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Pathway

Cyprus Permanent Residence by Investment

Cyprus Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Cyprus's investor Immigration Permit is a permanent residence route for third-country nationals who invest at least €300,000 in qualifying Cyprus property, company share capital, or Cyprus investment-fund units and meet the income, health-insurance, and character requirements.

Type
Permanent residence by investment
Investment fit
Third-country nationals investing €300,000 in qualifying Cyprus property, company, or fund routes
Core requirements
Investment, secure income, foreign-source funds, clean record, health insurance, and non-employment confirmation
What to know
Residence right is unlimited, but the card is replaced every 10 years and the permit can lapse after a 2-year absence
Minimum investment
€300,000
Investment choices
Property / company / fund

Summary

Cyprus's expedited investor Immigration Permit under Regulation 6(2) is a permanent-residence route for a third-country national who makes a qualifying investment of at least €300,000 and meets the income, source-of-funds, insurance, character, accommodation, and non-employment rules. It is often marketed as a “golden visa,” but the legal result is an Immigration Permit, not citizenship.

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.

Pathway fit check

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.

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, accommodation 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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