Buying property in Cyprus as a foreigner

Cyprus lets foreigners buy, but it splits them in two. Citizens of the EU and EEA buy exactly like Cypriots. Everyone else, including British buyers since Brexit, needs a permit from the District Administration and is normally limited to one home. Taxes changed too: stamp duty disappeared on 1 January 2026, and the investor residence permit is about to be tightened. Here is what a broker must explain in October 2026. This guide covers only the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

The short version

1. EU and EEA buyers have no restriction. Non-EU buyers, the British included, need a permit under Cap. 109, filed on form COMM 145 with the District Administration.
2. The permit is free, usually takes two to three weeks, and normally allows one home (or two units) per buyer, with a couple counting as one.
3. A lawyer should get a fresh search certificate, no more than five working days old, before the contract is signed.
4. The signed contract should be lodged at the Land Registry within six months, for €50. That is the buyer’s main protection.
5. Resales pay transfer fees of 3%, 5% and 8% in bands, halved to effective rates of 1.5%, 2.5% and 4%. New homes pay 19% VAT instead, or 5% on a qualifying permanent home.
6. Stamp duty was abolished from 1 January 2026, and there is no yearly property tax.
7. Non-EU investors can get permanent residence from €300,000 plus VAT in new homes, but the scheme is being reviewed. Citizenship by investment ended in 2020.
8. Property in the north is a separate, high-risk market. Do not sell it.

Who buys and where

Buyers from abroad signed 6,267 of the 14,969 sales contracts lodged in the first nine months of 2026, or 41.9%: 4,173 non-EU and 2,094 EU citizens (DLS data, Cyprus Mail, October 2026). In 2025 foreigners signed 7,255 of 18,114 contracts (Cyprus Property News, January 2026).

• Paphos depends most on them: about 66% of its contracts in Q2 2026 (GK Law Firm, citing Central Bank data).
• Larnaca about 44% and Limassol about 34%.
• Nicosia only about 16%.

Step 1: EU or non-EU, and the Cap. 109 permit

Ask the buyer’s nationality in the first meeting. For non-EU buyers, Papacleovoulou set out the rules in September 2026:

• The permit is filed on form COMM 145 with the District Administration of the district where the property lies. There is no fee, and a complete file usually takes two to three weeks.
• Ministry of Interior policy normally allows one home on a plot of up to about 4,000 sqm, or up to two units: two homes, a home and a shop of up to 100 sqm, or a home and an office of up to 250 sqm.
• A couple counts as one buyer.
• A Cyprus company controlled by non-EU persons is caught by the same rule, so a company structure does not get round it.

Koufettas Law notes that the buyer can sign and lodge the contract first, but the title cannot be registered in their name until the permit is granted. A non-EU client who wants a second investment flat needs advice before they reserve.

Step 2: checks before signing

• Search certificate. Since Law 132(I)/2023 took effect on 12 December 2023, every sale contract must come with a Land Registry search certificate no more than five working days old. It shows the owner and any mortgages, memos or prohibitions on the property.
• Title deed. Check whether a separate deed exists. Many flats and houses still sit on one parent plot, and separate deeds come only after the building gets its certificate of approval and the plot is divided (Koufettas Law, October 2026). If nobody can explain why a deed is missing, Koufettas Law’s advice is to walk away.
• Mortgages on the plot. A developer’s loan on the parent plot stays on each unit until the bank releases it. Where the land is mortgaged, ask for a Type A declaration, in which the bank commits to release the unit once 95% of the price is paid into a named account.
• Tax number. Cyprus Tax Life lists non-resident property owners and anyone with Cypriot rental income among the people who need a TIC (Tax Identification Code). It takes two to four weeks, so start early if the client will let the home.

Step 3: contract, lodging and transfer

1. Sale contract. Drafted and checked by the buyer’s own lawyer. INDEX.cy put legal fees at about 1% of the price plus VAT in August 2026.
2. Lodging. Deposit the signed contract at the Department of Lands and Surveys under Law 81(I)/2011 within six months of signature, for €50. It registers the buyer’s interest, stops the seller selling or mortgaging the unit to anyone else, and lets the buyer sue for transfer. A late filing needs a court order (Koufettas Law, October 2026).
3. Transfer. When the price is paid and a deed is available, the property is transferred at the Land Registry and the buyer pays the transfer fee. The seller’s declaration names the agent and the fee paid.

