Permanent residence in Cyprus: three routes, sums, timing

Documents in Cyprus Checked: 23 October 2026 no change to the rule has been established since the check

In short

Who it applies to: Third-country nationals who want to live in Cyprus without renewing every year. “Permanent residence” covers two different documents: an immigration permit — on income from abroad (Category F) or on an investment — and EU long-term resident status, obtained after five years of lawful residence.
What it costs: An immigration permit costs €500 for the whole application including the family, plus €70 for an ARC card for anyone who does not have one yet. Long-term resident status costs €30.
How long it takes: For the investment route the department expects about two months, for long-term resident status six to twelve. For Category F it gives no time at all. While a permanent residence application is pending you may live in Cyprus only on a valid temporary permit: the submission receipt gives no such right.
Where to apply: Only at the Migration Department's central offices in Nicosia, by appointment. Form MIP2 for an immigration permit, MLT3 for long-term resident status. You may file in person or through a representative with a certified authorisation.
If your case differs: The right to live here is open-ended, but the card is not: an immigration permit is printed for ten years, long-term resident status for five. Both can be lost through long absence.

Your case

If you live on income from abroad and will not work in Cyprus

This is Category F: a secured income from abroad — pension, dividends, interest, rent — of €9.568 a year or more plus €4.613 for each dependant, and no work. File form MIP2 with your family as one application for €500. From 1 September 2026 it must include medical tests done abroad — unless you already filed them for a temporary permit. The department gives no examination time.

If you invest €300.000

This is the fast track under Reg. 6(2). The money comes from abroad: new housing from a developer, other real estate, the capital of a Cypriot company with five staff, or units of Cypriot funds. You need an income of €50.000 a year or more, plus €15.000 for a spouse and €10.000 for each child, a criminal record certificate and insurance. No work except as a director of the company you invested in. Sell the investment without replacing it and the whole family's permit is cancelled.

If you have lived in Cyprus on temporary permits for five years

This is EU long-term resident status. Five years of lawful residence without long absences: each shorter than six months, all together no more than ten. You need a stable income, housing, health insurance, Greek at A2 level and the knowledge-of-Cyprus exam. Years on a student permit do not count. Form MLT3, €30, a decision within a year, a card for five years.

Deadlines and conditions

Category F needs a secured income from abroad of at least €9.568 a yearReg. 5(στ) of the 1972 Regulations and the First Schedule as amended by ΚΔΠ 371/2002: «Αιτητής £5,600»; the department's Greek page: «ασφαλισμένο ετήσιο εισόδημα προερχόμενο από το εξωτερικό ύψους τουλάχιστον €9.568,17 (£5.600)».
plus €4.613 a year for a spouse and for each dependantThe same: «Σύζυγος αιτητή £2,700 / Κάθε εξαρτώμενος αιτητή £2,700»; the department — «€4.613,22 (£2,700)».
an immigration permit application costs €500 for the whole familyThe department's Greek page «Άδειες Μετανάστευσης»: «Το τέλος υποβολής της αίτησης είναι συνολικά €500 για όλα τα πρόσωπα που περιλαμβάνονται στην αίτηση».
plus €70 for an ARC card for each person who has noneThe same page: «επιπρόσθετο τέλος €70 για κάθε τέτοιο πρόσωπο», where the person has no ARC yet.
the investment is at least €300.000, in money transferred from abroadThe department's criteria under Reg. 6(2), 4th revision (May 2023, in force from 02.05.2023), para 2.1: at least €300.000 in new housing from a developer (plus VAT), other real estate, the share capital of a Cypriot company with five staff, or units of Cypriot funds.
on top of the investment you need an income of at least €50.000 a yearThe same criteria, para 2.2: «προσωπικό ασφαλισμένο ετήσιο εισόδημα ύψους τουλάχιστον €50.000. Το ετήσιο εισόδημα αυξάνεται κατά €15.000 για την/τον σύζυγο και €10.000 για κάθε ανήλικο τέκνο».
plus €15.000 for a spouseThe same, para 2.2.
and €10.000 for each minor childThe same, para 2.2.

