Citizenship by investment: closed
Key figure: Years to citizenship8 years
The Cyprus Investment Programme stopped taking applications on 1 November 2020. Terminated from 1 Nov 2020 by Council of Ministers decision of 13 Oct 2020; no new naturalisation applications can be submitted under it. Cyprus currently has no citizenship-by-investment route.
Buying a home or a company in Cyprus now leads to a residence permit, not to a passport. The years you then live in Cyprus count as legal residence, and the passport comes through naturalisation after 8 years like anyone else’s. Any offer of Cyprus citizenship for an investment today describes a programme that no longer takes applications.
Changed
Status
Closed since 1 November 2020. The Ministry of Finance page on the programme is the official record of its closure.
Standard route: years of legal residence
Key figure: Years to citizenship8 years
The standard route needs 8 years of legal residence in total, and the last stretch before you apply has to be continuous. The Ministry of Interior sets it out as follows: Standard route: 12 months' continuous legal residence immediately before applying (absences up to 90 days allowed) plus at least 7 years of legal residence in the preceding 10 years; Greek at B1 and a civics test (60%+). Highly qualified employees of companies under the 2021 strategy (director, specialist, key personnel, or EUR 2,500+/month with degree or 2 years' experience; employed 2+ years): 12 months plus 4 years (Greek A2) or 3 years (Greek B1), i.e. 5 or 4 years in total.
The count runs on legal residence, which your permits prove, not on arrival stamps. If you work remotely from Cyprus, the permit you hold now is the first document in that count, so choose it with naturalisation in mind.
Fast track for highly qualified employees
Key figure: Fast track4 years
Highly qualified employees of companies of foreign interest can apply after 4 years in total. With Greek B1 (5 years with A2).
The same group can ask for accelerated examination, which the Ministry completes in about 8 months. Only for the accelerated examination available to highly qualified employees and their families (fee EUR 5,000). No published standard processing time.
Form M127, the fee and where it is filed
Key figure: Application fee€500
The application fee is €500. Plus two EUR 8.54 stamps; EUR 500 more for the naturalisation certificate if approved.
Criteria in force since 19 Dec 2023. Form M127 is filed at the District Administration Office. We prepare the form and the supporting file in 20–40 working days of our working time and file it for you; the decision stays with the Ministry of Interior.
Marriage, descent and dual citizenship
Key figure: Years to citizenship8 years
Citizenship by marriage, by descent or by birth are separate procedures with their own forms. Our reference and our package cover one route: naturalisation after 8 years of residence on form M127.
Our fact reference does not yet record the Cyprus rule on dual citizenship, so we do not state it here. Check the law of your current country before you file: some countries withdraw their own citizenship when you naturalise elsewhere.
Who this is not for
Naturalisation rewards time spent in Cyprus, nothing else. It is the wrong plan in these cases.
- You want a passport in exchange for an investment. That route closed on 1 November 2020, and no other Cyprus programme replaces it.
- You have not lived in Cyprus yet and need a passport within a few years: even the fast track counts 4 years of residence from your first permit.
- You spend long stretches abroad. The final year before applying has to be continuous, with absences capped by the Ministry’s rule.
- You do not plan to learn Greek. Level B1 and a civics test are part of the standard route.