Residence & Work Permit

According to the Aliens and Immigration Laws and relevant Regulations, the Competent Authority for the issue of Temporary Employment Permits to aliens is the Migration Officer.
The foreign national seeking employment must secure, while being abroad, through personal efforts, a local employer who should submit an application to the Migration Officer on his behalf. The application should be accompanied with short curriculum vitae of the alien, a contract of employment and copies of certificates of the alien’s qualifications and work experience in the field of the proposed employment. A work permit is granted only on a temporary basis and for a specified position, provided that no suitably qualified Cypriot citizens are available and that the Public Interest of Cyprus is not negatively affected. In the case of immigration, the Minister of Interior may grant a permit to an alien, on application. This occurs only when the Immigration Control Board recommends to the Minister that such person belongs to one of the following categories.

(a) For Farming. The possession of adequate land or of a permit to acquire such land and of a capital of at least CY£250,000 is required.
(b) For Mining. The possession of a mining permit and a capital of at least CY£200,000 is required.
(c) For persons intending to deal with a trade or business. A capital of at least CY£50,000 is required.
(d) Self-employed Applicants under this category are required to have academic or professional qualifications for which there is a demand in Cyprus.
(e) Persons to whom permanent employment is offered which is in the interest of the economy of the island and does not create local competition.
(f) Persons wishing to reside in Cyprus and have a secured annual income, high enough, to offer them a decent living without having to engage in any business or profession. An annual amount of around CY£5,000 per person is usually considered satisfactory. Buying property in Cyprus does not imply the issue of a residence permit nor of a work permit. The fact, however, that a Council of Ministers permission for acquiring property was given to the foreigner will make an application for residence permit be looked upon most favorably by the Immigration Control Board (and in fact this is rarely refused). To obtain a Cypriot citizenship, a written application must be sent to the Migration Department each case is looked individually and most of the times applications are rejected.

Successful applications are usually the ones made by.

(a) Foreigners married for over five years with persons of Cypriot origin.
(b) People residing in Cyprus that have concentrated 10 years of stay on the island within a period of 13 years. In the case of people that had been working for these years, such as IBC’s employees, athletes, football trainers etc a residence permit will not be granted if Cypriot residents’ interests are threatened.

since May 2004, when Cyprus joined the EU, people from other European Member States will be able to work or carry out business without restriction.