Eligibility & suitability
Who can qualify
- Third-country applicants able to satisfy a qualifying investment category, the separate secure-income requirement and character/health-cover conditions.
- Households seeking an ongoing right to live in Cyprus that can maintain the asset, evidence and travel conditions.
- Business owners whose intended role fits the restricted employment rules and whose personal/business tax position has been separately assessed.
Restrictions & unsuitable cases
- Buyers of ordinary resale residential property relying only on a €300,000 price tag.
- Applicants who have the investment capital but cannot substantiate the separate recurring-income requirement.
- Applicants seeking unrestricted employment, immediate citizenship or a status that can be ignored indefinitely after grant.
- Families assuming parents, parents-in-law or every adult child can be included on the principal’s investment.
Application process & timeline
The department’s approximately two-month estimate starts with a complete application. Choosing and completing an investment, assembling the family file, arranging attendance and issuing the cards are separate steps.
01Test the route before committing capitalBefore reservation, subscription or company investment
Confirm investment category, each family member’s route, recurring income, intended work and travel pattern. Assess tax residence and the implications of any permanent residence already held elsewhere.
Documents & evidence
- Household and status summary
- Income evidence
- Proposed investment particulars
- Work and travel plan
- Treating every €300,000 property as eligible
- Ignoring the separate income qualification
02Complete asset and funding diligenceVariable; depends on transaction and source countries
Review the asset on its merits as well as its immigration category. Reconcile foreign-origin funding to the permitted applicant/spouse or wholly owned company account and the proposed receiving account.
Documents & evidence
- Title/contract or company/fund material
- Account ownership and source-of-funds trail
- Income tax return or accountant certificates
- A qualifying price but an ineligible transaction
- Using unexplained third-party or domestic borrowed funds
03Complete and evidence the qualifying investmentBefore the complete immigration application
Obtain the category’s ownership, payment and official records. For ordinary property applications the receipts must show €300,000 paid excluding VAT; apply the separate higher-value adult-child provision where relevant.
Documents & evidence
- Filed sale contract/title and payment receipts, or company/fund evidence
- Suitable housing evidence
- Insurance
- Counting VAT toward the €300,000 investment
- Using only a reservation receipt
04Prepare and submit the household applicationsOfficial examination estimate: approximately two months from a complete application
Use the current Migration Department form/checklist, currently MIP2, and the appropriate separate student/adult-child applications. File in person or through a properly authorised representative under the department’s appointment procedure.
Documents & evidence
- MIP2 and current checklist
- Passports and civil/character records
- Income and non-employment declarations
- Certified authority if represented
- Government fee receipts
- Using an older MIP1 checklist without checking the current form
- Missing required translation/certification or Cyprus-consular parental consent
05Complete approval, entry and card formalitiesEstablish residence within one year if abroad at approval; attendance/card timing separate
Follow the approval instructions for each person’s attendance and biometrics/document issue. Check names and expiry dates, and keep evidence that the post-approval residence requirement has been met.
Documents & evidence
- Approval notices
- Passports
- Attendance/card records
- Residence and entry evidence
- Leaving an approved permit unused beyond its establishment deadline
06Maintain the investment and family compliance fileAnnual investment/insurance evidence; criminal records every three years
Record asset ownership and insurance, calendar adult criminal-record updates and card replacement, and monitor travel and other-country permanent residence. Review a disposal or work-role change before executing it.
Documents & evidence
- Annual investment/insurance evidence
- Three-year criminal records
- Travel log
- Card and family-status calendar
- Applying the old annual-income/criminal-record paragraph without its later clarification
- Selling the qualifying asset without compliant immediate replacement
Document checklist
Track your preparation in this browser. Final requirements depend on the route and filing authority.
A permanent residence plan built around a qualifying investment
This Regulation 6(2) route is for third-country nationals making a qualifying investment and meeting separate income and personal conditions. It can support a Cyprus home and a long-term family base. Approval gives an immigration status; it does not make the investment sound, turn the holder into a tax resident automatically or grant citizenship.
