Cypriot Citizenship and Permanent Residency Services - R. Vrahimis & Associates

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Cypriot Citizenship and Permanent Residency Services
Permanent Residency

There are many ways that a third country national (non-EU citizen) can obtain Permanent Residency in Cyprus as described in detail below:

Investors:  Expedited Immigration Permits (Permanent Residence) to third country nationals, will be issued for investors where the following conditions are satisfied:

  • The applicant should deposit a minimum of €30.000 into a bank account in Cyprus for a “locked” 3 year term.  It must be proved by confirmation letter that this amount has been transferred to Cyprus from abroad and is “locked” in a Cypriot bank for a 3 year term.
  • The applicant should prove that he/she has at his/her disposal a secure annual income derived from abroad of at least €30.000 (including salary from employment, pension, dividends, interest from fixed deposits, rents etc).  This annual income should increase by €5.000 for every dependent person of his/her family (spouse and children under 18 years of age) and by €8.000 for every dependent parent or parent-in-law.  The spouse’s income may be also taken into consideration. Income from the dividends of a company in Cyprus is not an impediment to obtaining an Immigration Permit.
  • The applicant and/or his/her spouse and/or his/her fully-owned Cyprus or EU company should buy or contract to buy (by officially depositing the contract with the Department of Lands and Surveys) real estate in Cyprus of total market value of at least €300.000 (excluding V.A.T.) according to the following provisions:
      • The applicant should have official receipts of at least €200.000 (excluding V.A.T.), irrespective of the delivery date of the real estate (if this is not ready made).
      • This real estate can include two independent housing units, one housing unit and a shop of a surface of up to 100 sq.m., or a housing unit and an office of a surface of up to 250 sq.m. all purchased from and sold for the first time by the same development company.
      • Full payment of the real estate value should be deposited in a bank account in Cyprus.
      • It must be proved that this amount has been transferred to Cyprus from abroad.
      • This real estate cannot be sold by the applicant without its immediate replacement by other real estate of the same or higher value sold for the first time by a development company.
      • Please note that third country nationals need a permit to register a property in their name.
  • The applicant and his/her spouse must submit a confirmation of a clean criminal record from their country of residence or from Cyprus, in case they are residents of the Republic, and generally they should not be considered as a threat in any way to the public order or public security in Cyprus.  Clean criminal record also has to be provided for children over the age of 16.
  • The applicant and his/her spouse shall confirm that they do not intend to undertake any sort of employment in Cyprus.
  • The holder of an immigration permit, as well as his/her dependent persons who are included in his/her permit should not be absent from the Republic for more than two (2) years at a time.
  • The Immigration Permit issued to an applicant covers his/her spouse and children under the age of 18.
  • Unmarried children aged between 18 and 25, who prove that they are students in an institution of tertiary education abroad with at least six months of remaining study period from the date of the submission of the application and who are financially dependent on the applicant, may submit a separate application to obtain an Immigration Permit on condition that the applicant presents an additional annual income of €5.000 for every such dependent child.
  • An Immigration Permit may also be granted to the parents and parents-in-law of the applicant on condition that the applicant presents an additional annual income of €8.000 for every such dependent parent.
  • Two separate Immigration Permits may be granted to each spouse, if desired, as long as both spouses as a group (not individually) satisfy the first three financial criteria above.

It is estimated that the procedure described in the ministry’s policy statement for the examination of the application shall not exceed two (2) months from the date of the submission of a complete application.

Self- employed persons:  Persons who intend to work as self-employed in Cyprus provided that such employment shall not affect negatively the general economy of Cyprus and that and they wish to carry out their business activities in:

  • Agriculture, cattle breeding, bird breeding or fish culture in the Cyprus and they:
      • Possess adequate land or a permit to acquire it, and
      • Possess and have fully and freely at their disposal the sum of €427,150 euros.
  • Mining enterprises in Cyprus and they:
      • Possess a relative mining permit, and
      • Possess and have fully and freely at their disposal the sum of €341,720 euros.
  • A trade or profession in Cyprus and they:
      • Possess a relative trade or professional permit, and
      • Possess and have fully and freely at their disposal the sum of €256,290.
  • In a profession or science in Cyprus and they:
      • Have academic or professional qualifications, for which there is demand in Cyprus.
      • Possess adequate (unspecified) funds.

