Legal ways to get Cyprus permanent residency

Cyprus permanent residency is a legal status that entitles non-EU citizens and qualifying dependents to enter and stay as permanent residents in Cyprus with no limitations. It does not expire; therefore, the holder does not need to renew it. It is also known as a Cyprus immigration permit or unlimited residency.

To become a permanent resident in Cyprus, you must either live in Cyprus for five years with a valid temporary residence permit, invest a minimum of €300,000 in the country, marry a Cypriot, secure permanent employment or own a company registered with the migration department.

The investment option is a fast track that can be completed within 2-3 months. This residency can cover the whole family and does not expire.

A holder of such a permit can apply for citizenship in Cyprus after eight years of residing there.

The legal basis of the permanent residence scheme is Regulations 5 and 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations.

Permanent residence programs

A PR in Cyprus is divided into several main categories.

Permanent residency by investment

“Cyprus residency by buying a property” type of permit is for investors who purchase property in Cyprus and have sufficient income from abroad:

• Category 6.2 Fast Track Permanent Residency can be obtained by investing at least €300.000 (plus VAT) in a brand-new house or apartment in Cyprus.
• Permanent Residency Category F requires an investment in real estate of at least €100.000 (plus VAT) and annual income from abroad, which covers living expenses while residing in Cyprus, without working or doing business. The required yearly income starts from €9568 for one applicant plus €4613 for each dependent person.

Here is an example of the Cyprus permanent resident card obtained through investment:

Residency with the right to work

This type of permit is for owners and employees of companies with foreign interests:

• Category C: Investors who work for their own company, provided they bring from abroad a capital of about €260,000, which will be used for their company activities in Cyprus.
• Category E: Persons who have been offered permanent employment.

To learn more about this type of permit, read about Cyprus business visas.

Other types of permanent residency in Cyprus

Permanent Residence after 5 years of stay

Non-EU citizens who resided legally and continuously in Cyprus for five years before the application filing and had a valid Cyprus temporary residence card for the entire period are entitled to apply for the so-called long-term residence permit.

Permanent Residency for EU citizens

After 5 years of continuous legal residence in Cyprus, European Union citizens and their family members who are also EU citizens can apply for permanent residency.

Permanent Residency by marriage to Cypriot

Applicants married to Cypriot Citizens, their minor children from a previous marriage, and parents of the Cypriot citizen or parents-in-law are allowed to apply for an unlimited-duration residency permit that entitles them to residency rights.

Read more about PR by marriage.

Fast-track procedure for obtaining a PR

Requirements for Cyprus permanent residency by investment

To qualify for Cyprus residency, investors must follow certain criteria.

• For residential properties, the investor must purchase a new house or apartment (or two properties) from a development company, such as DevelopersCyprus , for a minimum of €300,000 plus VAT. VAT is 19%, or 5%, for the first property bought for personal use.
• For commercial properties, the investor must purchase offices, hotel buildings, shops, or other commercial realty worth at least €300,000. The property can even be resale.
• The investor must register his sales agreement at the Land Registry and pay the amount of €300,000 (plus VAT). The payment must be made in the seller’s bank account in Cyprus, and the money should be transferred from abroad.
• The delivery date does not matter, so properties under construction can be included.
• The property can be bought in the name of a company whose absolute owner or ultimate beneficiary will be the investor or his/her spouse.

If you’re an investor looking to obtain permanent residency in Cyprus through means other than real estate investment, you have two options available (same amount of €300,000):

• You can buy shares or register a company and invest in its share capital. Still, the company must be based and operating in the Republic of Cyprus, with an office and a minimum of five employees.
• You must be a resident of Cyprus to invest in units of the Cyprus Investment Organization of Collective Investments (forms of AIF, AIFLNP, RAIF).

If the investor wishes to sell the investment or the property, he/she must replace it with another of equal or higher value and follow all the abovementioned conditions.

Annual income

The investor must show an annual secured income of at least €50,000 from abroad. This income is increased by €15,000 for the spouse and €10,000 for each underage family child.

It can be any income, including salaries, pensions, dividends, fixed deposits, rents, etc. The spouse’s income (if any) can be included in calculating income.

Family members

The permanent residency permit covers the spouse and children up to 18 years old.

Also, children between 18 and 25 years old can apply separately for a student immigration permit, provided they fulfil the following:

• Financially dependent on the investor.
• Unmarried.
• University students abroad on the date of submission of the application.
• The parents have an additional annual income of €10,000 for each child.

The PR is kept by the children for life even if they exceed the age of 25 or do not continue to fulfil the above (unmarried, financially dependent, students).

However, their future spouse or child cannot be added as dependents on their PR. If children want to study at the University of Cyprus, they must apply for a temporary residence permit as students. When they finish their studies, regardless of their age, they can apply for PR with the condition of an extra annual income of € 10,000.

Other conditions

Applicants must also comply with the following:

• They must provide a clean criminal record from their country of residence and show that the record remains clean every three years.
• They should not be regarded as a danger to the public order/security of Cyprus.

Permanent Residency in Cyprus Category F

To be eligible for this type of permit (slow-track permanent residency), the applicant mainly needs to show:

• Property purchase

  Cyprus permanent residency category F is flexible and requires no strict property purchase. However, it is recommended that you buy a property in Cyprus for any amount. It can even be a resale property. The money for the purchase does not need to be transferred from abroad.

• Annual income

  The applicant must show a yearly income of at least €9568 for one applicant plus €4613 for each dependent person. This income must be from abroad and from salaries, pensions, stock shares, and rents.

• Bank deposit in Cyprus

  The applicant should deposit an amount of approximately €15.000 to €20.000 in his bank account in Cyprus, which is not pledged. This amount is a simple deposit which can be used after applying.

