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Pathway

Cyprus Permanent Residence by Investment

Cyprus Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Investing at least €300,000 in an eligible option may support permanent residence in Cyprus through the expedited Regulation 6(2) process. You also need to meet the income, legal source of funds, insurance, housing, background, and work restrictions. Often marketed as a golden visa, this gives an Immigration Permit rather than citizenship.

Investment
At least €300,000 from lawful funds abroad in an accepted property, operating Cyprus company, or Cyprus fund; a first-sale home also attracts VAT
Annual income
At least €50,000, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent minor child; home-purchase applicants need income from abroad
Employment limits
No ordinary employment in Cyprus; specified company-director roles are allowed

Summary

Cyprus offers permanent residence to qualifying investors through Regulation 6(2), covering specified property purchases, shares in an operating local company, and eligible Cyprus fund units. The €300,000 minimum does not make every purchase eligible: each option has conditions, and the application also examines lawful foreign-source funds, secure income and the household's other requirements.

The investment must be maintained after approval, with continuing evidence and absence rules affecting retention. Ordinary employment is restricted, subject to narrow permitted roles. This is permanent residence rather than a passport program; a later citizenship application requires its own actual-residence and other qualifications.

Choose the investment first, then apply its particular rules
  1. Select one qualifying investment category Distinguish a first-sale home, other property, operating-company capital and qualifying fund units.
  2. Prove the investment and wider financial case Document accepted ownership, foreign source and payment trail, income, housing and insurance.
  3. Maintain the permit’s conditions Observe investment, reporting, absence and non-employment rules after any grant.

Permanent residence does not grant citizenship or ordinary work permission. Property first-sale and VAT rules do not apply identically to every investment category.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

The main applicant must be a third-country national and invest at least €300,000 in one of these categories:

The applicant must show that the investment money came to Cyprus from abroad and was lawfully sourced. The policy generally expects payment from the applicant's or included spouse's bank account to the seller's account at a Cyprus financial institution. A company account can be used in the circumstances described in the official clarification when the applicant or spouse is the sole shareholder and is included in the application.

The secure annual income threshold is €50,000 for the main applicant, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent minor child. For the first-sale-home category, the income must come from abroad. For the other three categories, some or all may come from activity within Cyprus. The spouse's income may be counted. The evidence may be a foreign tax return or official certificates from an independent certified accountant.

The applicant and spouse need clean criminal-record certificates from their country of origin and, if different, country of residence. The applicant and dependent family members need health insurance for inpatient and outpatient care unless covered by Cyprus's GESY system. Accommodation evidence is required for the non-home categories and whenever the investment property's bedrooms do not meet the family's needs.

The applicant and spouse must confirm that they do not intend ordinary employment in Cyprus. A director role is allowed in the company used for the qualifying share-capital investment. When the investment is not in that company, the applicant or spouse may hold shares in Cyprus companies and may be an unpaid director; dividends are not treated as prohibited employment.

The main permit can cover a spouse and children under 18. An unmarried, financially dependent child aged 18 to 25 who is studying outside Cyprus when the application is filed can make a separate application, with an additional €10,000 income shown for that child. A non-dependent adult child can qualify through a higher investment: the €300,000 amount is multiplied for each adult child relying on the investment, and each must meet their own €50,000 income threshold plus family additions.

More about this route

The current government page applies the fourth revision of the policy, effective 2 May 2023. It offers four investment categories: a first-sale house or apartment, other Cyprus real estate, share capital in an operating Cyprus company, or units in specified Cyprus collective-investment organizations.

The residence right is of unlimited validity for the main holder and adult dependents, while the physical residence card normally expires after ten years and must be replaced. The permit remains conditional: the investment must be maintained, annual monitoring evidence is required, and long absence or failure to establish residence can end the status.

What This Route Allows

The route grants permanent residence in Cyprus to the approved applicant and qualifying family members. The main holder and adult dependents receive an unlimited residence right, although their cards must generally be replaced every ten years. A minor's card normally remains valid until age 18.

The policy has an estimated examination period of about two months once a complete application is submitted and no criminal-record, public-order, or security issue arises. This is an estimate, not a guarantee.

The permit allows the holder to reside in Cyprus without ordinary annual renewal of the underlying right. Limited corporate participation is possible under the policy: the permitted director or shareholder arrangements described above do not turn the status into a general work permit.

What This Route Is Not

This is not citizenship by investment and does not directly grant a Cyprus passport. A holder seeking citizenship must later qualify under the separate naturalization law, including its actual-residence, language, civic-knowledge, character, resources, and intention-to-reside rules. Holding the investor permit while spending little time in Cyprus does not by itself satisfy those requirements.

It is not permission for ordinary employment or self-employment. The director/shareholder exceptions are narrow and should be structured against the official policy before work begins.

The permit is not unconditional. Selling or withdrawing the investment without immediate replacement by another qualifying investment of equal or greater value can lead to cancellation. The official general Immigration Permit rules also state that the permit ceases if a holder living abroad fails to acquire residence in Cyprus within one year of approval, acquires permanent residence abroad, or is absent from Cyprus for two years.

Monitoring continues after approval. The investor must submit annual proof that the investment is maintained and, if the family is no longer covered by GESY, proof of health insurance. The official clarification abolished annual income re-proof and changed adult clean-criminal-record submissions from annual to every three years. Failure to provide the required monitoring evidence can cancel the whole family's permits.

Next Steps

  1. Choose the investment category and read its detailed evidence rules before signing a contract or transferring money. Confirm whether VAT, first-sale status, employee count, fund structure, or other category-specific rules apply.
  2. Obtain regulated Cyprus legal, tax, property, and financial advice that is independent of the seller or promoter. Verify title, planning status, company operations, fund authorization, fees, taxes, and exit restrictions.
  3. Plan the payment trail. Keep source-of-wealth records, bank statements, transfer confirmations, sale or subscription agreements, and receipts showing that the money came from abroad and reached the correct Cyprus account.
  4. Document secure annual income for every included person and identify whether that income must be foreign-source for the chosen category.
  5. Gather passports, relationship and dependency records, criminal-record certificates, insurance, housing evidence, the non-employment statement, and the category-specific investment documents. Arrange official translation and certification.
  6. Submit Form MIP2 and the complete package personally or through an authorized representative to the Migration Department. Pay the current application and Alien Registration Certificate fees.
  7. After approval, establish residence within the required period and avoid an absence long enough to end the permit.
  8. Calendar the continuing duties: annual investment evidence, annual insurance evidence when not covered by GESY, and criminal-record certificates for the applicant and adult family members every three years.

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