Cyprus permanent residency by property: EUR 300,000, a first sale, and money from abroad.

Can you get permanent residency in Cyprus by buying property?

Yes. Under Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, a non-EU applicant who invests at least EUR 300,000 can get an Immigration Permit through a fast-track procedure. The current criteria, the 4th revision, have been in force since 2 May 2023.

The permit gives a right of residence of unlimited validity to the holder and adult dependants. The residence card itself expires every ten years and is replaced. It covers a spouse and children under 18. It does not let you work in Cyprus, except as a director of a company you invested in under the same rules.

The Migration Department puts the examination at about two months from a complete application. The fee is EUR 500, plus EUR 70 per person for an Alien Registration Certificate if they do not have one.

Which property counts towards the EUR 300,000?

For a home: a house or apartment bought from a development company as a first sale, with a total market value of at least EUR 300,000 plus VAT. Up to two homes can be combined, from the same or different developers. A resale home does not count, unless its contract was filed with the Land Registry before 7 May 2013.

Other real estate is treated differently. Offices, shops, hotels or a mix of them can reach EUR 300,000 together, and these may be resales. The deed or a sale contract filed with the Department of Lands and Surveys has to be in your name, your spouse's name, or a company you and your spouse wholly own.

VAT on a new home is 19%, or 5% on a qualifying main residence: Cyprus property buying costs.

What income and payment rules apply?

A secure annual income of at least EUR 50,000, plus EUR 15,000 for a spouse and EUR 10,000 for each dependent child. For the home route, that income must come from abroad and be proved by a tax return or a certified accountant. At least EUR 300,000, excluding VAT, must be paid and receipted when you apply.

The money must be shown to have come into Cyprus from abroad, from your or your spouse's account or a company you wholly own, and not from a loan taken in Cyprus. It is paid into the seller's account at a Cyprus bank. Getting the money in: transfer money to Cyprus to buy property.

Adult children who are not dependent can be included on a larger investment: EUR 600,000 for one, EUR 900,000 for two, with at least 66% of the market value paid at application.

How do you keep the permit, and how can you lose it?

You must show every year that you still hold the investment, and keep health insurance if you are not covered by GESY. Selling it without replacing it at once with another qualifying investment of the same or greater value cancels the permit, for you and your family.

Adults also submit a clean criminal record every three years. The yearly proof of income was abolished in the department's later clarifications. The permit lapses if you do not take up residence within a year of approval, if you settle permanently elsewhere, or if you are absent from Cyprus for two years.

Does a EUR 300,000 new build mean the property is worth it?

No. The rule checks the market value, the payments and that it is a first sale. It does not check what the home rents for after costs, or how easily it resells, and selling means replacing it straight away or losing the permit.

The first-sale rule narrows you to developers' stock, priced with the programme in mind. That is exactly where a unit priced just above the bar needs checking. Buying step by step: can foreigners buy property in Cyprus.

The Custom Report checks that a unit clears the bar on value before you sign: every listing in your budget, ranked against comparable homes in the same area on what it rents for after costs and how easily it resells.

Header photo: Liilia Moroz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.