• Family members

  Only children up to 18 can apply as a dependent, and their permanent residency will be valid until they turn 18. The parents of the applicants cannot apply as dependents.

Applying for PR category F with a rented property is also possible. However, the Migration department may decline the application. Based on our experience, we recommend applying after purchasing a property.

Read more about Category F permits.

Conditions and restrictions of the permanent residency program

• The holders are not allowed to work in Cyprus. However, they can be shareholders in a Cypriot company, which can do business in Cyprus or abroad and receive dividend income from it.
• The Cypriot permanent residence permit does not grant visa-free travel to other countries or European Union member states, as it is only for Cyprus. The only exceptions are Romania and Bulgaria.
• The permanent residence holder must personally visit Cyprus at least once every two years.

Category F only

• The processing time at the moment cannot be estimated (updated - November 2024)
• The children of the applicant will lose it once they become 18 years old

Annual obligations to verify criteria

The applicant must submit to the Civil Registry and Migration Department a confirmation that they retain the following.

Submitted every year (annually):

• The initial investment;
• Health insurance, in case the applicant and their family are not covered by the General Health System (Gesy).

Submitted every three years:

• A clean criminal record in their country of residence and their country of origin;

The residence permit will be withdrawn if these documents are not submitted or verified.

The requirement to annually submit proof of the necessary income level has been abolished.

How to get a permanent residence permit in Cyprus

To obtain a permanent residency permit in Cyprus, the applicant needs to apply with the following required documents:

• Copy of valid passport of the applicant, spouse and children
• Curriculum Vitae for the applicant
• Marriage Certificate duly certified (official and certified translation)
• Children’s Birth Certificates duly certified (official and certified translation)
• Original Criminal Record Certificate (Issued from the country of residence and submitted with an official and certified translation)
• Documents to prove annual income from abroad (tax declarations or auditor confirmation)
• Title of ownership or contract of sale of property in Cyprus
• Bank Swift for the payment of the purchase price & receipts of payment
• Category F only: Original Letter from a bank in Cyprus OR Bank Statement to show the balance of €15.000 - €20.000

Please note that Criminal Record certificates, marriage certificates, and children’s birth certificates should be translated into English and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or Embassy) of the country that will issue them. This can be done by the Cyprus Embassy of that country or by bearing the APOSTILLE stamp.

Application procedure

The application to obtain a permanent residency can be submitted by the investor’s lawyer, who does not need to be present at the submission. Applications are only provided at the Civil Registry and Migration Department in Nicosia, not at the district immigration units of each city.

After the submission, the applicants must provide a photo and fingerprints so that the residency cards can be issued upon approval. This can be done any time before the final approval at any migration district unit in any city.

Below are the addresses of each city’s immigration unit.

Nicosia	Agamemnonos 6, Engomi, 2411 Nicosia
Limassol	Franglinou Rousvelt 223, Zakaki, Building ¨D. Nikolaou¨, 2nd floor, 3046 Limassol
Larnaka	Piale Piasha 75, 6027 Larnaka
Pafos	Eleftheriou Venizelou & Kaningos 22, 2nd floor, 8021 Pafos
Famagusta	Eleftherias 83, Tatolos Bld, Derynia Plaza, 1st floor, 5380 Derynia

On approval, the lawyer will collect the PR cards.

Processing time

The fast-track Cyprus residency by investment takes about two months to obtain. Once approved, the lawyer can collect the cards on behalf of the investors.

As of November 2024, the processing time for the application examination under category F can not be estimated. The applications are submitted normally but not processed until further notice by the immigration department.

Cyprus government fees

The cost of the fast-track permanent residency program is €300.000, and it does not include the following fees:

Applicant / applicants’ spouse / children under 18	€500 for all €70 for each person for registration
Adult children (each)	€500 €70 for registration

The fees are the same for Category F permits.

Benefits of Cyprus permanent residency

• Cyprus permanent residency is valid for life.
• The whole family can apply to get a residence permit.
• A Permanent resident of Cyprus who has completed eight years of legal stay in Cyprus is entitled to apply for Cyprus Citizenship. This is the naturalization scheme based on years of residence (M127). The five-year option is no longer available.
• A residency card is obtained within two months through the fast-track process.
• PR holders might be eligible to apply to become Cyprus Tax residents, which would give them the advantage of being exempt from worldwide dividend and passive interest income and the profit from the sale of securities.
• PR holder benefits from the newly established General Healthcare system and is entitled to free healthcare.
• PR Category F is a flexible procedure that allows the holder to get permanent residency in a European country with minimal investment.

Cyprus permanent residency and citizenship compared

Action	Citizenship	Permanent Residence
Open bank account	Yes	Yes
Register a company	Yes	Yes, but whether you can work in it depends on the type of permit.
Buy real estate	Yes	Permission from the Council of Ministers
Rent real estate to third parties	Yes	Depends on the terms of the permission.
Work	Yes	Depends on the type of permit.
Make a contract	Yes	Yes, except for some contracts, like employment (depending on the permit).
Education and healthcare	Yes	Yes
Everyday transactions and activities, marriage	Yes	Yes
Travel to all EU member states	Yes	No. Only Bulgaria and Romania.
Live and work in other EU member states	Yes	No
Vote	Yes	No
Travel and return to Cyprus with no formalities	Yes	Yes
Duty not to leave Cyprus for more than two years	No	Yes

Our services

Our team of immigration lawyers in Limassol, Cyprus, is ready to advise and prepare any of the above permanent residency applications. We will support you through all the procedures, from initial property purchase to advice on required documents, preparation and submission of the immigration permit applications, and collection of the PR cards.

Contact us for a free personal consultation and learn about our competitive fee services.

Frequently asked questions