What are the Cyprus permanent residency requirements?

What are the Regulation 6(2) investment requirements?

Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations sets one investment threshold and four ways to meet it. You must invest at least €300,000, before VAT, in either a first-sale house or apartment bought from a development company, other real estate such as offices, shops or hotels, which may be a resale, the share capital of a Cyprus company with a physical presence and at least five employees, or units in a Cyprus collective investment fund in AIF, AIFLNP or RAIF form. The money must be shown to have entered Cyprus from abroad, from your own or your spouse's account, and paid to the seller through a Cyprus financial institution.

How much secured annual income do you need for the fast-track route?

Regulation 6(2) requires proof of a personal secured annual income of at least €50,000. That figure rises by €15,000 for a spouse and by €10,000 for each dependent minor child, so a couple with two young children must show €85,000 a year. Income can be salary, pension, dividends, bank interest or rent, and a spouse's income counts towards the total. If you invest in a first-sale home under category A, the income must come from abroad and be proved by a tax return from the country where you are tax resident. Investors in the other three categories may count income earned inside Cyprus, and a certified accountant's certificate is accepted as proof.

What is the Category F income requirement?

Category F sits in Regulation 5 of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations and is the income-based permit for people who will not work in Cyprus. You must have at your disposal, from abroad, a secured annual income of at least €9,568, plus at least €4,613 for every dependent person. That income can come from pensions, dividends, fixed-deposit interest or rent. Alongside the income affidavit, the Migration Department's current Category F document list asks for original Cyprus bank account statements and either a title deed, a contract of sale with proof of payment, or a rental agreement showing where you will live. There is no investment threshold under this route.

What criminal record, insurance and medical checks apply?

The applicant and spouse must each produce an original criminal record certificate from their country of origin and, if different, their country of residence, duly certified and officially translated. Under the Regulation 6(2) quality criteria you must also hold a health insurance policy covering inpatient and outpatient care for yourself and every dependant. A further requirement applies to Category A to F immigration permit applications submitted from 1 September 2026: original blood test results showing that you and your dependants are free of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and syphilis, plus an original chest X-ray for tuberculosis. Holders of a Cyprus temporary residence permit who already filed those results are exempt.

Can you work in Cyprus on a permanent residence permit?

No. Regulation 6(2) applicants and their spouses must sign a declaration confirming they do not intend to take up any form of employment in Cyprus. The single exception is acting as a director of the company they invested in under category C. You may still hold shares in Cyprus companies and receive dividends from them, and you may sit as an unpaid director, without that blocking the permit. Category F carries the same logic in stronger terms: the permit exists for people whose secured foreign income of at least €9,568 lets them live in Cyprus without engaging in any business, trade or profession here. Breaching the condition puts the permit at risk.

What documents and fees does the application require?

Every immigration permit application uses Form MIP2 and is filed in person, or through an authorised representative, at the Migration Department offices in Nicosia. The standard file includes passport copies for the applicant and each dependant, the criminal record certificates, a certified marriage certificate and children's birth certificates, an affidavit declaring the secured annual income, and proof of accommodation. Investors add the title deed or the sale contract lodged with the Department of Lands and Surveys, plus evidence that the funds came from abroad. The fee is €500 for all persons on the application, with a further €70 for each person who needs an Alien Registration Certificate. Incomplete applications are not accepted.

How can Cyprus permanent residency be lost?

The residence right itself has unlimited validity, but the card expires ten years after issue and must be replaced, and a minor's card runs only to age 18. The permit lapses if you are living abroad and fail to take up residence in Cyprus within one year of approval, if you acquire permanent residence in another country, or if you are absent from Cyprus for two years. Regulation 6(2) holders must give the Migration Department annual evidence that the investment is maintained and that health cover is in place if they no longer qualify under GESY, plus a clean criminal record every three years. Selling the investment without replacing it triggers cancellation.

Do EU citizens have to meet these requirements?

No. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens fall under Law 7(I)/2007, not the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, so none of the investment, income or criminal record conditions above apply to them. Article 14 gives an EU citizen who has resided lawfully and continuously in Cyprus for five years an automatic right of permanent residence, which is then recorded on the MEU3 permanent residence certificate for a fee of €20. Continuity survives absences totalling under six months a year, or one absence of up to twelve months for a serious reason such as illness, study or pregnancy. The right is lost only by an absence of more than two consecutive years.