26.10.2024
Permanent residence
How a Russian Citizen Can Get Permanent Residence in Cyprus in 2024
Permanent residence (PR) is a legal status that lets you live in Cyprus for an unlimited time. You can get PR after 5 years of living in Cyprus on a temporary residence permit, or through the PR by investment programme. By investing €300,000 or more in a business or in real estate, you can obtain a permanent residence permit within 6 to 8 months.
5 benefits of permanent residence in Cyprus
A permanent legal status lets an immigrant make long-term plans for themselves, their family and their children.
You can live on the island for an unlimited time. The PR card has to be renewed every 5 years, but the status itself is granted for life;
Access to quality healthcare and education;
An attractive tax system (foreigners are exempt from some taxes)
A simplified procedure for getting a Schengen and a US visa, and visa-free entry to Bulgaria and Romania;
After 5 to 8 years you can get Cyprus citizenship, with the right to live and work in any EU country and to enter 168 countries without a visa.
You can get PR status after 5 years of temporary residence on the island under one of the legal statuses: a work visa, a visitor visa or family reunification.
The owner of an international company in Cyprus with a share capital of about €260,000 can also get the right to permanent residence.
And the most popular route among Russians is buying real estate worth €300,000 or more.
It solves two issues at once: housing and a legal status to stay in Cyprus.
The owner of an international company in Cyprus with a share capital of about €260,000 can also get the right to permanent residence.
And the most popular route among Russians is buying real estate worth €300,000 or more.
It solves two issues at once: housing and a legal status to stay in Cyprus.
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PR in Cyprus for investors
Cyprus has two immigration investment programmes: a fast one and a slow one.
The Fast Track investment programme has additional conditions for getting PR:
- The applicant must have a legal income of at least €50,000 a year for themselves, €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each child.
- You do not have to live in Cyprus permanently, but you must visit the island at least once every 2 years. If you do not, PR is cancelled automatically.
- Residential property must be bought from a construction developer; resale properties do not qualify for the immigration programme.
The fast one is called Cyprus Fast Track Permanent Residence Permit. To take part you need to buy 1 or 2 properties for a total of €300,000 or more excluding VAT. After 6 to 8 months the buyer and their family are guaranteed to receive a permanent residence permit. The family includes the spouse, children under 18 and financially dependent unmarried children under 25.
To take part in the slow programme it is enough to buy a home worth €100,000 or more, but getting PR through it is quite difficult. Since 2020 this programme has effectively been frozen.
The programme also allows the purchase of commercial property, a stake in a local company and units in private Cyprus investment funds.
The programme requires the purchase to be paid from the applicant's account at a Cyprus bank, with the money coming into the account from outside Cyprus. In 2024 this can be a problem, because Cyprus banks are reluctant to accept money from accounts of Russian tax residents. You need to prepare in advance documents proving the origin of the money and the tax return for the relevant period.
If the account at a Cyprus bank is not ready and the deal is coming up soon, the buyer risks losing the deposit paid under the preliminary contract. To avoid this, it is better to leave opening the account and dealing with the bank to an experienced lawyer.
If the account at a Cyprus bank is not ready and the deal is coming up soon, the buyer risks losing the deposit paid under the preliminary contract. To avoid this, it is better to leave opening the account and dealing with the bank to an experienced lawyer.
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How to save on taxes when buying property for PR
A house or apartment in Cyprus can be bought in two ways: in the name of an individual or in the name of a company. Both let the buyer get Cyprus PR, but they differ in cost and legal consequences. Buying through a company gives the right to rent the property out legally, while registering it in your own name can save you tax.
The main advantage of buying as an individual is the chance to cut the VAT rate from 19% to 5%.
Conditions:
Conditions:
- the benefit can be used only once
- the property you buy cannot be sold or rented out for 10 years. In fact it can, but then you have to repay the difference between the standard and the reduced VAT.
- the total value of the property cannot exceed €475,000, and its area cannot exceed 190 m².
- VAT at 5% can be paid on no more than 130 m² if the total area of the property is larger. The value of those 130 m² must not exceed €350,000.
Here is an example of the reduced VAT calculation:
The houses in the examples are similar in price and floor area, but with VAT included one of them costs the buyer almost €50,000 more than the other.
It is better to have an experienced specialist check the area of the house and how it is counted when VAT is charged. A mistake can cost several tens of thousands of euros.
It is better to have an experienced specialist check the area of the house and how it is counted when VAT is charged. A mistake can cost several tens of thousands of euros.
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Buying property through a company: when it pays off
The main advantage of buying through a legal entity is the ability to rent the property out. A holder of investment PR is not allowed to work as an employee in Cyprus, but can own a business, including a rental business.
Buying a house or apartment through a company involves extra costs and is more expensive than registering it in the name of an individual.
- VAT has to be paid at the standard 19% rate on the full value of the deal
- Registering a company costs about €1,500, and maintaining it costs from €3,000 a year
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To assess whether buying through a company will pay off, the investor needs to decide how long they plan to own the property and do the calculation.
The question is how quickly the rental income will cover the extra VAT paid:
The calculation does not include the cost of managing the property, but the general logic is this: the higher the value of the property, the faster the costs of buying through a legal entity pay off.
Why PR in Cyprus can be refused
The PR application is submitted to the Cyprus immigration service. The standard document package includes:
- doubtful origin of the applicant's income;
- the applicant poses a threat to the security of the Republic of Cyprus;
- the certificates provided have expired.
The most common reason for refusal is incorrectly prepared documents. A missing apostille on one of the documents will, of course, not lead to a final refusal of PR. The Cyprus immigration service will simply leave the case without progress, and the applicant will spend months guessing why there is a delay.
It is not easy to prepare the document package correctly the first time. It takes experience that you cannot get, because you only need to get Cyprus PR once in your life! To avoid losing time and money, you can hand the PR application over to an immigration lawyer. Or you can order a training consultation and try to do everything yourself.
- a completed application on the form for your type of residence permit;
- copies of valid passports for all applicants;
- biographies of the applicants;
- marriage certificate;
- children's birth certificates;
- a certificate of no criminal record
- proof of the required level of income.
Income requirements depend on the family composition. Documents obtained outside Cyprus must be apostilled in the country of issue and translated into English after arrival in Cyprus. When applying for PR, the applicant and all family members also give biometric data.
The final decision to issue a permanent residence permit always rests with the Cyprus migration service. Besides obvious reasons, such as knowingly false information in the application or fake documents, a refusal can be caused by:
The final decision to issue a permanent residence permit always rests with the Cyprus migration service. Besides obvious reasons, such as knowingly false information in the application or fake documents, a refusal can be caused by:
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