FAQ Cyprus Immigration 2020

There are 4 ways to obtain a Cyprus passport:

(a) You can get it by descent (heritage),
(b) by marrying a Cypriot Citizen,
(c) by legally residing in Cyprus for 7 years and
(d) under the Cyprus Investment Program, by investing specific amounts of money in the Cyprus economy provided you comply with the anti-money laundering checks.

Yes, it is possible under the Cyprus Investment Program which requires a minimum investment of €2.000.000 plus a government donation between €100.000 – €200.000.

The Cyprus Investment Program is a regulation that amongst other allows people to obtain citizenship in Cyprus provided they have invested a minimum amount of funds in qualifying investments and comply with certain anti-money laundering requirements.

No, under the new citizenship regulations voted in August 2020, Cypriot Developers are excluded from being a regulated citizenship service provider.

The minimum investment is €2.000.000 in residential property and €2.500.000 in commercial property, renewable energy, businesses in Cyprus (e.g. Cypriot innovative or technology businesses) or alternative investment funds.

There is a minimum investment of €2.000.000 plus a government donation between €100.000 and €200.000.
In addition to that, the applicant must pass the due diligence checks, which happen initially at the transferring of funds stage and then at the government level. Since banks in Cyprus conduct enhanced due diligence through unrelated international companies, once funds arrive in Cyprus then the applicant should also be able to pass the government checks as well. For more information you can check our guide.

For large amounts such as those required for citizenship applications, the banks conduct enhanced due diligence through international companies. They requires evidence of the source and size of wealth and the funds to be used. In addition, some background checks are being made with global databases, local databases and international authorities (such as Interpol) to make sure that the applicant did not obtain his wealth from illegal sources. The government also uses international specialized companies to verify the above.
Most of the checks are being done in the background so they don’t come at a hustle to the applicant. The applicant will however need to prepare the economic information and evidence required as well as his clean criminal record certificate and other certificates required.

The Cyprus citizenship approval comes approximately in 6 months after the application is made at which stage, the applicant must provide bio-metrics and take the necessary steps for the issuance of the passport. The passport is issued 9 months after the application.

It is not difficult if the applicant has a clean criminal record and can prove that his source of wealth and source of income is not related to money-laundering.

You can invest in other areas of the economy except real estate but in any case, there is a minimum requirement of buying a house of €500.000. If investing in commercial real estate, businesses in Cyprus or Alternative Investment Funds, then you would need to invest a minimum total of €2.500.000; €2.000.000 in the investment and €500.000 for the house which will be your permanent residence.

The applicant’s permanent residence should be maintained for ever or be replaced with another residence of €500.000 or more. The remaining investments should be maintained for at least 5 years but they can be replaced with the permission of Ministry of Finance.

Yes.

Yes, Cyprus is a European Union member and Cypriots enjoy freedom of travel in every European country as well as visa-free travel in more than 150 countries globally.

Yes, all European Union citizens, can travel, live, work and study in every country in the European Union.

Yes, they can provided that they buy an extra property of €500.000 or the investor and the parents/ parents-in-law buy a property of €1.000.000. In any case, the minimum investment rises by €500.000.

The applicant must purchase a new property worth at least €300.000 plus VAT, have a fixed deposit of €30.000 for 3 years in a bank in Cyprus. For more detailed requirements and the process, you can see our guide.

No there are no residency requirements.

Once your PR application is approved you need to come to Cyprus within 12 months and give biometrics for the PR card to be issued. After that you only need to come to Cyprus once every two years.

Yes they can. Public schools are free. Private schools have tuition.

Yes, you are.

A Permanent Residency holder in Cyprus is not allowed to work.

A holder of a permanent residence is not allowed to work in Cyprus. Being a company director in Cyprus will be considered to be work but exceptions may be made if the director is not getting remuneration.

Shareholders are not considered as working in Cyprus.

Permanent Residency under rule 6.2 is granted in 3-6 months. Permanent residency under Category F takes approximately 18 – 24 months.

In addition, Category F applications may be rejected under the discretion of the authorities.

While PR 6.2, requires a new property of €300.000 plus VAT (typically reduced at 5%) plus a fixed deposit of €30.000 for 3 years, Category F applications don’t have fixed rules. However, the closer to the PR 6.2. minimum requirements one is, the more likely it is for his application to be accepted.

You can have a look at our guide for the process and list of requirements

The maximum permitted stay is 90 days.

While a temporary residence may be issued for up to 2 years, typically the government issues temporary residences in Cyprus (so called “Pink-Slip”) for 1 year.

You should renew your visa before its expiry.

You will need to obtain a work permit. This is a simple typical registration for EU citizens. Non-EU citizens must apply for work permits in Cyprus you can read our guide.