permanent residence under Regulation 6(2) from €300,000 plus VAT, decided in two to six months; a national permit outside the Schengen Area
The Cyprus golden visa is a permanent residence permit under Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations: €300,000 plus VAT in new residential property, shares or fund units, a secured annual income of at least €50,000 from abroad, and a decision in two to six months. The permit is indefinite and needs one visit every two years. Cyprus is in the EU but not in the Schengen area, so the permit does not give Schengen travel.
Figures verified 27 September 2026 · Licensed CICC consultant, Toronto
Four qualifying investment types share one minimum investment. Every route also requires the €50,000 secured annual income from abroad, health insurance and a clean record. Property is the route almost every client uses.
€300,000 + VAT
€300,000
€300,000
€300,000
Government fees: €500 application fee per applicant on filing and €70 per residence card; lawyer fees typically €5,000–10,000; on property, stamp duty of about 0.15–0.2% and title transfer fees (waived where VAT was paid). Figures verified 27 September 2026.
Jane Katkova has advised on citizenship and residence by investment since 1998. We confirm eligibility, the complete fee schedule and the realistic processing time before you pay anything, and we advise against a programme when it does not fit your circumstances.
Cyprus citizenship by investment no longer exists. The Cyprus Investment Programme, the golden passport, was abolished on 1 November 2020 after the EU opened infringement proceedings, and it has not been replaced. What Cyprus offers now is permanent residence for €300,000 plus VAT, and a Cypriot passport only through ordinary naturalisation after about eight years of actually living there with Greek at B1.
Read more about the path from Cyprus residence to citizenship
Two to six months from filing. Our Cyprus lawyer files; you travel once for biometrics after approval, or at filing if convenient.
We confirm the income test for your family size, the source of funds and whether Schengen matters to you. Written cost estimate including VAT.
New-build home from a developer; sale contract lodged at the Land Registry; at least €200,000 paid from your bank account abroad before filing.
Application, contract, proof of payment, income evidence, police certificates, insurance, and the €500 fee per applicant.
The fast-track examination under Regulation 6(2). Additional documents are sometimes requested; we respond within days.
Every family member gives biometrics in Cyprus within a year of approval; the permanent residence card follows.
Visit at least once every two years, keep the investment, confirm income and insurance annually, and report changes of address or family.
It differs from Schengen residence permits in one important respect, set out below.
| Your situation | What Cyprus adds | What it does not change |
|---|---|---|
| US citizen | Permanent EU residence for the family in months; an English-speaking, low-tax base if you ever move; a home you own | Schengen travel (you already have 90/180 on your passport); US worldwide taxation, FBAR, FATCA; no passport without eight years there |
| Canadian citizen | The same, plus a permanent Mediterranean address for retirement planning | Canadian tax residence unless you actually move; departure tax if you do; no Schengen from the card |
| US/Canada resident on another passport | Permanent status in an EU country as a contingency residence for the family; English schooling | No visa-free Schengen; no entry to UK, US or Canada; your North American status; nationality visa rules elsewhere |
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Photo: Secret Travel Guide / Unsplash
Photo: Secret Travel Guide / UnsplashCyprus applies EU law but border control has not been lifted, so a Cypriot residence card is a national permit. It lets you live in Cyprus indefinitely, and Cyprus admits holders of valid Schengen visas, but the rest of Europe does not admit Cypriot residents on the card. For US and Canadian citizens this is not a loss: your passport already gives 90 days in any 180 across Schengen, and from late 2026 ETIAS is a few euros online. For clients on Indian, Chinese, Nigerian or Pakistani passports it is decisive: Europe still needs a visa. Cyprus has said it intends to join Schengen; the evaluation is under way but there is no date in force in 2026. We do not advise clients on the basis of expected accession. If Schengen is the goal, see Greece or the European comparison. If a permanent, fast, English-speaking EU base is the goal, Cyprus is among the best-value permits in Europe; see the citizenship path for what a passport would take.
Cyprus suits clients who want permanent EU status quickly and at a comparatively low threshold and does not need Schengen from it, because a US or Canadian passport already gives 90 days in 180 there. What Cyprus offers you is an English-speaking, low-tax base that you can activate later. Under 183 days a year and with your home in North America, nothing changes: you own a Cypriot home, pay no Cypriot tax on foreign income, and file as before. If you do move, Cyprus's non-domiciled regime exempts dividends and interest from Cypriot tax for 17 years and there is no inheritance tax; the US–Cyprus and Canada–Cyprus treaties prevent most double taxation. Americans still file US returns, FBAR and FATCA. Canadians who sever residential ties pay departure tax on deemed dispositions. Cyprus also has a 60-day tax residence rule for people who are not resident anywhere else, which some clients use deliberately; it must be planned, not assumed.
The key limitation first: the Cyprus permit does not give visa-free Schengen travel. If your goal is to move around Europe without visas, choose Greece, Portugal, Malta or Hungary. Cyprus gives you a permanent home in an EU country, English in daily life and business, and schooling in English, with no change to your US or Canadian status and no help entering the UK, US or Canada. Source of funds is checked closely and the €50,000 income must be from outside Cyprus and secured: salary, dividends, pensions, rents, with evidence. Naturalisation needs about eight years of living there and Greek B1.
Thirty minutes with Jane Katkova, licensed CICC consultant, in Toronto. We tell you whether the income test works for your family, what the purchase costs with VAT, and whether you actually need Schengen from the permit.
Video coming: the €50,000 income test, VAT on the €300,000, and what the absence of Schengen access means for US citizens.
The programme usually called the Cyprus golden visa is permanent residence by investment under Regulation 6(2): €300,000 plus VAT in first-sale residential property, other real estate, company shares or fund units, plus €50,000 secured annual income from abroad. It gives an indefinite residence permit in two to six months. It is not the investor citizenship programme, which ended on 1 November 2020.
No. Cyprus is an EU member but not part of the Schengen area, so the permit does not let you travel visa-free in other European countries. Your own passport decides that. US and Canadian citizens already have 90 days in 180 in Schengen; others need a visa. Cyprus plans to join Schengen but no date is in force in 2026.
At least €50,000 a year of secured income from sources outside Cyprus, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent child. A couple with two children shows €85,000. Salary, pensions, dividends, rents and fixed deposits count with evidence; capital sitting in a bank account does not.
No. One visit every two years keeps it, along with holding the investment, insurance and the annual income confirmation. If you stay away for more than two years, the permit is cancelled.
Only by ordinary naturalisation: about eight years of actually living in Cyprus (seven of the last ten, with the final twelve months continuous), Greek B1 and a clean record. Investor citizenship ended in November 2020. See the citizenship path page.
Not on its own. Tax residence depends on where you live: 183 days, or Cyprus's 60-day rule if you are resident nowhere else. Stay under and only Cypriot rental income (if any) is taxed there. Move and Cyprus taxes you as a resident, with the non-dom exemption on dividends and interest; Americans still file with the IRS, Canadians face departure tax on leaving.
Compare them side by side: investor residence options and golden visa Europe comparison. Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See Canadian citizenship by birth or Dominica's Economic Diversification Fund route.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change; we confirm every figure before you commit.
A confidential consultation with a licensed CICC consultant. We assess eligibility and total cost before you commit to any programme.