Choose the residence strategy before the asset. The categories differ in first-sale requirements, evidence, income sourcing and business involvement. An application built around a new home is different from one built around an operating company. Check intended employment and the whole family’s eligibility before reserving property or subscribing for units.
The four qualifying investment categories
For ordinary property applications, the registered sale contract or title and receipts must establish at least €300,000 paid excluding VAT, irrespective of delivery date. The independent-adult-child higher-value provision has a separate 66% property-payment rule and must be assessed on its own terms. Neither an advertised price nor a reservation payment establishes compliance.
| Category | Minimum commitment | What makes it eligible |
|---|---|---|
| A — New house or apartment | €300,000 plus VAT | First sale from a development company. A resale residential purchase does not qualify under this category. |
| B — Other real estate | €300,000; VAT where applicable | Offices, shops, hotels or other permitted non-residential development; resale may qualify. |
| C — Operating Cyprus company | €300,000 share-capital investment | A newly registered company or capital increase in an existing Cyprus company, with actual Cyprus operations, physical presence and at least five employees. |
| D — Qualifying fund units | €300,000 | Units of the specified Cyprus AIF, AIFLNP or RAIF forms, with underlying investments held in Cyprus. |
Income is a second requirement, not part of the investment price
For category A residential property, the income must derive from abroad; the policy includes salaries, pensions, dividends, interest and rent. Categories B, C and D may include income from activities in Cyprus. A later official clarification allows either the relevant tax-return declaration or official certificates from an independent Certified Accountant to evidence the income.
Investment money must be traceable from abroad and linked to the qualifying payment; domestic borrowing is not the permitted funding basis. The clarification also permits a company account where the applicant and/or an included spouse are its sole shareholders. Document the ownership and transfer chain rather than moving money through an unrelated payer. A bank’s source-of-funds checks remain separate from the immigration assessment.
| Household member | Secure annual income required | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Principal investor | €50,000 | Required in addition to the qualifying capital. |
| Spouse | Add €15,000 | The spouse’s qualifying income may be counted in the household calculation. |
| Each dependent minor child | Add €10,000 | The under-18 family category applies. |
| Qualifying dependent adult student | Add €10,000 per child | Separate application/fee and the student/dependency conditions must also be met. |
| Example: couple and two minor children | €85,000 annually | Still requires the qualifying investment and transaction/application costs. |
Work rights must fit the role you actually intend to perform
The principal and spouse must declare that they do not intend to take employment in Cyprus, apart from employment as directors in the company in which they invested under this policy. This is not a general employment permit. The company-investment category therefore needs a genuine operating business and a role that fits the policy, not a nominal title created after a property purchase.
Where the investment is not in company share capital, the policy permits the applicant or spouse to hold shares in Cyprus companies, receive dividends and act as an unpaid director. That is not permission for any paid operational role. Describe who will manage staff, sign contracts, provide services and receive remuneration before selecting the category. For remote or cross-border work, verify the actual activity and permission rather than treating foreign clients as an automatic exemption.
Build the family plan around the actual age and dependency rules
A spouse and children under 18 fall within the principal’s dependant framework. Parents and parents-in-law are not listed in the current fourth-revision dependant categories. Each older relative therefore needs a separately established immigration basis.
Unmarried, financially dependent children aged 18–25 studying at tertiary level abroad can make separate applications, with a separate fee and an additional €10,000 annual income evidenced by the parents. Children studying in Cyprus first use the student-permit procedure through their institution; after completing those studies they can apply separately under the stated family provision regardless of age, with the same parental income increment.
A permit granted under the dependent-student provision can continue after 25 or after marriage, leaving study or ceasing dependency. However, it does not extend to that child’s own future spouse or children, and cancellation of the investor parent’s permit can cancel the child’s linked permission. An independent adult child has a different route: the policy illustrates €600,000 total investment for the investor and one independent adult, or €900,000 for two. Each adult child must meet their own €50,000 secure-income requirement plus the applicable spouse/minor-child increments.