Buyer costs

Transfer fees are charged on the market value in bands, and halved when the sale is not subject to VAT (Philippou Law, March 2026; Cyprus Tax Life, April 2026):

Part of the value	Full rate	Resale (halved)
Up to €85,000	3%	1.5%
€85,001 to €170,000	5%	2.5%
Above €170,000	8%	4%
Property on which VAT was paid	None	None

VAT. New buildings and building land carry 19% VAT. Under Law 42(I)/2023, an individual’s new permanent home pays 5% on the first 130 sqm and the first €350,000, provided the home is no larger than 190 sqm and the total price is no more than €475,000. Selling or letting it within ten years means repaying part of the saving. Projects whose planning application was filed by 31 October 2023 can still use the older rule (5% on the first 200 sqm, no price cap), with applications due by 31 December 2026 where the building permit came after 2024 or is still pending, under Law 109(I)/2026 (Mondaq, April 2026).

Stamp duty is gone. It was up to 0.2% of the contract price, capped at €20,000, and was abolished from 1 January 2026 (PwC Cyprus; EY).

Mortgage. Registering a mortgage costs 1% of the loan (INDEX.cy).

Worked examples

These use the rates above. A lawyer must confirm them for each deal.

Resale apartment in Larnaca, €250,000, EU buyer, cash. Transfer fee: (85,000 x 3% + 85,000 x 5% + 80,000 x 8%) / 2 = €6,600. Legal fees at 1% plus VAT: about €2,975. Lodging: €50. Total: about €9,625, or 3.9% of the price.

Resale villa in Paphos, €600,000, British buyer, cash. Transfer fee: €20,600. COMM 145 permit: no fee. Legal fees: about €7,140. Lodging: €50. Total: about €27,790, or 4.6%.

New apartment in Limassol, €400,000 plus VAT, non-EU buyer as an investment. VAT at 19%: €76,000. Transfer fee: none, because VAT was paid. Legal fees: about €4,760. The buyer pays about €480,800 in all.

New family home in Nicosia, €300,000 plus VAT, 120 sqm, buyer’s permanent home, €240,000 mortgage. VAT at 5%: €15,000, against €57,000 at 19%. Mortgage registration: €2,400. Transfer fee: none.

After the purchase

• No yearly property tax. The immovable property tax was abolished from 2017. Owners pay local charges for refuse, sewerage and lighting, typically about €90 to €300 a year (Philippou Law, March 2026).
• Rental income. From 2026 it is taxed only under income tax, no longer also under the defence contribution, and rent must be paid by bank transfer, card or another electronic method, or the tenant cannot deduct it (PwC Cyprus).
• Holiday lets. A home can only be advertised or let short term once it is on the Deputy Ministry of Tourism’s register, with the number on every listing. Letting without it can bring up to a year in prison, a fine of up to €5,000, or both (Philippou Law, August 2026).
• Yields. The RICS and KPMG index for Q2 2026 gave indicative gross yields of 5.51% for apartments and 3.01% for houses (Papacleovoulou, September 2026).

When the client sells. Sellers pay 20% capital gains tax on the gain, after inflation indexation and costs. The 2026 reform raised the lifetime allowances to €30,000 in general and €150,000 for a main residence lived in for at least five years (PwC Cyprus). Sellers also pay a 0.4% levy for refugee housing introduced in 2022.

Residence and citizenship

Permanent residence (Regulation 6(2)). Since 2 May 2023, a non-EU investor needs at least €300,000 plus VAT in new homes bought from a developer, paid upfront and funded from abroad, and a secure income of at least €50,000 a year, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 per child (Kyprianou, May 2023; GK Law Firm, October 2026). Holders may not work in Cyprus.

It is under review. On 24 September 2026 the Deputy Migration Minister told MPs that about 1,500 permits had been issued in two years, that some 12,000 permits granted since 2013 were being reviewed, and that the scheme would be tightened before Cyprus joins Schengen (Cyprus Mail). No new rules had been published by October 2026. Never promise a client the current terms.

No passport. The citizenship-by-investment programme was scrapped in November 2020. In December 2025 Parliament repealed the cabinet’s power to grant citizenship to investors (Cyprus Mail).

The north of the island

The north, under Turkish Cypriot administration since 1974, is not covered by any of the above. Much of its land belonged to displaced Greek Cypriots, ownership is often disputed, and a 2006 amendment to the Republic’s criminal law makes dealing in such property an offence carrying up to seven years in prison (Koufettas Law, October 2026). Famagusta district figures in official statistics refer only to its government-controlled part. Do not list, show or take a fee on property in the north.

What a broker must explain

• Whether the buyer is EU or non-EU, and what the one-home rule means for their plans.
• That the search certificate and the deed status are checked before signing, not after.
• Why the contract must be lodged within six months.
• Whether the home pays transfer fees or VAT, and whether the 5% rate applies, in a written estimate.
• That stamp duty no longer applies from 2026.
• The registration rule for holiday lets.
• That the residence scheme is changing and a purchase gives no passport.

Cyprus changed its property taxes on 1 January 2026, and the residence scheme is under review. This guide was checked on the date shown above and covers only the areas under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus. It is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with the Estate Agents Registration Council, the Department of Lands and Surveys, the Tax Department or any government body in Cyprus.

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