Permit to Acquire Property

Procedure to be followed by Aliens for Obtaining a Permit to Acquire Property. For a fixed fee your Cypriot Solicitor can assist with all the forms below.

(a) Application to the Council of Ministers
The prescribed application form should be completed and submitted to the District Officer in the district where the property is situated. 

The following is the main information required for completing the prescribed form:

• Personal details of the applicant and his financial standing.
• Particulars of the property.
• Particulars of the present owner, the sales contract and terms of payment.
• The way of acquisition, whether freehold, long leasehold, by share etc.


The District Officer together with other relevant Government Departments will then proceed to make further enquiries and prepare a report, which is submitted, to the Council of Ministers through the Minister of the Interior. The contract is valid for the period during which the decision of the Council of Ministers is pending. The whole procedure may take up to three months, but in the meantime there is no restriction in taking possession of the property.

(b) Application to the Central Bank
On receiving the approval of the Council of Ministers to acquire the property in question, an application should be submitted to the Exchange Control Officer for the purpose of confirming that the purchase was effected in foreign exchange. The application should be submitted together with the following documents:

• Copy of receipt or certificate evidencing the importation of the foreign exchange. The Central Bank of Cyprus will provide the required certificate evidencing that the purchase under consideration was paid in foreign exchange.
• Contract of Sale
• Copy of the Council of Ministers’ approval to acquire the property.
• Certificate of Registration of the property if available.

(c) Application of Transfer to the District Lands’ Office
The transfer of ownership is effected by a simple process of registration with the District Lands’
Office. The prescribed application form should be completed for submission in person to the
District Lands’ Office together with:

• The registration certificate of the property.
• Copy of the Council of Ministers’ permission to acquire the said property.
• The Central Bank’s certificate evidencing that the property was acquired in foreign exchange.
• Evidence of payment of all the property taxes to date (these taxes may include sundry town taxes, sewage tax and road construction tax).

The information that is required to complete this application is the following:

• Name and address of seller and purchaser.
• Identity card or passport number of the purchaser.
• Particulars of the property.


During the course of the registration procedure, the value of the property will be reviewed by the District Lands’ Office valuers, for the purpose of determining the amount of transfer fees payable, who may or may not accept the purchase value stipulated in the sales contract. The purchaser is liable to the payment of transfer fees on the basis of the value of the property as assessed by the District Lands’ Office valuers (the basis is the open market value of the property on the date of the original transaction/sales contract). The purchaser and seller may give specific powers of attorney to any third party to attend and effect the transfer on their behalf. If all documentation is in order, the transfer procedure takes a few hours.