Income earners, pensioners or retired persons:

These are persons who:

  • Possess and have fully and freely at their disposal a secured annual income that shall give them a decent living in Cyprus, without having to engage in any business, trade or profession.
  • The minimum annual income required is at least €9568,17 euros for a single applicant and at least €4613,22 for every dependent person, but the Immigration Control Board may demand additional amounts as necessary.

Employees: Persons who have been offered permanent employment in Cyprus which will not create undue local competition.

Cypriot Nationality

There are many ways that a third country national (non-EU citizen) can obtain
Cypriot Citizenship (be naturalised) as described in detail below:

By virtue of long legal stay in Cyprus:  Where the following conditions are satisfied:

  • Continuous legal residence in Cyprus or being in the Service of the Republic of Cyprus throughout the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of the application
  • During the 7 years immediately preceding the above period of twelve months legally residing in Cyprus or being in the Service of the Republic of Cyprus for periods amounting to an aggregate of not less than four years
  • Be of good character (Clean criminal record).
  • Be financially solvent (not bankrupt).
  • Intent to stay in the permanently in Cyprus.
  • Has integrated and has good ties with the community.

By virtue of Marriage to a Cypriot:  Where the following conditions are satisfied:

  • Completion of three years married life to a Cypriot.
  • Two years of residence with the Cypriot spouse in Cyprus.
  • Be in harmonious cohabitation with the spouse as stated in writing by the couple before the Officer of the District Administration Office and certified by the local authority of residence of the couple.
  • Be of good character (clean criminal record).

Scheme for Naturalization of non-Cypriot investors by exception:  On the basis of this Scheme investors may apply for the acquisition of the Cypriot citizenship through naturalization by exception.

A non-Cypriot citizen, who meets one of the following economic criteria shall be naturalised:

  • Investment in real estate, land development and infrastructure projects under the following criteria:
      • The applicant must have made an investment of at least €2,0 million for the purchase or construction of buildings or for the construction of other land development projects (residential or commercial developments, developments in the tourism sector) or other infrastructure projects.
      • An investment in land for development is included in this criterion, provided that a development investment plan will be included in the application.  Investment in land situated in zero development/building zone is excluded.
  • Purchase, Establishment or Participation in Cypriot Companies or Businesses under the following criteria:
      • The applicant should have made a purchase or should have participated in companies or organizations established and operating in the Republic of Cyprus by investing at least €2,0 million.  The invested funds shall be channelled towards the financing of the investment objectives of these companies exclusively in Cyprus, based on a specific investment plan.
      • The applications shall be evaluated to verify that the companies or organizations have proven physical presence in Cyprus, with significant activity and turnover and employ at least five (5) Cypriots or EU citizens.
      • The minimum number of employees shall increase, if more than one applicant invests simultaneously or almost simultaneously in the same business or company.
      • The employees of the companies need to have legally and continuously resided in Cyprus during the five years preceding the submission of the application.
  • Investment in Alternative Investment Funds or financial assets of Cypriot companies or Cypriot organizations that are licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (hereinafter “CySEC”):
      • The applicant should buy units of at least €2,0 million from alternative investment funds (AIF) established in Cyprus, licensed and supervised by CySEC.  The applicant may also establish his/her own Cypriot AIF and invest at least €2,0 million in it.   The AIF’s investments should be made exclusively in Cyprus, in investments that meet the criteria of this Scheme or in areas approved by the Minister of Finance.
      • In order to confirm that the investments that meet the criteria of the current Scheme will be kept for at least three years, the manager or the auditor of the Fund shall inform in writing and on an annual basis, the Ministries of Finance and Interior with reference to the value of the initial investment.
      • The purchase of financial assets of Cypriot companies or organizations of at least €2,0 million, such as bonds, bills and securities, issued with the approval of the CySEC, by companies that have proven physical presence and substantial economic activity in Cyprus, and their purpose is to finance of the investment plans of these companies or organizations exclusively in Cyprus, based on an investment plan, fall under this criterion.
      • The purchase by an existing AIF of units of other AIFs is not considered eligible.
  • Combination of the aforementioned investments:
      • The applicant may make a combination of the above investments, provided that the total investment will amount up to at least €2,0 million.
      • Within this criterion (combination of investments) the applicant may purchase special government bonds of the Republic of Cyprus, up to €500.000, which will be issued by the Public Debt Management Office of the Ministry of Finance, on condition that the investor will retain these bonds for a three year period.
          • The characteristics and the terms of these special bonds will be determined by the General and Special Issue Terms of the Government Bonds of the Republic of Cyprus.
          • Investments in government bonds through the secondary market are not eligible.

