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Catalog
- Permanent Residence Permit in Cyprus is a designation of legal status through which non-EU citizens may come to the Republic of Cyprus and stay here for indefinite period. At the same time this status is indefinite, it has no expiration date, there is no need to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its extension. If a citizen of another country resides in South Cyprus with Permanent Residence Permit for the past 7 years, he/she is entitled to obtain citizenship of Cyprus.
One of the reliable, popular options for obtaining permanent residency in Cyprus is investment or purchase of real estate. There are two types of permanent residency when considering the purchase of real estate:
1. Regular procedure.
2. Urgent procedure.
According to the law, the Minister of Interior notifies the Council of Ministers, and it decides whether to refuse or grant a foreign national permission to immigrate and obtain permanent residence.
How to get permanent residency in Cyprus through investment?
Investing is one of the most effective ways to get a permanent residence permit in Cyprus. However, you should meet the following conditions in this case:
Provide a police clearance certificate of the investor;
Provide proof that the official salary in the country of residence is 30,000 euros per year;
Documents describing the property, documents confirming the purchase through the developer (the cost of housing or office must exceed 300 thousand euros (VAT is not included)).
The investor is issued a residence permit for a period of 2 months only if he meets the above requirements.
Residence permit for the purchase of real estate in Cyprus
A citizen of another country who wants to obtain a permanent residence permit must submit an application for permanent residence, as well as a contract of purchase of the real estate, or a document confirming the ownership rights if the transaction has already been concluded. The documents must be fulfilled in the name of the applicant or his/her spouse. The documentation must be submitted to the Land Registration Authority in Cyprus.
Buying a private house, cottage, apartment, office allows you to obtain a permanent residence. In this case, a receipt must be provided immediately to certify that not less than 200 thousand euros has been paid for the selected property. It is important to make a payment to a bank account in one of the banks in Cyprus. Money transfer must be made from abroad.
The procedure for acquiring real estate to further obtain a Permanent Residence Permit is valid if it is done through a foreign company (on behalf of the organization). However, in this case the applicant who wishes to obtain a Permanent Residence Permit, must be the sole shareholder/beneficiary of the company.
A citizen of a foreign country can buy the following property (according to the above price):
1 housing unit, a small store, the area not exceeding 100 square meters;
2 housing units - these can be apartments or private houses;
a housing unit or an office building/few premises with a total area not exceeding 250 square meters.
If there are two applicants, the restrictions and requirements are imposed on them as a couple, not individually.
Another requirement for real estate acquisitions is that units of housing, business, and office must be new ones, obtained through developers.
Another requirement for real estate acquisitions is that units of housing, business, and office must be new ones, obtained through developers.
Earnings from abroad
In order to obtain permanent residence, the applicant must not only purchase real estate worth more than 300 thousand euros, but also provide a certificate confirming that the annual income of the applicant exceeds 30,000 euros. When moving with family, 5000 euros shall be added to the annual salary for each family member.
The main requirement for income is that it must necessarily have foreign origin. The total income includes salaries, and dividends on shares and pensions.
Dependents
The Permanent Residence Permit in Cyprus, which is issued to the applicant if the above requirements are met, covers his/her children who are under the age of 18, as well as his/her spouse. If necessary, it is possible to request two separate immigration permits for each spouse, which is important in many situations.
Children's Permanent Residence Permit (PRP)
At the same time, you will have to pay the state fee. In the case of parents with children moving abroad, applicants will have to provide proof that their income is more than 30 thousand euros by 5000 for each child.
If the children plan to enroll to any of the universities in Cyprus, they need to submit an application for a residence permit in Cyprus as a student to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon graduation are completed, children are entitled to submit a personal application for a permanent residence permit. However, even then their parents will have to prove an increased income of 5000 for each of their children.
Parents’ PRP
In addition to children, those who move to Cyprus for permanent residence have the opportunity to grant the right to immigration to their parents, close relatives. For this, the applicant needs to submit documents with proof of increased income (30,000 euros + 8000 for each relative). In addition, the corresponding fee must be paid.
Criteria for obtaining a permanent residence permit
There are several criteria that must be met in order to meet requirements for permanent residency:
The applicant, as well as his/her spouse, must submit police clearance certificates to the MFA. By doing that, the applicant and his/her family members must not pose a threat to other people or their property on the island.
After obtaining permanent residence, according to the current laws, the former applicant must regularly visit Cyprus and not spend more than two years abroad. If this restriction is violated, the permit shall be canceled.
If the applicant does not plan to work in Cyprus, he must inform about it in advance. At the same time, the main income can be received from a company that is registered on the island.
Period of granting a residence permit
If all the requirements have been met, there are no grounds for refusal, the application for permanent residence is considered within 2 months. This is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, which approves or rejects the application. If the application has been approved, permanent residence is issued immediately.
To date, certain updates have been made on the timing, which is why it is impossible to say exactly how long an application for immigration will be considered according to a regular procedure.
There are several requirements to be met when applying through the regular procedure:
The salary statement from foreign country starting from 20 thousand euros. The sources of income must be located outside Cyprus. The total income includes basic wages, social benefits, pensions, annuities, shares.
It is necessary to purchase a property on the island of Cyprus. It can be and office, a private house, an apartment. The most important thing is the market value of real estate (office, private house, apartments) that starts from 100 thousand euros.
A bank deposit of more than 30 thousand euros must be made to the account with any bank in Cyprus.
Important! It is possible to apply for a permanent residence permit through the regular procedure, even if you rent real estate. However, in this case, there is a high risk of rejection by the migration service.
