Frequently Ask Question

Since Cyprus' accession into the European Union, any European Union citizen may live and work freely in Cyprus.

Non E.U. citizens will require a residence permit and work permit, which may be applied for at any Cypriot Embassy or High Commission.

This permit is easily obtained for persons living in Cyprus and has purchased property. The granting of the permit is also based upon the level of foreign income available to support oneself and this refers to pensions and income from investments.

Your Lawyer will assist you with all these simple formalities. EU citizens enjoy their full rights as Europeans in Cyprus and do not need to acquire a residence permit.

Compared to many countries buying property in Cyprus is very easy. If you are Cyprus citizen or you are an EU Resident, there are no restrictions regarding the amount of property you can purchase.

A non-EU citizen is entitled to FREEHOLD ownership of a villa, apartment, or a piece of land of up to 4,014 sq.m. Foreign Companies also have the right to buy properties in Cyprus.

In Cyprus, Title Deeds, which are also, know as "Certificates of Registration of Immovable Property", are formal documents that serve as evidence of property ownership. Each piece of immovable property has an associated Title Deed which contains information such as its registered owner, its size, its location and the Lands' Office reference.

As the legal ownership of immovable property is denoted by its Title Deeds, your Contract of Sale must provide for the transfer of ownership and registration of the property in your name and the contract deposited for 'Specific Performance' at your local branch of the Land Registry - the District Lands' Office. This must be sent to the Land Registry Office with 30 days of signing the contract of sale. This is to protect the purchases ownership rights until the title deeds are issued. Once this is filed it cannot be withdrawn by anyone but the owner, and therefore cannot be sold leased or transferred or mortgaged unless the purchaser wants it to be. It can take approximately up to a maximum of 6 years for the title deeds to go through.

As a non-resident, you must apply in writing for Permission to buy property from the Cypriot Council of Ministers. Don't worry though this process is little more than a formality, since it is granted to all genuine buyers more or less automatically.

Cyprus has double taxation agreements with a number of different countries. In effect, what double taxation means is that taxes payable in one country are offset against taxes payable in another country.

Some of the countries that Cyprus has entered a convention for preventing double taxation are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greece, the U.S.A., Canada, France, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Romania, China, Austria, Belgium, the Southerner Africa, and a number of other countries.

Upon completion of the sale, in order to transfer ownership of a property into your name, the applicable Real Estate transfer tax needs to be paid.
Fee rates payable are as follows:
Property value up to €85.430 -3%,
€85.431 - €170.860 - 5%,
over €170.861 - 8%.

Cyprus has no inheritance taxes, nor does it have any gift taxes.

However, being a British citizen, the British government may attempt to levy UK inheritance tax.

The registered owner of the property is liable to an annual immovable property tax calculated on the market value of the property as at 1st of January 1980.
Up to €170.860 0
€170.861 - €427.150 0,25%
€427.151 - €854.300 0,35%
Over € 854.301 0,40%

According to Cypriot law:

Cypriot and non Cypriot property owners may sell their property to Cypriot and non Cypriot buyers without restriction.