Cyprus Permanent Residence by Investment in 2026: The Complete Guide

Cyprus permanent residence was one of my first cases when I joined BRIDGES, and it is still the route I describe most often to families who want a calm, long-term EU status without moving at once. The rules are short and written down in one official document, which makes Cyprus easier to explain than most programmes. The difficulty is in the details: which property counts, where the money comes from and how the income is proved.

What the programme is

The official name is an Immigration Permit under the expedited procedure for third-country nationals who invest in Cyprus. The legal basis is Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations. The Minister of Interior set the policy after notifying the Council of Ministers, and the current version is the 4th revision, in force since 2 May 2023. Applications are examined by the Migration Department and decided by the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection.

The right of residence has unlimited validity for the holder and adult dependants. The plastic residence card is different: it expires ten years after issue and has to be replaced. For children the card is valid until they turn 18.

The four investment categories

The applicant must invest at least €300,000 in one of four categories:

Category	What you buy	Key condition
A. House or apartment	A home from a development company	First sale, at least €300,000 plus VAT
B. Other real estate	Offices, shops, hotels or related developments	Total €300,000; resale is allowed
C. Company share capital	A new company, or a capital increase in an existing one	Based and operating in Cyprus, physical presence, at least five employees
D. Investment fund units	Units of a Cypriot AIF, AIFLNP or RAIF	The fund’s investments must be held in Cyprus

In practice most families choose category A or B. I explain the property rules, VAT and the full budget in a separate guide on costs and property rules.

Where the money must come from

The criteria are strict here. The funds have to be transferred to Cyprus from abroad, from the applicant’s account or the spouse’s account if the spouse is included. An official clarification adds that the money may also come from the account of a company where the applicant or spouse are the sole shareholders. The payment goes to the seller’s account at a financial institution in Cyprus, and it cannot come from borrowing inside Cyprus.

The income requirement

On top of the investment, the applicant must prove a secure annual income of at least €50,000. It rises by €15,000 for a spouse and by €10,000 for each dependent minor child. A couple with one child therefore needs €75,000 a year.

For category A the income must come from abroad: salaries, pensions, dividends, deposit interest, rent and similar. It is proved with the tax return from the country where you are tax resident, or with official certificates from an independent certified accountant. The spouse’s income can be counted. For categories B, C and D part or all of the income may come from activities in Cyprus.

BRIDGES notes that refusals in Cyprus most often come from the income rather than from the property, because the ministry looks closely at the structure and the source of the income. That matches what I see: I start every Cyprus case by reading the family’s tax returns, not the property listings.

The quality criteria

• The applicant and spouse provide clean criminal record certificates from their country of origin and their country of residence, if different.
• The applicant and dependants hold health insurance that covers inpatient and outpatient care.
• The applicant and spouse confirm that they will not take up employment in Cyprus, except as directors of the company they invested in. They may hold shares in Cypriot companies, receive dividends and act as unpaid directors.
• For categories B, C and D you show where you will live in Cyprus: a title deed, a sale contract or a rental agreement.

Family members

The permit covers the spouse and children under 18 as dependants, with no extra investment. Unmarried children aged 18 to 25 who study abroad and depend on you financially file their own application on the same investment, with an extra €10,000 of income each. Adult children who are not dependent need a larger investment. The details are in my guide for families.

Timeline

The official estimate for examining a complete application is about two months from the date of filing. BRIDGES gives two to three months for the review. Before that come the choice of property, the checks and the purchase, so the whole project takes longer. The steps and the document list are in my guide to the application process and documents.

What the status does not give you

• Schengen. Cyprus is a member of the European Union but not of the Schengen area. The Cypriot card does not replace a Schengen visa.
• Citizenship. Permanent residence does not turn into citizenship on its own. Naturalisation needs at least seven years of legal residence in the ten years before the final year, continuous residence in the final twelve months, Greek at B1 level and other conditions. Cyprus closed its citizenship by investment programme in 2020.
• Tax residence. The permit does not by itself make you a Cypriot tax resident.

Keeping the status

The permit ceases to be valid if the holder and dependants are absent from Cyprus for two years, or if they acquire permanent residence in another country. The holder also sends the Migration Department evidence each year that the investment is kept, and adults provide fresh criminal record certificates every three years. Selling the property without immediately replacing it with another qualifying investment of the same or higher value leads to cancellation. I cover this in the guide on keeping the status, taxes and citizenship.

A change to watch

BRIDGES reported that on 24 September 2026 the Deputy Minister of Migration told parliament that about 12,000 permits issued to investors since 2013 were under review and that the programme would be tightened before Cyprus joins Schengen. No new requirements have been published, and applications follow the 2023 criteria. I will update this guide as soon as the official text changes.

Who this route suits

From my experience, Cyprus fits a family that wants an open-ended EU status, has a clear and documented income from abroad and does not need to travel around Schengen on the residence card. It suits less well a family whose income is hard to document, or one that needs Schengen mobility now. For that case, compare it with Greece in my article Cyprus or the Greece Golden Visa.

BRIDGES describes the programme, its budget and its process on the page about permanent residence in Cyprus. Last checked 19 October 2026.