CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alexis Erotocritou, Dafni Loizou and Georgia Demou, A.G. Erotocritou LLC
obtaining citizenship is outlined in 7.1 Requirements for Domicile, Residency and Citizenship . Residency by Investment (“Golden Visa”) • Minimum investment: EUR300,000 in new residen - tial property or other approved investments. • Requirements: clean criminal record, proof of foreign income, and retention of the investment required. • Family eligibility: includes spouse, children, par - ents. • Processing time: approximately two to six months. • Citizenship after residency: investors may apply for citizenship only through naturalisation, not through investment. A key requirement is seven years of legal residence. Cyprus currently offers no fast-track or investment- based route to citizenship. The only viable way is investment-based permanent residency, followed by ordinary naturalisation after sufficient years of resi - dence. 8. Planning for Minors, Adults with Disabilities and Elders 8.1 Special Planning Mechanisms Cyprus does not have a statutory “special-needs trust” regime. Families rely on CITs and court-super - vised guardianship to protect assets and ensure long- term care for minors and adults with disabilities. • CITs: CIT are the main legal mechanism to pro - vide financial security for vulnerable persons. CITs allow: (i) discretionary distributions tailored to care needs, (ii) long-term management by professional trustees, (iii) protection from family conflict or mismanagement, and (iv) ring-fencing of assets for lifetime support. In general, property rights vested on a minor and/or property which registered in the name of a minor can - not be sold transferred, mortgaged, invested or liqui - dated, without the approval and the oversight of the Family Court. As a matter of practice, the Court will only grant such an approval if the transaction is in the interest of the minor.
accommodation, integration into Cypriot society, and an intention to continue residing in Cyprus. Highly skilled employees may apply under a fast-track naturalisation route, under which they may obtain Cyp - riot citizenship after four years of lawful residence, or three years depending on their level of Greek language proficiency (A2 or B1 respectively), plus a continu - ous 12-month period of residence immediately before applying. Applicants must also meet requirements of good character, sufficient knowledge of Greek and of the basic political and social reality of Cyprus, suit - able accommodation, adequate and stable financial resources for themselves and their family members, and an intention to reside in the Republic. Citizenship by marriage or civil partnership is avail - able to foreign spouses of Cypriot citizens after three years of marriage or civil partnership, provided that the couple has resided in the Republic for at least two years, with residence in Cyprus for at least six months in each year and an overall stay of not less than two years during the three-year period imme - diately preceding the application. Where the couple resides abroad, different conditions apply, including a requirement to explain the reasons for applying for Cypriot citizenship. Citizenship by Cypriot origin or descent is available to individuals with a Cypriot parent and in some cases through an earlier generation. Eligibility depends on factors such as the applicant’s date of birth, parent - age, and whether the relevant provisions apply before or after Cyprus gained independence on 16 August 1960. Applicants usually need identity documents, birth certificates, evidence of the Cypriot parent’s citizenship, and legalised or apostilled foreign docu - ments. 7.2 Expeditious Citizenship Cyprus no longer offers direct citizenship by invest - ment. The former Citizenship by Investment Pro - gramme (CIP), which granted citizenship through investment, was suspended in 2020. The alternative route through investment is the Cyprus Golden Visa, however, this relates only to residence permit and not citizenship. The only available route for
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