NEW PERMANENT RESIDENCY BY INVESTMENT CRITERIA, EFFECTIVE AS OF 2 MAY 2023.
The Ministry of Interior has issued a new policy (4th review) for the granting of permanent residency by investment. We set out below,
In brief, the main criteria as they apply as of 2 May 2023:
1. THE APPLICANTS MUST COMPLY WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING INVESTMENT CRITERIA:
A. INVEST IN A HOUSE/FLAT:
This must be a first purchase from a land developer for at least €300,000 plus VAT.
B. INVEST IN IMMOVABLE PROPERTY:
First purchase or re-sale of offices, shops, hotels, commercial developments or a combination thereof for at least €300,000 plus VAT.
C. INVEST AN AMOUNT OF AT LEAST €300,000 IN THE SHARE CAPITAL OF A COMPANY REGISTERED, OPERATING AND EMPLOYING STAFF IN CYPRUS. CAN BE A NEW COMPANY OR AN EXISTING ONE.
D. INVEST IN UNITS IN A CYPRUS AIF, AIFLNP or RAIF.
Must be an investment of at least €300,000 in a local UCITS.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to any of the above, the applicant must show he has a personal secured annual income of €50 000 and an additional €15 000 and €10 000 for his spouse and underage children, respectively.
*** IN ALL CASES THE FUNDS MUST EMANATE FROM A PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT OF THE APPLICANT ABROAD AND BE CREDITED TO A BANK ACCOUNT OF THE SELLER IN CYPRUS.
2. THE APPLICANT MUST COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING QUALITATIVE CRITERIA:
A. Clean Criminal Record from country of origin and residence if different;
B. Health insurance for in-patient and out-patient treatment;
C. Declaration that the applicant will not carry out any business or work in Cyprus, save in the case where the investment is an investment in a Cyprus company;
D. In the case where the investment is an investment in a Cyprus company, the applicant may be ashareholder and receive dividends and be a director in the said company;
E. In the case where the applicant applies based on 1 (B), (C) or (D) above, he/she must provide proof of residence by way of title deeds, sale agreement or rental agreement. This may also be required in the case of 1 (A) above where the property acquired is not sufficient for all the family members to live in.
There are additional requirements in the case of dependents over 18 and other family members.
3. QUALYING DATA
For each type of investment pursuant to which the applicant will select to apply for residency, different sets of documentation will be submitted, in addition to the above.
All documents submitted will need to be duly translated and duly certified and legalised in order to be accepted by the competent authorities.
4. PROCESS
Application with all accompanying documents is submitted to the Civil and Migration Department personally or by representative by appointment. The fee payable upon submission is €500 plus €70 for each depen- dant on the application for the issuance of the ARC. The application is fast tracked through the Migration and assuming the applicant/s complies with all criteria and there are no issues relating to the criminal record/s of the applicant/s or a likelihood of the applicant/s posing a public order and public security threat, the applica- tion is sent to the Minister of Interior for approval via the General Director of the Ministry of Interior.
The timeframe for approval is estimated at two (2) months.
5. SUPERVISION AND EVALUATION MECHANISM
On an annual basis, starting a year after the issuance of the residence permit, the applicant must submit to the Civil Registry and Migration Department:
(a) evidence that he/she still maintains the investment;
(b) evidence that he/she maintains the required income and health insurance, provided they are not GESY beneficiaries;
(c) clean criminal record certificates for applicant and dependants issued from country of origin and residence.
ALIENATION OF THE INVESTMENT BY THE RESIDENCY HOLDER WITHOUT SUBSITUTION BY ANOTHER EQUAL OR HIGHER IN VALUE INVESTMENT OR FAILURE TO SATISFY ANY OF THE ABOVE IN (5) (a)-(c) WIILL INITIATE THE PROCESS OF REVOCATION OF THE RESIDENCE PERMIT.
The current article is for informational purpose only and does not constitute legal advice. For specialised legal advice please contact Samantha Hellicar at samantha@messios.com or + 357 22460446.
Samantha Hellicar
C.D. MESSIOS LLC May 2023