with an organization. The training agreement must be approved by the Department of Labour, for a trainee position in an approved organization in the Republic of Cyprus. The Organization has to meet the requirements established in national law, collective agreements or practices of Cyprus. The training agreement shall contain:

(i) a description of the training programme, including the educational objective or learning components,
(ii) the duration of the traineeship,
(iii) the placement and supervision conditions of the traineeship,
(iv) the traineeship hours,
(v)  the legal relationship between the trainee and the host entity.