Show all conditions (18)

an investment application is expected to be decided in about 2 monthsThe same criteria, para 8: “The estimated examination period … is approximately two (2) months” from a complete application.
afterwards you prove every year that the investment is intact and bring a criminal record certificate every 3 yearsThe department's clarification of the 4th revision, para 10: the applicant and adult family members file a criminal record certificate every three years instead of annually; the annual income proof is abolished, the annual proof of the investment remains.
long-term resident status follows 5 years of lawful, uninterrupted residenceCap. 105, s. 18Η(1): «νόμιμα και αδιάλειπτα κατά τα τελευταία πέντε έτη αμέσως πριν από την υποβολή της σχετικής αίτησης».
absences do not break the period if each is shorter than 6 consecutive monthsS. 18Η(2)(β): absences do not break the period «εφόσον αυτές είναι κατώτερες από έξι διαδοχικούς μήνες και δεν υπερβαίνουν συνολικά τους δέκα μήνες».
and all together no more than 10 months in five yearsThe same; the Immigration Control Committee may disregard longer absences — up to 24 months — for serious illness or a posting abroad by a Cyprus-based employer.
the long-term resident application costs €30The department's Greek page on long-term residence: «Το τέλος υποβολής της αίτησης είναι €30»; under s. 18Ι(1) the fee equals the fee for a biometric identity card.
examination takes from six to 12 monthsThe same page: «Ο χρόνος εξέτασης της αίτησης είναι 6-12 μήνες»; s. 18Ι(4)–(5) — a decision within six months, another six in a complex case.
long-term resident status is lost after 12 consecutive months outside the EU or six years in a row away from CyprusS. 18ΙΓ(1)(α)–(β): the status is lost on «απουσίας τους από το έδαφος της Κοινότητας για διάστημα δώδεκα διαδοχικών μηνών» or «από το έδαφος της Δημοκρατίας για έξι συναπτά έτη».
an immigration permit is lost after 2 years away from CyprusThe department's page “Immigration Permits”: the permit ceases if the holder and dependants acquire permanent residence abroad or “be absent from Cyprus for a period of two years”; also if they do not settle in Cyprus within a year of approval.
the immigration permit card is replaced every 10 yearsThe Greek page «Άδειες Μετανάστευσης»: the right is «απεριόριστης ισχύος», but «η άδεια διαμονής (κάρτα) φέρει ημερομηνία λήξης 10 έτη από την έκδοσή της»; for children — until 18.

How long Category F really takes

The department publishes no time for Category F. Press reports citing the auditors said thousands of such applications were on hold in 2025 pending a new law on the categories; the law has not been passed. Before planning on this route, ask the department whether applications are being examined now.

Whether visitor years count towards long-term residence

The law excludes years on a student permit and residence “solely on a temporary basis” — seasonal work, au pair. It names visitors neither way. If your five years are on a visitor's permit, check with the department before filing.

Sources

Aliens and Immigration Regulations 1972 (ΚΔΠ 242/72), Regs. 5 and 6(2)www.cylaw.orgThe immigration permit categories, including Category F, and the minister's power to grant a permit outside them — the basis of the investment route.
ΚΔΠ 371/2002 — amendment to the First Schedule (Category F income)www.cylaw.orgCategory F income in pounds: £5.600 for the applicant, £2.700 for the spouse and each dependant.
Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105, ss. 18Ζ–18ΙΓwww.cylaw.orgLong-term resident status: five years, absences, conditions (income, housing, insurance, Greek A2), decision times, loss.
Directive 2003/109/EC on long-term resident statuseur-lex.europa.euThe EU basis of the status: five years and the rules on absences and loss that Cyprus carried into Cap. 105.
Migration Department, “Immigration Permits” (Categories A–F)www.gov.cyThe €500 and €70 fees, filing procedure, card validity, when the permit ceases, the Category F sums.
Migration Department, criteria for investors' immigration permits (4th revision)www.gov.cyThe four investment types, income, the work ban, examination time, annual monitoring and the clarification on the certificate every three years.
Migration Department, acquiring long-term resident statuswww.gov.cyThe €30 fee, 6–12 months, a five-year card, who is excluded, when the status is lost.
Migration Department, announcement on medical tests for Categories A–F (25.06.2026)www.gov.cyFrom 1 September 2026 — tests for hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis and a TB chest X-ray done abroad; except where tests are already on file from a temporary permit.