Permit to acquire property in Cyprus by foreigners - Documents required

By: N. Pirilides & Associates LLC

EU citizens are entitled to acquire immovable property in Cyprus without any restrictions. Non-EU citizens can purchase immovable property, nevertheless, permission must be sought from the Council of Ministers by written application, which must be submitted by the non-EU citizen purchaser after the contract of sale is signed.

Permission is given more or less as a matter of course to all bona fide purchasers.

The authority of the Council of Ministers to grant permits under the Immovable Property Acquisition (Aliens) Law Cap.109, was vested to the District Officers to whom the relevant applications are submitted.

“Alien” is defined as meaning a foreigner or a non-Cypriot or as any person not being a citizen of the Republic (except a local company controlled by non-residents (IBC) or a foreign Company or a trust in favour of a foreign person).

An Alien can purchase immovable property in Cyprus with some limitations i.e.:

1. Purchase of 1 apartment, or,
2. Purchase of 1 house, or,
3. Purchase of a building plot, or land up to 4014 sq. m.

The District Officer may at times approve the acquisition of a larger piece of property by foreigners for:

1. Tourist Development projects and, 
2. Some Industrial projects.

The following information is required by the District offices in order for a permit to be issued for the acquisition of immovable property in Cyprus by aliens:

1. Cadastral survey plan
2. Copy of the Title deed and Land Registry Plans accompanying the Title Deed of the property to be acquired.
3. Copy of the building permit for the erection of a house or any other kind of building, or for the permit residential development of the land. For land that is under division, then such permit should be also filed.
4. A duly stamped copy of the purchase agreement
5. Plan of the house/apartment. In case of a land division, a division plan will be required. In case of residential development, a plan will be required, where the exact location of the residence is shown within the whole estate.
6. The total area in sq.m. of the property to be acquired.
7. Evidence of the financial status of the applicant.
8. Copy of the passport of the applicant and the passport of the husband/wife. All pages showing/verifying stamps of their arrival in Cyprus and departure from Cyprus should be filed.
9. Copy of the certificate of marriage of the applicant or a related certificate by the Embassy of their country of origin (this applies where the surname of the wife is not the same as the husband and/or if the wife has not changed the surname of her family). The marriage certificate must be officially translated into Greek or English.
10. The applicant must provide copy of the residence or work permit in Cyprus.
11. A duly completed Application form.
12. In case the applicant is a company or the applicant is a shareholder of an offshore company, all relevant certificates of the company (shareholders, directors and the registered office of the company) are required to be filed. Furthermore, copy of the memorandum & articles of association of the company should be filed.
13. In addition, the shareholders of the applicant company and their husbands/wives must provide their passport copies and they should verify whether they acquire any further immovable property in Cyprus.

Our standard services in the real estate sector are the following: 

• Negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts of sale for residential/commercial properties
• Providing advice on the Acquisition of property in Cyprus by foreigners and non- residents
• Providing advice on financing matters
• Conducting due diligence on the property
• Providing advice on town planning and zoning rules
• Providing advice on long – term leasing and subleasing matters
• Applying for approval from the Cypriot Council of Ministers -if required (non-EU nationals are restricted as to the size and type of property (other than land) that they may purchase)
• Land Registry Office transfers
• Estate planning
• Wills & Probate
• Providing Tax advice

For more information, you may contact us at info@pirilides.com and we will be happy to assist.