CyprusOpen — but examination times are unpredictable as of mid-2026 because of a multi-year backlog.
Here is the myth we correct on almost every Cyprus enquiry: a Cyprus permanent residence permit does not let you walk into Paris or Frankfurt without a visa. Cyprus is in the EU but not in the Schengen area as of September 2026. If you accept that, the programme is genuinely attractive — a permit with no expiry date, an English-speaking island with 12.5% corporate tax, universities offering UK-linked degrees, and a requirement to visit only once every two years. The catch is the income test and the way the first €200,000 must be paid. Both are solved with planning, not luck.
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No. 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC‑3/2024
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Pro Lifeset Overseas Private Limited · CIN U52291PB2024PTC060508 · since 2024
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A real office in Patiala
Shop No. 2, Nabha Road · walk in, Mon–Sat
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Fixed, all-in fees
GST included; embassy and VFS fees at cost
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Is this you?
If one of these is you, the fastest way forward is a call: +91 91155 80911.
The ways in
€300,000 + 19% VAT (about €357,000)
Hold: Retained while you hold the permit
Must be a first sale from a developer. A resale flat, however good, does not qualify for the residential option.
Fits: Families who will actually use the home — retirees, parents of students on the island.
€300,000 + VAT
Hold: Retained while you hold the permit
Offices, shops or hotel units; new or resale both accepted here, unlike the residential option.
Fits: Investors who prefer rental yield and do not need a home to live in.
€300,000
Hold: Retained while you hold the permit
The company must have a physical presence in Cyprus and employ at least five people. You may hold shares and a directorship but may not take employment.
Fits: Business owners who will run a real Cyprus operation and value the 12.5% corporate rate.
€300,000
Hold: Retained while you hold the permit
No property to manage; returns and risk depend entirely on the fund.
Fits: Investors who want the permit without owning bricks.
The facts, checked 2026-09-05
Where families lose money and years
This is the error that costs the most. Cyprus permanent residence gives no automatic right to enter the Schengen zone. If visa-free travel around Europe is your real goal, Greece, Latvia or Malta answer it; Cyprus does not.
Only a first sale from a developer qualifies under the residential option. Resale homes are fine for commercial property but not here. Buyers who fall for a beautiful second-hand villa lose the permit, not the house.
Cash, or money that originates inside Cyprus, breaks the pre-payment rule. The transfer must be traceable from outside Cyprus — for you, from an Indian bank under LRS.
The €50,000 test is proved with tax returns. Family income that was never declared, or income that arises in Cyprus, does not count. Add VAT you forgot, and a two-year gap in visits, and a good file becomes a cancelled one.
The India side nobody explains
At €300,000 plus 19% VAT the residential option lands around €357,000 — more than one resident Indian’s US$250,000 LRS allowance for a financial year. So it is either a couple remitting in the same year or one person across two Aprils. Property goes out under purpose code S0005. We map the developer’s payment schedule against those windows so no instalment is missed.
Cyprus asks for at least €200,000 excluding VAT to be paid and proven before the application is filed, and the money must arrive from outside Cyprus. Cash, a Cyprus-sourced loan or an unclear transfer chain can sink the file. Every rupee should move bank to bank from India with the LRS forms behind it.
From 1 April 2026, LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year for investment carry 20% tax collected at source — recoverable, but it must be funded upfront. The Cyprus asset then sits in Schedule FA of your Indian return every year. If it earns rent, the India–Cyprus treaty as revised in 2016 gives credit in India for Cyprus tax paid.
The €50,000 income test is met with money earned outside Cyprus — for an Indian applicant that means Indian salary, rent, dividends or pension shown on your income-tax returns. Income that exists in reality but not on the ITR does not count. We read your last returns with you before anyone books a flight.
How it goes, with us
We confirm three things before anything else: that you do not need Schengen mobility, that your Indian ITRs show €50,000 plus the family increments, and which of the four investment options you can fund within your LRS windows.
For the residential option, a first-sale property from a developer is identified with the Cyprus lawyer, and the contract sets a payment plan that respects the €200,000 pre-filing rule.
Funds move under S0005 with 20% TCS budgeted, leaving a clean bank trail from India to the developer or company.
Proof of the €200,000, ITRs for the income test, clean criminal-record certificate, health insurance and family documents go to the Civil Registry and Migration Department with the €500 fee.
The 6(2) route has typically taken two to six months, but a multi-year backlog has made timing unpredictable as of mid-2026. We tell you that on day one rather than hiding it.
On approval each person registers at €70, and you diarise a visit at least once every two years. Schedule FA and any rental income go into the Indian return annually.
What it costs
Investment
Plus VAT on new residential property
€300,000 minimum
VAT on new residential property
Frequently missing from agents’ budgets
19% (about €57,000 on €300,000)
Application fee
Covers spouse and minor children
€500
Registration
€70 per person
Health insurance
Required for each applicant
Criminal-record certificate
Clean certificate required
Our own fee is fixed and quoted after the first call, with 18% GST included. Government and third-party costs are paid at cost.
No. Cyprus is not in the Schengen area as of September 2026, so the permit carries no Schengen travel right. You would still apply for a Schengen visa as an Indian passport holder. If mobility across Europe is the point, this is the wrong programme for you.
It has no expiry date. The only maintenance rule is presence: you must visit Cyprus at least once every two years, or the permit is cancelled. No renewals, no minimum days per year.
Not under the current rules. The permit covers your spouse and minor children. Parents would need their own route, which is a separate conversation.
With your Indian income-tax returns showing salary, rent, dividends or pension of that level, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each dependent minor child. We check the last returns line by line before you commit to a property.
Because VAT is left out. New residential property carries 19% VAT, taking the residential option to roughly €357,000 before fees and insurance. Commercial property, company shares and fund units are priced differently, which is why the route choice belongs on a call.
The Regulation 6(2) route has usually been decided in two to six months, but a multi-year backlog has made examination times unpredictable as of mid-2026. We cannot and will not promise a date; we can make sure the file is not the reason for delay.
No employment is allowed. You may own shares in and be a director of your own Cyprus company, which is how business owners use the programme alongside the 12.5% corporate tax rate.
Not through this programme. Naturalisation generally requires seven years of actual residence within the ten years before applying, plus Greek language. Most Indian applicants use Cyprus as a permanent base, not a citizenship plan.
Other Cyprus visas: see the Cyprus page.
Checked 2026-09-05 against: Civil Registry and Migration Department, Republic of Cyprus · RBI — Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Rules change; we re-check before any filing.
