New Criteria for Permanent Residency in Cyprus - May 2, 2023

The Cyprus Civil Registry and Migration Department has made significant changes to the legislation governing the issuance of immigration permits for third-country investors (Fast track PR procedure 6.2), for Cyprus permanent residence applications.

IMPORTANT: Sale Agreements submitted to the Department of Lands and Surveys between January 01 - April 28, 2023, will be evaluated according to the previous criteria.

NEW CRITERIA:

1. To apply for permanent residence in Cyprus, you are required to invest in a property valued at a minimum of €300,000 + VAT, by transferring the funds to the developer's account immediately, regardless of the date of delivery of the property. Relevant receipts should be submitted with the application.

2. The funds must originate from the investor's personal account or his/her spouse.
Apart from the investor, permanent residency is granted to the investor's spouse, children under 18, and dependent unmarried children-students under 25 years old.

Note: Parents & mothers-in-law are no longer considered dependent family members.

In case the applicant's adult children under the age of 25 are studying in Cyprus universities, they need to apply for an educational residence permit. Upon graduation from a Cyprus university, they can join the program by paying the relevant fee and submitting evidence of the parent's additional annual income of €10,000 for each such dependent child.

If the main applicant plans to include a child under 25 who does not meet the above requirements, then the value of the €300,000 investment should be multiplied by the number of such dependent children who will use the same investment to obtain an Immigration Permit. For instance, if the applicant has one adult child, they must make an investment of €600,000.

3. The main applicant must show proof of annual income of at least €50,000 (€30,000 before), validated by a tax return from the country of tax residence.

+ €15,000 per spouse (€5,000 before).

+ €10,000 per child (€5,000 before).

This income can come from various sources, including wages, pensions, dividends, interest on deposits, and rent. The spouse's income can be included in the total income computation.

4. Adult applicants must provide Clean Criminal Record from their countries of origin and residency if it differs.

5. The investor's annual income must be supported by a tax return validated in their tax residence country.

6. The main applicant and family members must provide Health Insurance Certificates for medical treatment.

7. Family size and property size, including the number of rooms, should correspond. Thus, according to the new regulations, a family of four is not eligible to apply for permanent residence under a one-room property.

8. The primary applicant and their spouse are required to provide evidence that they have no plans to work in Cyprus other than as directors of the company in which they have invested through this program.

9. The minimum stay requirements remain the same: to maintain the status requires visiting Cyprus once every two years.

AFTER APPROVAL OF THE APPLICATION:

Once your application is approved, you must annually submit to the Civil Registry and Migration Department of Cyprus the following data:

• Continued investment maintenance.
• Confirmation of the applicant's minimum annual income (€50,000), validated by a tax return from their country of tax residence, as well as the income of their family members (spouse - €15,000, child - €10,000).
• Health Insurance Certificates for the applicant and each family member.
• A certificate of no Criminal Record for the applicant and each adult family member.

At Cyprus Sotheby's International Realty, we are committed to providing exceptional service to our clients interested in investing in property and applying for Cyprus permanent residence. Our team of experts is dedicated to helping you find the perfect investment property while also staying up-to-date with the latest market trends and legislation.