Foreign citizen who has permanent residence and residence permit in Cyprus has the right to apply for citizenship. At the same time, it can be submitted only after 7 years of residence in Cyprus. In addition, another requirement is imposed on the applicant – before submitting an application, he/she must reside in Cyprus without interruptions for a year.
After obtaining permanent residence, you can stay in Cyprus without restrictions, you do not need to apply for a visa to enter the country. However, it will be needed when traveling to other EU countries.
In order to comply with requirements for immigration to Cyprus, the applicant must prepare a large package of documents:
a copy of a valid passport (the same for children and spouse);
a certificate with detailed information on the applicant's biography;
birth certificates of each child (with the seal and signatures);
marriage documents (with the seal and signatures);
original police clearance certificate;
receipt confirming the payment for real estate purchase;
a contract for the purchase of real estate in Cyprus, or a document that confirms the ownership of housing/office/shop;
a receipt confirming the stable annual income of at least the predetermined amount.
If the application for permanent residence is submitted according to a regular procedure, you will need a bank statement stating that the applicant has a stable annual income of more than 20 thousand euros.
In addition to all of the above requirements, you should not forget about the payment of state fees when applying for immigration. 500 euros for the whole family (husband and wife, children up to 18 years) + 70 euros for paperwork. Fee for children over the age of 18 and their parents is 500 euros each + 70 euros for paperwork.
Why should you contact us?
If you need to obtain a residence permit, permanent residence permit, or citizenship of Cyprus, it is recommended to contact our specialists for assistance. We offer:
- assistance in obtaining an identity card, passport;
- assistance in preparing the documents;
- monitoring the status of the procedure for applying, obtaining a residence permit, permanent residence, citizenship.
Cyprus citizenship is a legal confirmation that a person can reside, study, work on the territory of Cyprus without any restrictions. A citizen of Cyprus is not forbidden to have several passports, citizenships of other countries, and he/she will be considered a citizen of the EU.
There are a total of 3 legal ways to obtain citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus:
marrying a person who is a Cypriot citizen;
naturalization during long-term residence;
cypriot origin.
Each of the options should be considered in more detail.
Naturalization for long-term residence
In order to apply for citizenship through naturalization, a foreigner must have lived in Cyprus with a residence permit for 7 years. Another requirement is that prior to preparing and submitting the citizenship application, the foreigner must have lived in Cyprus for a full year without leaving the country.
In the case if there are parents of children who are Cypriot citizens, the period of residence to apply for citizenship is reduced to 5 years. The same applies to foreigners who were able to obtain permanent residency.
Submitting an application
In order to prepare and submit an application for citizenship, the applicant must prepare in advance a list of all entries and exits to the territory of Cyprus. This is necessary in order to confirm the number of days of staying in Cyprus. Processing of the application can take up to 2 years.
- You will need the following documents to submit an application:
- police clearance certificate;
- birth certificate;
- document confirming the registration of the marriage;
- copies of all passport pages;
- CV, certificates of professional activities;
- two standard size photos.
In this case, you should not forget about the payment of state fees. When applying for citizenship, you have to pay 500 euros. If the application is approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you shall pay another 500 dollars.
Obtaining citizenship through marriage
Those foreigners who are married to residents of Cyprus can send a request for citizenship only if the marriage was concluded more than 3 years ago, if the spouses have lived together in Cyprus for 2 years. At the same time, you need to report on why there is a need to obtain citizenship of Cyprus. No explanation is required if the spouses have been married for more than 5 years and if they have a common child.
List of necessary documents:
- marriage certificate;
- the birth certificate of the person applying for citizenship
- police clearance certificate;
- copies of passports (both spouses);
- certificate of citizenship of the spouse from Cyprus;
- an application stating that the spouses live together (can be obtained through local authority);
- document confirming a marriage based on mutual respect (must be issued and certified by the district administration);
- an application stating that the applicant needs to receive 2 forms for registration of citizenship (at the same time, stamps with a price of 8.54 euros must be present on one form).
The application can be processed for up to 2 years. You will have to pay a state fee of 300 euros when submitting documents.
Citizenship by origin - details
Adults and minors who were born abroad after August 16, 1960 and whose father had citizenship of Cyprus at the time of their birth can submit an official request for citizenship. The same applies to those who were born on June 11, 1999. Their mother must have been a citizen of Cyprus at the time of birth.
State fee of 20 euros must be paid when applying for the above cases.
List of necessary documents for registration of minors:
- two standard size photos;
- copies of the passports of the applicant’s parents, as well as the applicant’s passport copy;
- the declaration of a foreign parent (this document will only be relevant if it is certified through the diplomatic authorities);
- birth certificate of the applicant;
- a paper confirming the marriage between the parents of the applicant (must be officially certified).
Documents for adults registration:
- certificate confirming the marriage of the parents of the person applying for citizenship;
- copies of the passports of the applicant’s parents and the applicant;
- birth certificate;
- a document confirming the registration of Cypriot relatives/relative.
Additionally, you need to pay a state fee of 50 euros.
It is necessary to prepare and transfer all documentation, an application for citizenship in the situations described above, through the registration department responsible for migration, immigration, and civil status registration. Another option is to do this through the district offices, which are located in all cities.
All documents marked with “*" must be translated into Greek or English. At the same time, such documents should be marked with the "APOSTILLE” stamp. Another requirement is a certification from the Embassy of Cyprus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. Independent translation of documents is not allowed. This should be handled by the staff of the consulate.
There was another option to get citizenship in Cyprus until 2020. It concerned an investment program, through which foreigners could obtain citizenship for themselves and their families by investing 2 million euros or more in the country’s economy. However, this program was ceased on November 1, 2020.
If you need to obtain a residence permit, permanent residence permit, or citizenship of Cyprus, it is recommended to contact our specialists for assistance.