Permanent Residency

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

1.1

1.1) In pursuance of the provisions of Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, the Minister of Interior, having notified the Council of Ministers, has decided to issue an Immigration Permit to third country applicants, in cases of investments that meet the requirements of this policy.

1.2

1.2) The applicant must meet one of the investment criteria in Section 2.1, as well as the quality criteria in Section 3 below. It is noted that the money that will be used for the investment must be proven to have been transferred to Cyprus from abroad.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA

2.1

The applicant must invest at least €300,000 in one of the following investment categories:

A) Investment in a house/apartment: Purchase of a house or apartment from a development company, which should concern a first sale of at least €300,000 (plus VAT).

B) Investment in real estate (excluding houses/apartments): Purchase of other types of real estate such as offices, shops, hotels or related estate developments or a combination of these with a total value of €300,000.

C) Investment in Cyprus Company’s share capital, with business activities and personnel in the Republic: Investment worth €300,000 in the share capital of a company registered in the Republic of Cyprus, based and operating in the Republic of Cyprus and having a proven physical presence in Cyprus and employing at least five (5) people.

D) Investment in units of Cyprus Investment Organization of Collective Investments: Investment worth €300,000 in units of Cyprus Investment Organization Collective Investments.

2.2

The applicant should, in addition to the investment under Section 2.1 above, be able to prove that he has at his disposal a secure annual income of at least €30,000. This annual income increases by €5,000 for each dependent family member and €8,000 for each dependent parent (of the applicant and/or his spouse).

QUALITY CRITERIA

3.1

The applicant and his spouse must submit a clean criminal record certificate from their country of residence or from the Republic in case they reside in Cyprus and generally they should not be considered as a threat in any way to public order or public security in Cyprus.

3.2

The applicant and his spouse shall confirm that they do not intend to undertake any sort of employment in the Republic with the exception of their employment as Directors in a Company in which they have chosen to invest under this policy.

3.3

In cases where the investment does concern the company’s share capital, the applicant and/or his spouse are allowed to be shareholders in companies registered in Cyprus and the income from the dividends derived from such companies may not be considered as an obstacle for the purposes of obtaining the Immigration Permit.

LEGAL ELEMENTS

4.1

Investing in a house/apartment or other real estate:

The applicant should submit together with his application title deed or a sale contract in his name and/or the name of his spouse, which has been officially filed at the Department of Lands and Surveys for a house or any other real estate of total market value of at least €300,000 (plus VAT, if applicable) and official payment receipts of at least €200,000 (excluding VAT), regardless of the delivery date of the property.

4.2

Investment in Cyprus Company’s share capital, with business activities and personnel in the Republic:

For the purposes of this policy, the applicant is required to make a total investment of a minimum value of €300,000, the physical presence of the company in the Republic and the employment of at least five (5) employees.

4.3

Investment in units of a Cyprus Investment Organization of Collective Investments:

For the purposes of this policy, the applicant is required to make a total investment of a minimum value of €300,000 in investment units

DEPENDENT PERSONS

5.1

The Immigration Permit is issued to the applicant and it covers as dependent persons his spouse and children under the age of 18.

5.2

Unmarried children between the ages of 18 and 25, who proved that they are students of tertiary education abroad on the date of the submission of the application and who are financially dependent on the applicant, can submit their own, separate application for an Immigration Permit with the payment of the relevant fee. In such a case the father or mother and/or both parents together must present an additional annual income of €5,000 for each such dependent child.

5.3

An Immigration Permit may also be granted to the applicant’s parents and parents-in-law, with the submission of separate applications for each person and the payment of the relevant fee with the condition that the applicant will present only an additional annual income of €8,000 for each dependent parent.

HIGHER VALUE INVESTMENT FOR INCLUDING ADULT CHILDREN

An Immigration Permit may also be granted to children of the applicant over the age of 18, who are not financially dependent on the applicant, on a higher value investment, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 2, as set out below:

The market value of the €300,000 investment should be multiplied by the number of adult children, who will invoke the same investment for the purpose of obtaining an Immigration Permit. For example, in case the applicant has one adult child he should make an investment worth €600,000, if he has two adult children the value of the investment should amount to €900,000 etc.

In such a case, each adult child will be able to prove that they have at their disposal a secured annual income of at least €30,000, which will increase by €5,000 for each dependent person, as provided in Section 2.2. In addition, it is noted that the investment can be made jointly in the name of the applicant and the adult child or exclusively in the name of the applicant.

APPLICATION AND EXAMINATION PROCEDURE

The applications, accompanied with the required documents, must be submitted to the Civil Registry and Migration Department in person or through an authorised representative. Upon submission of the application, a fee of €500 is paid.

Applications submitted through authorised representatives must be accompanied by an authorisation letter signed by the applicant and stating the particulars, full address and contact number of the representative.

The application will be handled under an expedited procedure and will be submitted to the Minister of Interior, through the General Director of the Ministry of Interior.

TIME SCHEDULES

If all the criteria of this policy are met and if there are no reasons with regard to either the applicant’s criminal record or to public order and public security issues, the application will be forwarded for examination and decision by the Minister of Interior.

It is estimated that the examination period of the application from the date of submission of the completed application will be approximately two (2) months.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The holder of an Immigration Permit according to the provisions of Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations is obliged to acquire residence in Cyprus within one (1) year from the date of the approval of the application. At the same time, the holder of such a permit, as well as his dependent persons are obliged not to be absent from the Republic for more than two (2) years. Otherwise, the Immigration Permit is automatically cancelled.