Permanent Residence in Cyprus for Investors

Most people who ask us about Cyprus want three things: a secure base in the European Union for their family, a permit that does not need to be renewed or defended every few years, and a sensible tax position for their worldwide income and investments. Cyprus is one of the very few jurisdictions that still offers all three but only if the investment is planned with the end result in mind from the outset.

Cyprus is among the safest countries in Europe, a member of the European Union and the eurozone, and an island where a family finds great schools, a modern health system, a thriving international business community and direct flights to every major European city.

Founded on English common law, with companies legislation modelled on the English Companies Act and English as the working language of business and the professions, Cyprus feels familiar to an entrepreneur or professional leaving London in a way that Lisbon, Athens or Dubai never will and for internationally mobile businessmen based in the UK, the abolition of the UK non-dom regime in April 2025 has changed the calculation altogether.

The permit is granted under Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations through an expedited procedure. It confers a right of residence of unlimited validity. One application covers you, your spouse and your children under 18; dependent children studying outside Cyprus up to the age of 25 can obtain their own permit, which they keep even after they graduate or marry. You are not required to live in Cyprus: the permit lapses only if you are absent for two full years from the Republic.

A minimum of €300.000, transferred from abroad, in one of four categories:

• A new house or apartment from a developer, on a first sale, for at least €300.000 plus VAT — up to two units may be combined. This is the route most families choose, because the property becomes the family home.
• Commercial property (offices, shops, hotels) for at least €300.000. Resales qualify, which widens the field considerably.
• Share capital of €300.000 in a Cyprus company with a real physical presence and at least five employees.
• Units of €300.000 in a Cyprus-regulated investment fund (AIF, AIFLNP or RAIF).

The investment is not a one-off condition; it must be maintained for as long as the investor holds the permit, and if it is ever sold it must be replaced immediately with a qualifying investment of equal or greater value.

Income: Beyond the investment, the applicant must demonstrate a secure annual income of at least €50,000, increased by €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent child. Where the investment is a house or apartment, the income must derive from abroad; under the other three categories it may derive wholly or partly from Cyprus.

Additional conditions: The applicant and spouse must also produce clean criminal record certificates, hold private health insurance for the family, and confirm that they will not take up employment in Cyprus other than as directors of the investee company. Holding shares in Cyprus companies, receiving dividends from them and acting as unpaid directors remain permitted.

The permit confers a right to reside; it does not decide tax residency. That is governed by the Income Tax Law, and an investor who meets the statutory test is a Cyprus tax resident whether he plans for it or not.

Cyprus, however, offers one of the most attractive personal tax frameworks in the European Union, and an investor wishing to establish tax residency there need not meet the standard statutory test of more than 183 days a year: under the 60-day rule, residency can be secured with as little as 60 days spent on the island, provided the remaining conditions are met.

The test is met by anyone who spends at least 60 days in a calendar year in Cyprus, no more than 183 in any other single state, holds an office in a Cyprus company and keeps a permanent home on the island. which is precisely the position of an investor living in the property he acquired for the permit and serving as a director of his own Cyprus company.

Non-domicile status is the second, and more valuable, consequence of Cyprus tax residency. It is not acquired automatically; the investor must apply to the Tax Department and obtain confirmation that they are not domiciled in Cyprus. Once confirmed, they are relieved of Special Defence Contribution for a period of 17 years, with the result that dividends and interest, of Cypriot or foreign source alike, bear no Cyprus tax.

Gains on the disposal of shares and other securities fall outside the charge to tax, save for limited exceptions, and Cyprus levies no inheritance tax. The tax reform of 2026 preserved the regime in full and, for those who wish to remain beyond the initial period, introduced an extension of a further 10 years on payment of a fee.

In our experience, applications are delayed or refused not because the investor does not qualify, but because the file does not prove it in the way the Migration Department expects. Funds routed through a domestic account, receipts that do not reconcile with the contract, a sale contract not deposited at the Land Registry, income evidenced in the wrong form. Each of these is avoidable, and each costs time and money.

Andreas Georghadjis LLC has been advising investors and their families on immigration permits for many years and handles every stage of the matter under one roof: the acquisition of the qualifying investment, the structuring and documentation of the funds, and the preparation and submission of the application to the Migration Department. Prospective applicants who would like to know where they stand before committing to an investment are welcome to contact the firm's Limassol office. A short initial discussion will establish whether the criteria are met, which route is most suitable, and what the process will involve.

General information on the criteria in force at the date of publication; not legal or tax advice. The criteria are set by the Ministry of Interior and may be revised.