Residence permits
Which residence permit do you need for Cyprus?
Your passport decides first: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit and, staying beyond three months, register within four of arriving; British citizens' rules depend on whether they lived here before 2021. With any other passport a short stay ends at 90 days in any 180, and to stay longer you generally apply for the permit that matches what you'll do here.
EU, EEA, Swiss
Do you need a residence permit with an EU, EEA or Swiss passport?
No: you can live here and work, employed or self-employed, without a permit. If you stay beyond three months, you must be working, studying, self-sufficient or the family member of someone who is (details below), and you register within four months of arriving. After five years' continuous legal residence you have the right of permanent residence.
with nothing but a valid ID card or passport
from arriving, to apply for the registration certificate if you stay longer
of continuous legal residence, for the right of permanent residence
How to register is on the Migration Department's page for EU citizens.
The detailsthe grounds for staying · family without an EU passport · after five years
The grounds for staying
To stay beyond three months, you either work here (employed or self-employed), or have enough resources and comprehensive sickness insurance, or study at an approved institution with sickness insurance and a declaration of enough resources. Or you're the family member of someone who does.
Law 7(I)/2007 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation)
Family without an EU passport
Family means your spouse or civil partner, your children and grandchildren under 21 or dependent, and your dependent parents and grandparents, and the same relatives of your spouse or partner. If the EU citizen is here as a student, only the spouse or partner and dependent children have this right; dependent parents and grandparents are considered case by case. A family member without an EU, EEA or Swiss passport who stays beyond three months applies for a residence card within four months of arriving. It runs for five years, or for the EU citizen's planned stay if shorter, and lets them work, employed or self-employed. Under the law you must be working, self-sufficient or studying here; the Migration Department's page also asks you to show enough resources for the family when the card is applied for.
After five years
You receive a certificate of permanent residence on application. A family member without an EU, EEA or Swiss passport receives a permanent residence card, valid ten years, applied for within one month of the residence card's expiry.
British
Which rules apply to you as a British citizen?
If you lived in Cyprus under EU rules before the end of 2020 and still do, you keep the right to live and work here. You don't have to replace the documents you already hold unless they have an expiry date. If you came later, the rules for any non-EU citizen apply: 90 days in any 180 without a visa, and a residence permit to stay longer.
the end of the Brexit transition period
Withdrawal Agreement (EUR-Lex) · Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EUR-Lex)
Your documents and your family's are on the Migration Department's page for UK nationals.
The detailsyour documents · your family · after five years
Your documents
You don't have to replace earlier EU documents unless they have an expiry date. If you wish, you can get the newer residence document, valid five years, or ten once you have permanent residence. The UK government advises exchanging old documents for the new card.
Migration Department, UK nationals and family members · gov.uk, Living in Cyprus
Your family
Family members who lived here under EU rules before 2021 and still do are covered, and so are children born to or adopted by you later, on the Agreement's conditions. A family member without a UK passport applies for their own residence document within four months of arriving. For close relatives who join you after 2020, the texts differ: the Withdrawal Agreement and the Migration Department include them, while the Cyprus law covers only family who arrived before the end of 2020, and children born or adopted later.
After five years
After five years' continuous legal residence, counting time before and after 2020 together, you have permanent residence. It's lost only after more than five consecutive years away.
Temporary permits
Not an EU citizen: which temporary permit fits what you'll do here?
Whatever your non-EU passport, British included if you moved here after 2020, a short stay ends at 90 days in any 180. To stay longer you generally apply for the permit that matches what you'll do here: a job, your own startup, remote work for an employer or clients abroad, living on income from abroad, study, or joining family. Two of them rule out work for anyone here: the stand-alone visitor permit allows no job and no business, and a digital nomad works only for an employer or clients abroad.
