The Council of Ministers has announced, via its latest decision a series of revised criteria for foreign nationals seeking to acquire a permanent residency through investment. The amendments, proposed by the Minister of Interior, aim to address deficiencies in the pre-existing regulations.
Under the revised guidelines, which are effective from the 2nd of May 2023, the requirement for an investment of a minimum amount of €300,000 (three hundred thousand) in either of the following categories, remains the same.
Investment Categories:
(A) Investment in a residential house/apartment:
(B) Investment in real estate (excluding houses/apartments):
(C) Investment in share capital of a Cypriot Company with activities and personnel in Cyprus
(D) Investment in shares of a Cyprus Investment Organization for Collective Investments (type AIF, AIFLNP, RAIF):
However, significant changes have been implemented, such as the increase of the required annual income from €30,000 to €50,000, for the applicant and their family. Additionally, the applicant will need to prove an additional annual income of €15.000 for their dependent spouse and an additional annual income of €10.000 per dependent child, as opposed to the previous requirement of €5.000 per additional dependent person.
This income should derive from salaries, pensions, share dividends, deposit interests, rents, etc., acquired abroad and which will only be proven through the applicant’s tax return form, from the country in which they are a declared tax resident[1].
Spouses and children under the age of 18 can still obtain permanent residency, while unmarried children between the ages of 18 and 25, can obtain the permanent residency provided they are proven overseas higher education students the applicant demonstrates an additional annual income of €10,000 for each dependent.
The new regulations impose stricter requirements for granting permanent residency status to the applicant investor’s immediate relatives. Prior to these changes, a €300,000 real estate investment could secure permanent residency for the investor’s parents and in-laws. In accordance with the revised regulations, any additional adult seeking permanent residency in Cyprus must now invest the same amount.
Finally, one of the stricter requirements of the new regulations is that the applicant will be required, on an annual basis from the date of obtaining the Permanent Residence Permit, to submit evidence to the Civil Registration and Migration Department, proving that they maintain the investment, the required income declared for them and their family and that they are holders of a health insurance certificate, in case they are not beneficiaries of the General Health System (GESY). In addition, the applicant and their adult family members will be required to provide a new certificate of a clean criminal record from their country of origin, as well as their country of residence, on an annual basis.
The official announcement of the Civil Registry and Migration Department including the new amendments is accessible, in Greek, in the link below:
http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf/all/84B3764EF75149ADC2258782003A888B?opendocument
The above article is informative and does not correspond to legal advice.
For further information and the provision of specialized legal advice, please get in touch with your regular contact at Michael Chambers & Co LLC, or send us an enquiry at: info@chambers.law and/or christiana@chambers.law
[1] *in case of investment under type (A).