Further to the various alternative investment criteria above the following terms and conditions are additively required.  The Applicant must

  • Be of good character (have a clean criminal record and his name must not be included in the list of persons whose assets within the EU have been frozen as the result of sanctions.
  • Possess a permanent privately-owned residence in Cyprus purchased price for at least €500.000, plus V.A.T.
      • Members of the same family, who apply separately as investors, can collectively acquire a residence, provided that the total value of this residence covers the amount of €500.000 , plus V.A.T. per applicant.  E.g. for three applicants the residence must be purchased for 1.5 million plus V.A.T.
      • If the purchase value of the permanent privately owned residence in Cyprus exceeds the amount of €500,000 plus V.A.T., part of this additional amount can deducted the total amount of the investment made on the basis of the various alternative investment criteria above.
      • If the applicant has invested in housing unit/units on the basis of investing in real estate or development the purchase of another permanent residence in Cyprus will not be required, if at least one of these housing units is worth at least €500,000, plus VAT, provided that the applicant retains the possession of the residence for life.
  • Have a residence Permit in Cyprusprior to his/her naturalization as a Cypriot citizen.
      • If the applicant does not already hold a residence permit, he/she may apply for an immigration permit simultaneously with the application for naturalization.
      • If the application for acquiring an immigration permit is made solely for purposes of acquiring the Cypriot citizenship, in accordance with the provisions of this Scheme, there are no other conditions than those stated above for this Scheme.

It is noted that all of the above also apply for the adult members of the family of the investor, who will apply for naturalization.

In case the application for naturalization is rejected for any reason, the immigration permit, obtained in accordance with the provisions of this Decision, will be canceled immediately.

The investor’s Spouse/ Partner may acquire the Cypriot citizenship by submission of an application along with the application of the investor, so that both spouses/ partners will be able to acquire the Cypriot citizenship simultaneously.

The application for the grant of the Cypriot citizenship to the children of the investor that are under the age of eighteen is submitted after the investor has acquired Cypriot citizenship and provided that the other parent consents to the grant of the citizenship.

The right to apply for Citizenship is also granted to the financially dependent adult children of the Investor if they are:

  • Students up to the age of 28 that are attending an institution of higher education aiming to obtain a diploma or an undergraduate or a master’s degree. The Decision excludes individuals who are studying for the acquisition of a professional qualification (e.g. chartered accountants or barrister).
  • children with severe physical or mental disability that renders them unable to work.

The parents of the investor may apply for citizenship after the investor has acquired the Cypriot citizenship.

  • In order for the investor’s parents to be able to apply for citizenship they need to hold a permanent privately-owned residence in the Republic of Cyprus, the purchase price of which must be at least €500.000, plus V.A.T.
  • The investor and his/her parents, may collectively acquire a residence, provided that the total value of this home-property is at least €1.000.000, plus V.A.T.

Important Note

The above information is current as of 2016 and is subject to changes from time to time.  Third country nationals (non-EU citizens) interested to transact business or buy property in the Republic of Cyprus should seek our updated professional advice before committing themselves into any transaction or decision.

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