Four ways to invest the minimum
Figure: Minimum investment€300,000
Each route needs €300,000 excluding VAT, paid with funds transferred from abroad. The criteria list them as follows:
One of: (A) up to two new houses/apartments bought as a first sale from a development company, EUR 300,000 plus VAT (resales accepted only if the contract was filed before 7 May 2013); (B) other real estate (offices, shops, hotels), resale allowed; (C) share capital of a Cyprus company with physical presence and at least 5 employees; (D) units of Cyprus AIF/AIFLNP/RAIF. Funds must come from abroad. At least EUR 300,000 (excluding VAT) must be paid when applying.
Property or company: what changes for you
The property route is the one most buyers pick and the one with the strictest income rule: the income has to come from abroad. With a company, a fund or commercial property, part of the income may be earned in Cyprus.
When this applies
The investment has to be kept for as long as the permit is held; proof of it is filed every year.
Checked on cy-md-reg62
Income threshold by family size
Figure: Minimum income€50,000/year
The main applicant needs €50,000/year, and each family member adds to it. The criteria state the amounts in one sentence:
Secured annual income of EUR 50,000, plus EUR 15,000 for a spouse and EUR 10,000 per dependent minor child. For option (A) residential property, income must come from abroad and is proved by a tax return from the country of tax residence or a certificate from an independent certified accountant; for (B)-(D) part may come from Cyprus.
We add up the threshold for your exact family before you invest, so the property price and the income evidence are fixed at the same time.
Timeline with dates
Figure: Processing time2 months
Count on 30–60 working days for our part and about 2 months for the Migration Department, measured from a complete file. The two figures are not added: ours runs in working days, the authority’s in calendar months, and the authority sets its own pace.
After approval the clock keeps running. The conditions attached to the permit read: Right of residence is permanent; the residence card must be replaced every 10 years. Lapses if the holder does not settle within 1 year of approval, acquires permanent residence abroad, or is absent from Cyprus for 2 years. The investment must be kept.
Remote worker: digital nomad visa or permanent residence?
Figure: Digital nomad visa income€3,500/month
The digital nomad visa asks for €3,500/month with no investment; over twelve months that is €42,000, against €50,000/year for the investor permit before family additions.
The nomad permit is issued for 1 year at first and renewed for a limited time; the investor permit does not expire. If you have the capital and want to stay beyond the nomad permit, the investor route is the one that lasts.
One point to check before you choose: Holder and spouse may not work in Cyprus except as directors of the company in which they invested; they may be shareholders and unpaid directors of other Cyprus companies.
Other ways to get permanent residency in Cyprus
Figure: Category F income (Regulation 5)€9,568/year
Category F of the general Immigration Permit starts from €9,568/year of income from abroad and needs no investment. Category F (persons of independent means, no work in Cyprus): secured annual income from abroad of at least EUR 9,568 plus EUR 4,613 per dependent. Categories A-C require capital of about EUR 430,000 / 350,000 / 260,000 for self-employment in agriculture, mining, trade; E covers permanent employment.
The trade-off is time: the Migration Department publishes no examination time for these categories, and the Immigration Control Committee decides at its discretion.
EU long-term resident status is the slow track: 5 years of legal and continuous residence, for example on a pink slip, then an application on form MLT3 examined in about 3 months.
Permanent residence and citizenship
Figure: Years to citizenship8 years
Naturalisation takes 8 years of legal residence on the standard route, and the fast-track permit does not shorten it.
The Cyprus Investment Programme, which granted a passport for an investment, closed on 1 November 2020. Offers of a “Cyprus golden passport” today describe a programme that no longer accepts applications.
Who this is not for
The permit asks for €300,000 tied up for as long as you hold it. It is a poor fit in these cases.
- You want to work for a Cyprus employer. The permit bars employment in Cyprus beyond directing the company you invested in.
- Your capital is below €300,000. Category F starts from an income of €9,568/year with no investment, though without a published examination time.
- You want a resale flat. For a home, only a first sale from a developer qualifies since 2 May 2023.
- You want an EU passport within a few years. Naturalisation still takes 8 years.