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Cyprus.

How Cyprus sells citizenship and residence for investors: 2 programmes, 1 of them open today. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.

677
numbers
197
prices and rules
83
events
41
documents and articles
Citizenship·Closed·2007–2020

Citizenship by investment programme

Sells citizenship, and with it a passport.

Official name: Cyprus Investment Programme (Κυπριακό Επενδυτικό Πρόγραμμα, ΚΕΠ), incl. the 2007-2013 scheme for exceptional naturalisation of foreign investors

Lowest price when it closed: €2.2 million

At closure (regulations ΚΔΠ 379/2020, applications up to 31 Oct 2020) the applicant needed all three: an investment of at least EUR 2,000,000 (t-e5a592f8b1), two donations of EUR 100,000 each (t-ab40ed5f97, t-06b47e9e39), and a permanent home in Cyprus worth at least EUR 500,000 plus VAT (t-92d5cbff51). The EUR 2.2m assumes the home can be part of a real-estate investment, as earlier decisions allowed (t-2344c31f0c note). If it cannot, the total is about EUR 2.7m plus VAT. The Audit Office says applicants who filed before 18 Aug 2020 were treated under the 2019 rules (EUR 2m plus EUR 150,000 in donations). Fees excluded: EUR 7,000.

Notes from the research

Naturalisation by Council of Ministers decision, without residence: 2007-2013 under para 2(στ) of the Third Schedule of the Civil Registry Law (exceptional services), from 30 Apr 2013 under art. 111A(2) (Law 36(I)/2013), from 18 Aug 2020 under regulations ΚΔΠ 379/2020. Criteria changed 12 times by Council decisions. Abolished by decision of 13 Oct 2020: no applications after 31 Oct 2020; pending ones approved until 31 Jul 2021. 6,779 naturalisations to 17 Aug 2020 (inquiry); 3,517 investors and 3,810 family members to 31 Jul 2021 (Audit Office). Art. 111A(2) deleted by a law passed in late 2025 or early 2026; EU infringement closed 11 Mar 2026.

Investors approved, not counting family members
02004006002008201020122014201620182020

Prices and rules

Rules while it was open

What is measured

  • People who became citizens108
  • Programme cases not meeting a stated condition (review of files)69
  • Dependants granted citizenship62
  • Programme cases meeting a stated condition (review of files)55
  • Investors approved, not counting family members55
  • Applicant share32
  • Applications received31
  • Investment by programme investors30
  • Processing time24
  • Deprivations of programme citizenship decided21
  • Applications approved20
  • VAT on programme investors' property (computed)16
  • Public revenue lost through programme irregularities (estimate)15
  • Programme applicants identified as high risk13
  • Irregular naturalisations detected13
  • Properties acquired for citizenship12
  • Share of programme grants found not to meet the rules10
  • Approved applications by year filed9
  • Programme case files under external inquiry9
  • All money paid by buyers, including property purchases9
  • Programme service providers counted for a stated group7
  • Share of applications by processing-time band6
  • Program citizenships revoked5
  • Deprivations of programme citizenship recommended5
  • All money paid by buyers, as a share of the economy4
  • Applications withdrawn3
  • Bank client relationships refused or ended over programme links3
  • Staff working on a programme3
  • Share of applications turned down3
  • Programme-linked share of bank remittances3
  • Number of nationalities among applicants2
  • Applications pending2
  • Programme contribution to GDP or GDP growth (estimate)2
  • Suspicious-transaction reports concerning programme clients2
  • Programme grants as a share of all grants of the same status2
  • Persons screened by the security service2
  • Programme places planned2
  • Applications turned down1
  • Dependants approved1
  • Investment funds eligible for a programme1
  • Passports issued1
  • Estimated impact of a rule change on programme users1
  • Visa-free destinations1
  • Application withdrawal rate1
Residence·Open

Golden visa (permanent residence)

Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.

Official name: Cyprus fast-track permanent residence for investors (Άδεια Μετανάστευσης, Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations; 'golden visa')

Lowest price for one person: €300,000

EUR 300,000. For a new home bought from a developer this is plus VAT; the same EUR 300,000 applies to company share capital, Cypriot fund units and commercial property (criteria in force 2 May 2023). The applicant must also show EUR 50,000 a year of income (t-9741560c6c), which is not an investment.

Notes from the research

Permanent residence (Immigration Permit) for third-country investors, issued by the Minister of Interior under Regulation 6(2); EUR 300,000 investment plus EUR 50,000 annual income (2023 criteria). No right to work except as director of the invested company. Card valid 10 years; right of residence unlimited. It does not lead to citizenship by itself; naturalisation needs years of actual residence under the ordinary rules (not researched here). Launch date not established: the Commission (2019) gives 2016, but the 2023 criteria imply the scheme existed by 2013; legal basis Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations (published 22 Dec 1972), a general discretionary clause. Pre-2021 terms not verified. No official numbers of permits found.

Prices and rules

Ways in that apply today (minimum amounts)
Fees today

What is measured

  • Processing time1
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Timeline

What happened, and when

Sources

The 41 documents behind this page

The stories behind the numbers

Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.

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