Case: Permanent residence in Cyprus for business purposes

Friends, we have successfully completed another case and would like to tell you more about it. The uniqueness of this case is that the client completed several tasks at once: he bought a property, obtained a new status in Cyprus, invested his personal funds profitably and received new business opportunities.

At the end of last year we were approached by a private entrepreneur Dmitry (31 years old). He planned to take part in a programme for investment with the opportunity to move to Europe and develop an international business. Dmitry also planned to transfer his savings to international banks for easy settlements with foreign partners.

Initially we chose among three programmes:

• Vanuatu - favourable conditions for business, offshore zone, but the applicant was not satisfied with the fact of non-refundable contribution;
• Portugal - opportunity to live in the EU, but high investment threshold and residence permit status, which must be regularly renewed;
• Cyprus - several ways to enter the investment programme, affordable threshold, business opportunities, permanent residence status for life.

Cyprus turned out to be the best option for Dmitry. The businessman planned to invest in property for personal use, but, if possible, to rent it out.

We started our work with investor pre-screening, as Due Diligence of the applicant is the main stage of the Residency for Investment programme. The Cypriot authorities have to make sure that the new resident has a legal income and is trustworthy. For our part, we cannot guarantee that the applicant will 100% pass such a check - such promises are only made by dishonest companies. We carry out a preliminary check to identify and minimise all risks. Our client has deposit accounts in several major banks, real estate, pays taxes correctly and is not listed in international databases of lawbreakers, he has no visa refusals and no criminal record.

After the verification was completed, we proceeded to the selection and purchase of property, because before applying for a residence permit it is necessary to already own an object. We offered several flats and houses in the budget of 300.000-350.000 € in Ayia Napa and Limassol. Dimitri chose a flat by the sea in Limassol for 330.000 € in the prestigious neighbourhood of Germassoia. Every year real estate here increases in price by 7-10%. The client personally chose the apartment from the offered variants and signed the sale and purchase agreement accompanied by our lawyer. The first payment under the terms of the contract was 200.000 €. The money was transferred from an Italian bank, where the applicant has one of his accounts.

Obtaining a residence permit

To obtain the new status we collected, prepared, translated into Greek and apostilled the following documents:

1. residence permit application; 
2. Resident's passport and foreign passport;
3. birth certificate;
4. certificate of absence of criminal record;
5. document of ownership of the property in Cyprus;
6. proof of payment for the property;
7. documents confirming the solvency of the client - bank account statements;
8. certificate of incorporation of the company;
9. founding documents of the company, where it is stated that Dmitry is the owner and holds 100% of the shares;
10. tax reports for 3 years and company balance sheets.

The documents submitted for consideration were studied for 4 months and approval came in early March. Dimitri then paid the balance of the purchase agreement and remitted the VAT. As this is his only property in Cyprus, the base rate was not 19%, but only 5%.

Once approved, the investor has one year to come to Cyprus to submit biometrics and apply for a residence card. Dimitri flew in mid-April. It takes about 30-40 days to issue the card, and at the end of May our client received it by courier.

Now Dmitry is sorting out his current affairs and preparing to start a business in Cyprus. During this time our lawyers helped him to open a bank account and obtain the status of a tax resident. As a permanent residence holder Dima can register in the GHS health care system and receive medical care in medical centres of Cyprus.

If you also want to quickly change your status, get new opportunities for business development or simply move to another country for permanent residence, we are waiting for your consultation.