| Permit | Who it's for | Main condition | Work in Cyprus | How long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A job with a Cyprus employer | Employees of an employer in Cyprus | The Department of Labour lets the employer hire from outside the EUonly where Cypriot or EU workers can't fill the job | Only for the employer named on the permit | 3yearsat most, per permit; the total stay is capped, with exceptions |
| Staff of a foreign-interest company | Staff of a company on the Register of Foreign Interest Companies | The company is on that register, and the job meets the scheme's and the single permit's conditions | For that company | 3yearsat most, as long as the contract; highly paid staff have no overall limit |
| EU Blue Card | Highly qualified employees | €43,632gross a year, in a sector open to the card | In the highly qualified job | 24–36monthsshorter if the contract is |
| Startup Visa | Non-EU founders of an innovative startup, alone or in a team that may include senior executives | 25%at least, of the shares, held by the applicants, and the Deputy Ministry's approval | Founders: employed or self-employed in their own company; executives: employed there | Dec 2026the scheme's published end |
| Digital nomad | Remote workers for an employer or clients abroad | €3,500net a month, more with family; a contract at least as long as the permit | Only for the employer or clients abroad; family members not at all | 1yearthe first permit, then a renewal |
| Visitor permit (stand-alone) | People living here on income from abroad, without a job or business here | Steady income from abroad, paid into a Cyprus account | No job and no business | 1yearthe first permit, renewable |
| Student | Full-time students at an approved college or university | Admission, sickness insurance and enough money; the institution applies | 20hoursa week in term, more in breaks; listed jobs only, most from the second semester | A set period, renewable while the conditions are met |
| Family reunification | The spouse or registered partner and minor children of a non-EU resident | The sponsor's permit, residence, home, insurance and income meet set conditions | On the sponsor's terms | 1yearrenewable; as a rule not beyond the sponsor's permit |
Sources (19)
Migration Department, Remunerated employment (single permit – GEN) · Migration Department, procedure, processing time and maximum duration of residence · Migration Department, EU Blue Card · Κ.Δ.Π. 457/2024 (CyLaw) · Deputy Ministry, Cyprus Startup Visa Scheme Practical Guide · Migration Department, Digital nomads and family members · Migration Department, digital nomads documents list · Migration Department, Visitors and family members · Migration Department, questions on residence permits · Migration Department, Students · Law 7(I)/2019 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation) · Migration Department, family reunification (FR) · Department of Labour, employment of non-EU citizens · Migration Department, Legislation and policy (companies of foreign interests) · Κ.Δ.Π. 126/2026 (CyLaw) · Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation) · Migration Department, supporting documents for the visitor permit · gov.cy, Apply for a Cyprus Startup Visa · Migration Department, Startup Visa
If the job, business or startup is your own company, that's a different question: residence through company formation.
The detailsshort stays · who decides · how long you can stay in total · after your studies · working for yourself · when family may work
Short stays
A visa or a visa-free stay is for at most 90 days in any 180, and on its own doesn't let you take a job. You can't apply for a student permit while here on a tourist or visiting visa, and family can't come on a tourist visa to join you unless you work for a company approved to employ foreign staff.
Sources (5)
Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EUR-Lex) · gov.cy, Visas (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) · Migration Department, Remunerated employment (single permit – GEN) · Migration Department, Students · Migration Department, family reunification (FR)
Who decides
The Migration Department issues all of these permits. Before it, the Department of Labour approves the employer for a general job, and the Business Support Centre registers a company not yet on the register, for company staff. The Ministry of Education examines student applications with the department, and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy approves a Startup Visa.
Sources (9)
Migration Department, Remunerated employment (single permit – GEN) · Department of Labour, employment of non-EU citizens · Migration Department, Legislation and policy (companies of foreign interests) · Migration Department, Students · gov.cy, Apply for a Cyprus Startup Visa · Migration Department, EU Blue Card · Migration Department, Digital nomads and family members · Migration Department, Visitors and family members · Migration Department, family reunification (FR)
How long you can stay in total
On a general job, the total stay is capped at four years, with exceptions. Highly paid staff of a foreign-interest company may stay without a time limit while they hold a valid permit. A digital nomad's first year can be renewed for up to two years. The scheme is capped at 500 permits, and the department was accepting applications when this page was checked in October 2026.
Migration Department, Digital nomads and family members · Migration Department, Remunerated employment (single permit – GEN) · Migration Department, procedure, processing time and maximum duration of residence
After your studies
With a master's degree or higher, you may stay twelve months to look for work or set up a business at that level. You apply at least 30 days before your student permit ends, prove the degree, and must still have a valid passport or other travel document, sickness insurance, enough money and an address.
Law 7(I)/2019 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation)
Working for yourself
The department publishes no general temporary permit for working for yourself; the only one it publishes is for a few named groups. Otherwise you can work for yourself as a Startup Visa founder, as a digital nomad for clients abroad, or on a permanent permit in Categories A to D.
Sources (5)
Migration Department, Work · Migration Department, Employment – other cases (NSP) · Deputy Ministry, Cyprus Startup Visa Scheme Practical Guide · Migration Department, Digital nomads and family members · Migration Department, Immigration Permits
When family may work
The Migration Department says a spouse has direct access to work on the sponsor's terms. The law says family members' access is restricted for up to twelve months while the labour market is examined. A spouse or civil partner of an employee of a foreign-interest company may take paid work in a Cypriot company without a sealed contract, if the single-permit conditions are met, but not self-employment.
Permanent permits
Which routes give non-EU citizens permanent residence?
An immigration permit carries an unlimited right of residence from the start. It can be granted for a job or your own business here, for living on your own income (Category F), or for an investment. Five years' legal residence on other permits can generally lead to EU long-term resident status (below).
| Route | Who it's for | Main condition | Work in Cyprus | Right of residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category C | The self-employed in their own trade or business | €256,290of capital in the Regulations (about €260,000 on the department's page), or less if the Committee decides | Self-employed in that business | Unlimitedcan be cancelled if you stop the business without good reason |
| Category E | Someone offered a permanent job here | The Committee certifies the job creates no undue competition | For the employer it was granted for | Unlimitedcan be cancelled if you leave that employer without good reason |
| Category F | People living on a secure income of their own | €9,568a year, from abroad in the department's words, more for each dependant | No work statedthe department's language versions differ (details) | Unlimited |
| Investor | Investors in Cyprus property, a company or a fund | €300,000invested with money from abroad, plus a secure yearly income (details) | No employment, except as a Director of the company invested in | Unlimitedwhile the investment is kept |
| EU long-term resident | Non-EU residents already living here on a permit | 5yearsof legal, continuous residence; Greek, income and insurance conditions too | Employed or self-employed, as a Cypriot citizen mayexcept posts involving public authority or reserved to Cypriot or EU citizens | Permanent statusthe permit itself is renewed |
The investor permit's options and conditions are on the Migration Department's investor page.
