To obtain citizenship by investment in Cyprus, you must:

• Purchase real estate worth at least €2 million (excluding VAT). It can be a single property or several properties which jointly amount up to €2 million.
  • If you want to include your parents or your spouse’s parents: You must invest an additional €500,000 into your property purchase.
• Make a €100,000 donation to the Cypriot Government Research and Development Fund and another €100,000 donation to the Cypriot Land Development Organisation. In total, the entire investment must be €2.2 million.
• Have clear criminal records.
• Commit to the investment before applying for the Golden Visa.
• Transfer the money for the investment from abroad.
• Have the necessary documents required for the application (i.e. property purchase documents, proof of available and legal funds, police records, etc.)

There are no obligations to live in Cyprus before applying for citizenship and no language proficiency test is needed. If you fulfil the criteria, then you will be a citizen of Cyprus within six months.

If you obtain Cyprus citizenship by investment, you will enjoy the same rights as all Cypriot citizens, as will your family members. This includes:

• • You can live, work, and study anywhere within the European Union.
  • You do not need to pass a language proficiency test or enter an interview.
  • You do not need to spend time living in Cyprus before applying for citizenship, but you have to hold a residence permit for six months before the application is finished.
  • Your spouse and children up to 18 years of age will also receive citizenship, which can be passed down to future generations.
    • If you have adult children who are still students and thus dependent on you, you can also include them on the application as well. They must not be older than 28 and unmarried.
  • You can include your parents and the parents of your spouse if you invest another €500,000.
  • You can rent out your purchased properties.
  • After five years, you can reduce your investment to €500,000, which you must keep for life. This means you can sell your initial properties.
  • You can make the payment through a company or foundation you have a relation to.

• Dual citizenship is allowed.

• You have to apply for Cyprus citizenship at the Ministry of Interior after finalizing your investment. You can apply yourself or hire a legal representative. An outline of the application process for Cyprus citizenship by investment is:
• Enter the country using a regular entry visa.
• Submit the application at the Cypriot Ministry of Interior, which will work with the Ministry of Finance to reach a resolution on your application.
• Your application will be forwarded for approval to the Council of Ministers.
• You will receive a six-month residence permit, which you can use to stay in Cyprus or travel in and out of the country while the application finalizes.
• Once the application is finalized, you will receive the Naturalization Certificate.
• Then, you can apply for a Cypriot passport and an ID card at a local office where you are settled.
• If any family members are joining you, all your applications have to be submitted at the same time.
• Additionally, following the application, before you become a full Cypriot citizen, you have to attend a ceremony before a Registrar of a Cypriot Court.

• Another Golden Visa route for Cyprus requires you to invest in real estate property in exchange for permanent residence. To obtain a Permanent Residence Card, the investment requirements are much lower:

  • You must purchase real estate property worth at least €300,000
  • You must make a €30,000 deposit into a bank in Cyprus. The money will be kept for three years.
  • You must prove you have an annual income of at least €30,000 for yourself, and another €5,000 for every dependent (spouse and children).
  • If you will include your parents or your spouse’s parents: You must have an additional €8,000 on your income.
  You must have no history of criminal records.
  

• The benefits of getting Cyprus residency via investment include:

  • You and your family members will be allowed to travel to other countries in the European Union.
  • You can include your family members (spouse and minor children) on the application as well. If you have adult children (up to 25 years of age), you can include them on the application as well if they are dependent on you financially (i.e. they are still students).
  • You can include your parents or your spouse’s parents.
  • The Permanent Residence Card is valid for life.
  • You do not need to live in Cyprus to maintain your Residence Permit. You must only visit for one day every two years.
  • Permanent residence will also lead to obtaining a Cyprus passport, but only after seven years of uninterrupted residence.

  Unlike with citizenship, you and your family members are not allowed to engage in gainful employment in Cyprus. Your income must come from abroad.

• To apply for permanent residence in Cyprus via the Golden Visa program, you must first enter the country with an entry visa, then submit the application to the Cypriot immigration authorities. A rough outline of the application procedure is as follows:

  • Enter Cyprus using a regular entry visa, which you can apply for at the Cypriot Embassy in your country.
  • Finalize your investment and submit the permanent residence application to the Civil Registry and Migration Department (CRMD). You can apply yourself or use a legal representative. You must have all the required documents.
  • Your application will be forwarded to the Cypriot Ministry of Interior.
  • The application processing time is about two months.
  • If the decision is positive, you will receive a letter of approval.
  • Within one year of approval, you and your family members must enter Cyprus and head to the Civil Registry and Migration Department to submit your biometric information and receive your Permanent Residence Cards.

• The documents required when applying for a Cyprus Golden Visa depend on the type of investment you make and other specific factors, such as your nationality. In general, you will need the following:

  • Proof of the investment – purchase of the property, donation, etc.
  • Proof of the availability, ownership, and transfer of the necessary funds.
  • Your CV, detailing your professional and academic qualifications
  • Civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates
  • Passport-size pictures
  • Police records, showing you have no previous criminal history.
  • If submitting an application for dependent adult children: Proof they are undergoing studies.

  Document guidelines:

  All the documents you submit have to be in English or in Greek. If they are not, they must be translated into English by a certified translator or consular authorities.

  All the documents you submit must be legalized. If your origin country is part of the Apostille Convention, an Apostille Stamp is required. If your country is not a member of the Apostille Convention, your documents must be legalized by your country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Cyprus Embassy in your country.