What to budget beyond the investment
Ask for a budget that distinguishes capital committed, irrecoverable taxes/charges, professional fees and annual operating costs. The €300,000 threshold is neither the total relocation cost nor a statement that the asset can later be sold while the permit remains unaffected.
| Item | Published amount / basis | Budget treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying capital | Normally at least €300,000; increased for independent adult children | An investment with its own market, liquidity and transaction risk, not a government application fee. |
| Immigration application | €500 per application | A spouse or adult child making a separate application incurs the relevant separate application charge. |
| Alien Registration Certificate | €70 per person where no ARC already exists | Distinct from the application fee. |
| VAT and transaction costs | Depend on asset and transaction | Do not assume all property qualifies for a reduced VAT rate. Add conveyancing/diligence, registration and relevant transfer costs. |
| Housing and health cover | Actual suitable accommodation and required insurance | Categories B–D need separate housing evidence. Even category A needs additional accommodation if the property cannot house the dependants. |
| Document and professional costs | Quoted for the actual household and scope | Translations, certification, police records, travel, local representation, tax planning and recurring compliance are separate. |
Keep the asset and status compliant after approval
The official page retains the original monitoring paragraph and then publishes a clarification below it. The clarification controls the changed income and criminal-record schedule. Keep an organised annual file rather than applying the superseded paragraph in isolation.
| Obligation | Timing | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Establish residence after approval | Within one year if residing abroad | Failure by the holder/dependants to acquire residence in Cyprus within that period causes the permit to cease to be valid. |
| Avoid the absence/status lapse rules | Throughout the permission | Two years’ absence or acquisition of permanent residence abroad can invalidate the permit. Review another country’s status before assuming the permits coexist without consequence. |
| Maintain qualifying investment | Continuously; evidence annually | Disposal without immediate replacement by an eligible investment of equal or greater value can cancel the linked family permits. |
| Health-cover evidence | Annual monitoring, where no longer covered by GESY | Maintain the required policy for the holder and family. |
| Clean criminal-record certificates | Every three years for the principal and adult family members | The later clarification replaces the original policy’s annual schedule. Origin and residence countries are relevant. |
| Income evidence | At application under the eligibility criteria | The later clarification abolishes routine annual re-submission of proof of the prescribed income; it does not remove the initial income qualification. |
| Card replacement | Adult card: ten years; minor card: until 18 | The continuing residence right and the physical card’s expiry are different. Plan the child’s next document/status before 18. |
Tax residence, non-dom treatment and citizenship remain separate
A permanent immigration permit is not a tax-residence certificate. Cyprus tax residence is assessed under its 183-day or conditional 60-day framework; domicile and any non-dom treatment are further questions. Coordinate the intended directorship, employment restrictions, home and travel pattern with those tax conditions, and separately test whether the previous country still treats you or your company as resident.
This route grants residence, not citizenship by investment. A later naturalisation application needs the residence, language, knowledge, character and other conditions of the applicable nationality route. Occasional visits sufficient to avoid a two-year immigration absence do not by themselves create the actual residence needed for naturalisation. The country citizenship guide explains the separate pathways.
Questions to settle before signing an investment contract
- Does this exact asset qualify under the chosen category, with the required ownership, payment and registration evidence?
- Has someone independent of the seller assessed title, encumbrances, permits, completion risk and exit terms, or the fund/company’s actual risk and obligations?
- Can the entire household meet the secure-income and age/dependency rules now, and what changes when a child turns 18 or finishes studying?
- Can the sending account, beneficial ownership and origin of funds be evidenced to both the bank and the Migration Department?
- Does each adult’s intended working role fit the permit, and does it create personal or company tax obligations elsewhere?
- What is the plan if the asset is sold, the family obtains permanent residence elsewhere or the intended travel pattern changes?
Sources & research notes4 references
Sources supporting this guide. Research draft awaiting editorial review.