The detailsthe other categories · losing an immigration permit · the investor's income · Category F and work · who decides
The other categories
Three more categories are still published: A for farming, B for mining and D for a profession or science. Category A asks for land for the business, or permission to acquire it, and capital that the Committee may reduce; the department and the Regulations give different figures. Category B asks for any mining licence needed and capital the department gives as about €350,000 and the Regulations as €341,720, in each case or less if the Committee decides. For both, the business must not harm Cyprus's economy. Category D asks that you're qualified to practise here, with enough funds or income, where there's a need for more members of the profession.
Losing an immigration permit
It lapses if you take up permanent residence abroad or are away from Cyprus for two years. It also lapses if, living abroad, you don't take up residence within a year. The official texts count that year from different dates.
The investor's income
Besides the investment, you show a secure income of at least €50,000 a year, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent minor child.
Migration Department, Immigration Permits for Investors
Category F and work
The department's English page asks for income enough to live here "without having to engage in any business, trade or profession"; its Greek page describes holders as people who will not work in Cyprus. The Regulations say nothing about work. "From abroad" is the department's wording; the Regulations ask only for a secured annual income. The document list asks for a home here, and a rental agreement counts.
Who decides
For Categories A to F, the Immigration Control Committee examines the application and recommends, and the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection grants the permit. Investor applications go to the Deputy Minister under an expedited procedure.
Migration Department, Immigration Permits · Migration Department, Immigration Permits for Investors
After five years
Can time on a temporary permit lead to permanent residence?
Generally, yes: five years' legal and continuous residence, on a valid permit, can lead to EU long-term resident status, with Greek and other conditions (below). That status is permanent, and lets you work as a Cypriot citizen may, with a few reserved exceptions. Time as a student, or residence "solely on a temporary basis" or on a permit "officially restricted", doesn't count, and the Migration Department doesn't list which permits those cover.
of legal, continuous residence on a valid permit, before you apply
Migration Department, long-term resident status
The application is on the Migration Department's page for long-term residents.
The detailswhat else you need · time away · the permit and the status · how the status ends · who decides
What else you need
Stable, regular resources, Greek at level A2 with basic knowledge of Cyprus today, and sickness insurance. The Committee may waive the conditions on Greek and on knowledge of Cyprus.
Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation)
Time away
Absences don't break the five years if each is under six consecutive months and they add up to no more than ten months.
Migration Department, long-term resident status
The permit and the status
The status is permanent. The permit that shows it runs five years and is renewed on application made at least three months before it expires, and its expiry doesn't end the status.
Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation)
How the status ends
Under the law it is lost after twelve consecutive months outside the EU or six consecutive years outside Cyprus, among other grounds. The department's English page says it "may be withdrawn" on those grounds.
Who decides
The Immigration Control Committee decides, and the Migration Department issues the permit.
Aliens and Immigration Law, Cap. 105 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation)
Questions
How long until you can become a Cypriot citizen?
Generally seven years' legal residence within the ten years before a final twelve months of continuous residence, plus Greek at B1 and further conditions; time on a student permit doesn't count. Highly skilled employees of qualifying companies have a shorter route of three or four years, depending on their Greek. The Minister of the Interior grants it.
Naturalisation by years of residence → Ministry of the Interior
Civil Registry Law 141(I)/2002 (CyLaw, unofficial consolidation) · Ministry of the Interior, naturalisation by years of residence (M127)
Can a British citizen stay in Cyprus longer than 90 days?
Only with Withdrawal Agreement rights from before 2021, or with a residence permit; otherwise 90 days in any 180 without a visa. The UK government advises that Cyprus counts these days separately from the Schengen area, and that time in the north counts towards the 90.
The rules for British citizens → earlier on this page
Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EUR-Lex) · gov.uk, Cyprus travel advice: Entry requirements · Migration Department, questions on Brexit
Can you travel in the Schengen area on a Cyprus residence permit?
The Cyprus government says visas and residence permits issued by Cyprus are currently valid only for Cyprus, apart from the residence cards of family members of Cypriot and EU citizens, which with their travel document allow up to 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area.
gov.cy, Visas (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) · Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EUR-Lex)
Can you get residence by buying a house in Cyprus?
Yes, through the investor permit: a new home bought from a developer for at least €300,000 plus VAT, paid with money from abroad, and a secure income of at least €50,000 a year, more with family, plus further conditions. Category F asks for a home here too, but a rental counts.
The investor permit's conditions → Migration Department
Migration Department, Immigration Permits for Investors · Migration Department, required documents, Category F
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