IMMIGRATION AND VISA INFO FOR NON EU CITIZENS BUYING PROPERTY IN CYPRUS
Visas for Non EU citizens Purchasing Property in Cyprus
Buying your Dream Home in Cyprus is the Key to EU Residency
Enjoy Permanent Residency in an EU country when you buy your dream home in Cyprus. Fulfilling your dream of an EU lifestyle has just been made possible by the Cyprus Government, which has recently announced that non-EU citizens making a minimum investment of € 300,000 in property on the island, subject to certain requirements, will be granted permanent residency through a special immigration visa. Quite simply, this means you will be able to enjoy the same advantages as everyone else in Cyprus without having to apply for any permits or renewals.
Cyprus is already renowned as the perfect place to live with its almost year-round sunshine, a relaxed, stress-free lifestyle and a very low crime rate. Cyprus offers an ideal family environment, with your children able to benefit from excellent schools and universities, while healthcare and infrastructure are all state-of-the-art. The island also enjoys a favourable reputation as in International business centre & gateway to the EU. Many international companies operate offices in Cyprus. Opening a company couldn’t be easier with low personal & business taxation plus the added benefit of tax treaties with numerous other countries.
BASIC INFORMATION
1. A Pink Slip is issued by the Immigration Office once someone has provided all the documentation required namely:-
Bank Statements
Proof of Income
Title Deeds or Contract for property that is owned in Cyprus
Details of all dependants
Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificate
2. With regard to a Visa – there are no multiple visas. People can come to Cyprus for a period of 90 days to look for property.
IN MORE DETAIL
For the issuing of a pink slip it does not matter what the value of the property is. The following are the requirements in order to issue the pink slip.
- TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT (PINK SLIP) OF NON EU passport holder:
Documents required:
- Copy of sale agreement or rental agreement or title deed
- Money deposited in the bank and proof from where it came from (CY and abroad, if any, of approx. Euro 100.000).
- Passports plus copy first page and last entry stamp
- Pension certificates + translation + copy (if any) and any other source of income as interest, rental income, other investments. What is actually needed here is to show steady and regular income, adequate for the maintenance of the applicant and his family from external sources.
- Bank guarantee for 24 months € 515 (+ copy)
- Marriage certificate + translation (+copy) apostille (Russians exempted)
- Birth certificate for children + translation + copy apostille (Russians exempted)
- 4 photos first issue / 1 photo renewal
- Medical Insurance automatically renewable.
This permit can be renewed every year under the same terms.
Holders of such temporary residence permit should not live abroad for a continuous period of 90 days and should live in Cyprus for a total period of 6 months.
The Cyprus Minister of Interior said that Non EU citizen that buy property in Cyprus more than about € 350,000 can be given a permanent residence permit under category F, but this is not strict. Non EU citizens that bought property of less than € 350.000 can also apply for the issuing of a permanent residence permit. The requirements for Category F are the following:
APPLICATION FOR PERMIT UNDER CATEGORY F OF REGULATION 5 OF THE ALIENS AND IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS CAP105
In case of wealthy Non EU citizens that can be given a permanent residence permit under category F. The requirements are enough money in the bank (€ 250.000), business activities, ownership of companies, shares etc.)
The requested documents are as follows:
a) Copies of Alien Registration Certificates (wife & dependants also)
b) Copies of Temporary residence permits (wife & dependants also)
c) Passport copies (wife & dependants also) valid for at least 2 years
d) Certificate of marriage, translation, apostille (Russians are exempted)
e) Birth certificates (legalized translation) of children, apostille (Russians are exempted)
f) Education Degree, diplomas etc Original + translation + apostille (Russians exempted)
g) Immovable property owned in Cyprus if any (title deeds or contract of sale)
h) Medical insurance (wife & dependants also) automatically renewable
i) Recent bank statements current and fixed (at least € 250.000
j) Documents of Companies owned by the applicant
k) Particulars of income and source from which derived.
l) 4 recent photos
m) CV
n) Certificate of criminal record + translation + apostille (Russians exempted)
As regards to the multiple visa, this has nothing to do with the value of the property in Cyprus as such. This is issued in the embassy or Consulate in Country the Non EU citizen lives and is under regulations that were imposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. The Non EU citizen must prove that he has immovable property in Cyprus but it is also important to show that he has business and income that can support the need of a multiple visa.
FAQs
Are you interested in a residency permit under the € 300,000 law?
Q. Can you buy three € 100,000 flats instead of one € 300,000 property?
A. The answer is NO.
Q. Are you allowed to rent the property out?
A. The answer is YES, but only for long term rentals (i.e. one year or more and not for daily or weekly rentals)
Q. If you are married with grown up children, Will they all become residence?
A. YES, provided they are under 18 years old.
Q. When Cyprus joins the Schengen zone will the permit allow you to travel to other EU countries?
A. YES, you will be able to travel to all other Schengen countries.
Q. If for example you are 50 years old and have a € 100,000 down payment and you needs to borrow € 200,000 Euros from the bank on a 15 year mortgage, how much will the monthly payments be? What is the interest rate at the moment? Will it be fixed for the whole period?
A. The interest rate will not be fixed. Actually it is to your advantage to use fluctuating interest rates rather than fixed ones. The reason is straight forward: Interest rates are much more likely to go down that up in the coming weeks/months/years. At the moment the interest rate is 6 ½%. The instalment would be € 1,650 per month. As mentioned above, this is more likely to go down than up as interest rates are going down internationally.
Q. What are the bank's requirements for granting a mortgage? And how long will it take?
A. The bank will want (a) Proof of income with the presentation of any official documents (for example tax clearance letter) and (b) Recent bank statements. Sometimes the Bank has the right to ask for some other information but the above are the two basic things. It normally takes 15-20 days for the Bank to answer about a loan.
Q. After your purchase, how long before your passport is stamped with permit and what is the law for keeping the indefinite leave in the future? Under what conditions can the permit be cancelled?
A. It is difficult to say how long it will take. The good thing is that from the moment the application has been accepted then you will get the permit. There is no Law for keeping the permit indefinite. However, the applicant must stay in Cyprus for more than 183 days per year and must be supported from funds outside Cyprus and without having to work in Cyprus. If they manage to get a job in Cyprus and have an income in Cyprus, this is irrelevant and separate.
Q. What are the additional costs involved in buying a property in Cyprus i.e.; taxes, fees etc?
A. There are immediate costs and costs that become payable at a later stage.
1] Immediate costs:
Stamp duty: This is very low. It depends on the value of the property. A stamp duty of 0, 15% (€ 1, 50 per € 1,000) is levied on contracts with a value of up to € 170.860. For any amounts thereafter, the rate is 0, 2% (€2 per € 1,000). The stamp duty is payable by the purchaser within 30 days of signing the contract.
Solicitor’s fees: Between € 1,000 and € 2,000 depending on the value of the property
2] Costs that come at a later stage:
Transfer fees
Property transfer fees are payable by the purchaser and are due when the title deeds are issued and transferred to his name. If it is a brand new property, these may take up to 3 years to become payable. If the property has its own title deed already, then this becomes an immediate cost like the ones above. Transfer fees are calculated as follows:
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