Just over a year after its first highly successful event, which attracted more than 750 participants, the “Minds in Cyprus” initiative -aimed at repatriating talent to Cyprus- is returning to the UK, this time taking place in Birmingham and London.
The Birmingham event will be held as a roundtable with a limited number of participants, while the London event will take the form of a career fair. Representatives from major Cypriot companies will attend, giving them the opportunity to meet candidates in person and discuss specific job openings, encouraging their return to work in Cyprus.
This year’s events differ significantly from last year, as Parliament has already approved the relevant incentives, and a dedicated platform is now operational, allowing interested individuals to explore employment opportunities in Cyprus.
A more focused format
Speaking to CBN and InBusinessNews, Invest Cyprus Vice President Yangos Hadjiyiannis said this is the second effort in the UK under the “Minds in Cyprus” initiative, following the success of last May’s event.
“This is the first attempt to make the format of the meetings more focused, as company representatives will now be present and able to engage directly with candidates,” he said, noting that two events are scheduled.
The first event will take place on Monday, June 22 in Birmingham, and the second on Tuesday, June 23 in London.
The Birmingham roundtable will include around 40 participants and will not feature companies, but representatives from the co-organisers. These include the Deputy Minister to the President, Irene Piki, as well as representatives from Invest Cyprus and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
During the session, participants will exchange views and discuss the initiative, its importance, and its benefits.
“The following day will be our main event, with approximately 350 candidates -a very significant number- as well as representatives from 25 major Cypriot companies traveling to London. They will have the opportunity to discuss specific job positions with participants,” Hadjiyiannis added, stressing that the London event will take the form of a career fair.
“Our goal from the beginning was not to hold a purely informational event, but to ensure effectiveness through direct engagement between companies and candidates. We believe we are now entering a new phase of this effort, with a more targeted and substantive approach,” he said.
Plans for expansion to the US and Greece
According to Hadjiyiannis, depending on the results, there are plans to organize similar events in other countries, such as the United States later this year and Greece.
“We will evaluate how the UK events perform and then decide on the next steps,” he noted.
Regarding Invest Cyprus’ role, he explained that as co-organisers alongside the Presidency, they aim to facilitate productive meetings, provide information on the tax incentives approved by Parliament, and support the overall execution of the events.
When asked about results so far, he said they are satisfactory, noting that there has been considerable interest.
Compared to last May’s event, there are now important new developments: the legislation has been passed, meaning tax incentives are no longer theoretical, and the platform—run by Invest Cyprus in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour—is now active, listing available job opportunities.
So far, around 450 individuals have registered on the platform expressing interest in returning to Cyprus.
“More concrete results on how this effort is progressing will become clear when 2026 tax returns are submitted, as this will show how many people apply for tax relief under the scheme. Therefore, by the end of the year we expect to have precise figures on how many individuals have repatriated,” Hadjiyiannis concluded.
