Foreign citizens who want to immigrate to Cyprus have several ways to do that. Among these, the most popular is by obtaining temporary residence permit followed by permanent residency. However, there is also the option of moving here by applying for permanent residence or citizenship by investment.
No matter the route one decides to take, our law firm in Cyprus is at the service of all foreign citizens who want to relocate here. You can also rely on us if you want to start a business in Cyprus once moved.
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Cyprus has aligned its legislation on immigration with EU directives regarding the entry, stay, self-employment and study of third country nationals. Third country nationals are the citizens of countries outside the European Union. Third country nationals are also allowed to apply for a long-term residence permit after living in Cyprus for at least five uninterrupted years. Cyprus has also signed the Schengen agreement and is in the pre-implementation evaluation process. Also, all other visa requirements are aligned with all EU requirements.
If you are  considering moving to this country, our team of immigration consultants in Cyprus is ready to help you obtain the suitable type of visa for your situation.
There are two categories of foreign citizens who can immigrate to Cyprus: EU citizens and non-EU citizens. For the first category of immigrants, there are no requirements in terms of visas, however, for the latter, there are specific visas that can be obtained.
Luckily, non-EU citizens who plan to move to Cyprus have several legal ways to do that. They can obtain employment, start a business or even retire here, and thus obtain temporary, then permanent and finally citizenship in Cyprus.
With a vast experience in immigration matters, our lawyers in Cyprus is at the service of foreign citizens who want to move here based on any type of visa.
There are several types of visas that be obtained by those who immigrate to Cyprus. Among these, we mention the following:
There are also several business immigration options for those who want to move to Cyprus and among these, the Startup Visa is one of the most recent.
Cyprus is a very appealing country, especially from a taxation point of view, which is why it attracts a significant number of foreign citizens interested in obtaining permanent residency every year. The fastest route to immigrate to Cyprus and obtain permanent residence is by enrolling in the specific programs enabled by the Government, also known as economic citizenship schemes.
There is also the option of obtaining employment, moving here temporarily and after legally residing here for the required period of time, applying for permanent residency.
No matter the option, our Cypriot lawyers can help you apply for the necessary visas.
In May 2013, the Ministry of Interior in Cyprus announced that immigration permits for third country nationals are available provided that they meet certain requirements. Among these requirements are:
All amounts of money must be deposited from abroad. We invite you to read more on this topic by visiting our dedicated article on Cyprus citizenship by investment.
For immigrants purchasing property in the name of a company they own, the foreign company is allowed to buy two housing units, or a housing unit and storage facility with an 100 square meters area, or a housing unit and an office space with a 250 square meters area. However, for complete details about the requirements for foreign legal persons purchasing real estate please contact our lawyers in Cyprus.
One of the newest ways to immigrate to Cyprus is by applying for a startup visa. This program has been successfully enabled in several EU countries and Cyprus is one of them.
In Cyprus, the Startup Visa Scheme is made of two parts: the Individual Startup and the Team Startup programs, under the last one allowing several business partners to move to Cyprus and open or develop and already registered company.
The most important advantage of this scheme is that it offers those who immigrate to Cyprus the possibility of residing and working here at the same time, compared to other programs which enables foreign citizens to only live here (such is the case of retirement).
In order to move to Cyprus under the Individual Startup Visa Scheme, a non-EU citizen needs 50,000 euros (the financial requirement is significantly lower than in the case of the citizenship by investment scheme), must have an undergraduate degree and/or a professional qualification and knowledge of English (it also helps if the applicants knows Greek).
The Team Startup Visa Scheme, on the other hand, is available for up to 5 non-EU citizens who can form a team made of at least one company shareholder and a maximum of 4 executives who:
If you want to immigrate to Cyprus under the Startup Visa Scheme, you can rely on lawyers for guidance. We can also assist with the business registration process in Cyprus, so do not hesitate to ask for our assistance.
Cypriot immigrants must also meet certain quality criteria when applying for a residence permit. These criteria are:
Foreign citizens immigrating to the country may be shareholders in a Cypriot company. You can rely on the expertise of our lawyers if you want to immigrate to Cyprus.
Foreign citizens interested in immigration to Cyprus must submit the following documents with the Immigration Department in Cyprus when applying for a residence permit:
Considering that other additional documents may be required we invite you to contact our Cypriot lawyers in order to find out other requirements when immigrating to the country. Our team of specialists in immigration matters in Cyprus will help you obtain all the needed documents and will represent you in every stage of the immigration process.