Cyprus Residency Documents

Cyprus Residency Documents

With MSI  Cyprus   Visa Support Service,

Our clients will benefit from a variety of services that include a special Invitation letter from our Legal department sent to the Embassy of Cyprus in Your country, assistance in filling the application form for the Visa, assistance in hotel and travel booking, and medical insurance possibilities.

Cyprus Permanent Residency

Legal Basis and procedure

The Cyprus Permanent Residency program can be applied by non-EU citizens, who will invest at least 300,000 Euro in real estate located in Cyprus.The amount can be separated into several real properties. As Cyprus is a European Union (EU) member state since 2008, the Permanent Residency entitles the applicant to enjoy the status of EU resident. It has to be mentioned that Cyprus Permanent Residency is the cheapest way to become the EU resident compare to other southern European countries. It means that applicant and his/her family will be entitled to travel visa free to EU and.

Eligibility of property owners and their relatives,

Permanent Residence in Cyprus with a Visa renewed every 5 years as the real estate property remains in the buyers ownership. therefore forever. Such a Residency is issued to the residence owner, their husband or wife, their the biological parents and parents in law and the children up to 25 years old.

The application procedure is as follows:

There is no need to reside in the country.

To finalize the procedure, it needs approximately 40 days, after making investment.

Spouse and children up to 25 years old can apply the program.

The applicant must have a medical insurance and clear criminal record.

Besides the mandatory amount of investment (300,000 Euro)

There is no income tax on the income derived outside Cyprus. 

The residence permit is issued for five years. This five years period can be renewed for another five years.

Parents of investor and his/her spouse can also be included.

The applicant should be aware that residence permit does not give investor right to work, but it does not deprive the right to establish a business. Permanent Residency is one of the ways to get Cypriot citizenship. After 7 years, the investor can apply for the Cypriot citizenship.

 

Citizenship by Investment

In September 2016 , the Government of Cyprus introduced changes to its citizenship-by-investment program. The changes include the reduction of the minimum investment amount to EUR 2 million and the possibility to include the parents of the main applicant provided that an additional EUR 500,000 + VAT will be invested in the purchase of a private residence in Cyprus.

Any non-Cypriot citizen may apply for Cypriot citizenship through Naturalization by Exception if they meet one of the investment criteria presented below. The qualification may either be done personally or through a company/companies in which the applicant acts as a shareholder or even as a high-ranking senior manager.

Economic Criteria

The applicant must proceed with an investment of at least €2 million in the following:

  1. Investment in real estate, land development and infrastructure projects (residential or commercial or development in the tourism sector). Investment in land under development is included in this criterion, provided that an investment plan for the development of the purchased land will be included in the application.
  2. Investment in Cypriot companies or organizations established and operating in Cyprus. The said companies or organizations, must have physical presence in Cyprus, with significant activity and turnover and employ at least 5 Cypriot or EU citizens.
  3. Investment in Alternative Investment Funds or financial assets of Cypriot companies/organizations that are licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. The investment made must be directed exclusively in Cyprus.
  4. Combination of the above-mentioned criteria provided that the total investment will be least €2 million which can also include investment in government bonds of up to €500.000.

Other conditions

  1. The applicant must have a clean criminal record and his/her name must not be included in the list of persons whose assets have been frozen as a result of sanctions.
  2. The applicant must possess a permanent privately-owned residence in the Republic of Cyprus, the purchase price of which must be at least €500.000 (plus VAT). Additionally, it is noted that if the applicant has invested in housing unit/units on the basis of the above mention criterion A.1, 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.
  3. The applicant prior to his/her naturalization as a Cypriot citizen must hold a residence permit in Cyprus. If the applicant does not already hold a residence permit, he/she may apply simultaneously with the application for naturalization.
  4. The application is examined and approved within approximately three (3) months and the passport can be obtained after 6 months have passed from the date of issuance of the residency card.

Family Members

  1. The spouse or partner of the investor can obtain the Cypriot nationality simultaneously with the applicant.
  2. The minor children of the investor have the right to acquire the citizenship according to the provisions of section 110 (3) of the Civil Registry Law after the naturalization of the applicant.
  3. The adult children of the investor can acquire the Cypriot nationality provided that they qualify under the below categories:
    1. Students up to the age of 28
    2. Children with severe mental or physical disability
  4. The parents of an applicant can also qualify for the Cypriot nationality, with an additional investment of €500.000 (Plus VAT) in residential property. The applicant and his/her parents can acquire together one residential property of total value €1 million.

Exit Strategy

  • The investor can sell all the investment, he/she may wish after three years have passed from the date of approval of the naturalization. The only condition is that the residential property must continue to be in the possession of the investor for life.
  • There is no requirement for an investor to reside in Cyprus after the acquisition of the Cypriot Citizenship.

Key Benefits

  1. Investment opportunities starting as low as €2.0M with a three (3) year exit strategy, are available to an applicant;
  2. Citizenship for life for applicant, spouse and financially dependent children up to the age of 28 passed down through generations;
  3. Dual citizenship is allowed without the requirement to notify national authorities of the home country of an applicant;
  4. Visa free travel to over 150 countries including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hong Kong and UAE;
  5. Cyprus offers an excellent environment and conditions to raise a family with low crime rate.

Who can apply

On the basis of the Scheme, a non-Cypriot citizen who meets one of the below mentioned Economic Criteria either:

  1. personally, or through a company/ companies in which he/ she participates as a shareholder, or
  2. through investments done by his/her spouse or jointly with the spouse, or
  3. even as a high-ranking senior manager of a company that meets one of the Economic Criteria, provided that he/she receives such a remuneration that generates for the Republic tax revenues of at least €100,000 over a three-year period and provided that this tax has already been paid or prepaid.