Permanent residency visas

Following the abolition of the Cyprus citizenship by investment programme over the scandal of selling passports, attention has turned to the scheme for permanent residency visas. This had already existed but it has been revised and expanded.

The main requirements for someone to be eligible to apply for such a visa are as follows:

• The applicant must invest a sum of at least €300.000 in the following categories:

1. Residential units that have been developed by a developer for sale and it must be the first sale. The applicant may acquire up to two residential units
2. Other real estate, for example offices, shops, hotels and so on, including resales

iii. Shares of a Cypriot company with business activities in Cyprus and with the minimum number of 5 staff

If an applicant disposes of an investment once they have secured a visa without replacing it with a similar one or one of higher value, their visa may be withdrawn by the government.

• The applicant must prove that he has an annual income of at least €30.000 with an added €5.000 p.a. for each of their dependents (spouse and/or children), or €8.000 per person for their parents or their spouse’s parents. The money must come from abroad.
• If the applicant has non-dependent children, the €300.000 investment is increased by another €300.000 per child
• The amount of €200.000 out of the total of €300.000 must be paid prior to the application
• After securing the visa the applicant cannot live outside Cyprus for a cumulative period of more than 2 years

It is worth noting that no work permit will be given, though an income can be made through a business that has been invested in.

Applicants should expect to receive a reply two months after applying.

Successful applicants will then be eligible to apply for a Cypriot passport after seven years of permanent residency.

It is obvious that visa schemes such as this are not anywhere near as attractive as the abolished passport scheme, even though those involved a lot more money.

It terms of the local real estate market, the scheme evidently favours new housing development, which will leave exiting owners in a tight spot. There is an exception when existing owners bought their property prior to May 7, 2013 a resale will be allowed by the new provisions.

Overall the new visa scheme is a good effort to replace to an extent the benefits to the Cyprus economy from the passports programme and we will have to wait and see how attractive it is to foreign investors and what effects this will have in the near future.

Antonis Loizou & Associates EPE – Real Estate Valuers, Estate Agents & Property Consultants, www.aloizou.com.cy, [email protected]