Foreign Buyers

Yes. Citizens of EU member states can buy property in Cyprus on the same terms as Cypriots. Non-EU citizens can buy too, but under the Acquisition of Immovable Property (Aliens) Law, Cap. 109, they need a permit from the District Administration of the district where the property is (Ministry of Interior). The permit covers a limited purchase, usually one home or a plot of up to 4,000 m² for building a home you will live in, and a married couple gets one joint permit. Stricter rules are under discussion in 2026 but are not law. The purchase steps and taxes are the same as for any buyer (see Buying a property and Taxes & VAT).

You apply to the District Administration of the district where the property is, on form COMM 145, usually after signing the sale contract. The file includes documents on the property, such as the title deed or cadastral plan and the building permit, and on you as the buyer. The Ministry of Interior says no fee is payable and applications take 2–3 weeks to process (Ministry of Interior). You can deposit the signed contract at the Land Registry before the permit is granted, but the property can be transferred into your name only after it.

Not automatically. Owning a home does not by itself give a non-EU citizen the right to live in Cyprus. You can apply for a permanent residence (immigration) permit under Regulation 6(2) if, among other conditions, you buy a new house or apartment from a developer, as a first sale, worth at least €300,000 plus VAT, pay with funds transferred from abroad, and show a secured annual income of at least €50,000, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 per dependent child (Migration Department). The permit does not lead to citizenship: the citizenship-by-investment programme closed in November 2020.

Yes, a company can own property in Cyprus, but that does not automatically take it outside the rules for non-EU buyers. Under Cap. 109 a foreign company, or a company controlled by non-EU nationals, needs the same District Administration permit as an individual (Ministry of Interior). In practice, purchases by companies registered in Cyprus or another EU state have been recorded as Cypriot or EU purchases, and the government has admitted gaps in the law. Bills discussed in 2026 would treat a company as foreign based on its ultimate beneficial owner; they are not law yet. Take legal and tax advice before buying through a company.

Not yet. As of October 2026 the existing Cap. 109 rules still apply. Parliament's interior committee is discussing bills, alongside a government draft, that would ban purchases next to the ceasefire line and near sensitive sites such as ports, airports and military camps, bar foreigners from agricultural and forest land, limit non-EU individuals to a single home on a single plot, and tighten the rules for foreign-controlled companies. No vote date has been set, and the final text may differ.