Cyprus Retirement Visa 2026: Category F Permanent Residence

Cyprus Category F is residence by financial means. Nothing is invested or paid to the state: you show a secure income from abroad, which stays yours, and you do not work in Cyprus. The permit is for third-country nationals only; citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland do not use it, because free movement already gives them the right to live in Cyprus.

What is the Cyprus Category F permit?

The Category F immigration permit is the Cyprus permanent residence permit for third-country nationals who live on a secure income from abroad and will not engage in any business, trade or profession in Cyprus. Its legal basis is regulation 5(f) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations of 1972 (K.D.P. 242/1972), made under the Aliens and Immigration Law (Cap. 105), with regulation 6 on the grant and loss of the right and regulation 8 on dependants. The income amounts are on the Migration Department's Immigration Permits page (last modified 12 March 2026). We read both on 11 October 2026.

The Immigration Control Committee examines applications (regulation 4), and the grant is discretionary: regulation 6(5) gives no absolute right to a permit. Category F gives residence, not nationality and not a passport; see residency versus citizenship.

Who qualifies, and how much income do you need?

Cyprus Category F requires a secure annual income from abroad of at least EUR 9,568 for the applicant, plus EUR 4,613 for each dependant, at your full and free disposal, together with an undertaking not to work in Cyprus.

• Third-country nationality: the permit is for non-EU nationals. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens use free movement instead.
• EUR 9,568 a year for the applicant, plus EUR 4,613 a year for each dependant; the Greek version of the page (read 11 October 2026) gives EUR 9,568.17 and EUR 4,613.22. These are administrative amounts, not a figure in the Regulations.
• Pension or passive income from abroad: pensions, dividends from shares, fixed deposit interest, rents and other similar income all count.
• No work in Cyprus: you may not engage in any business, trade or profession in Cyprus.
• Cyprus bank statements go with the application, but no rule requires the income to be transferred to, or spent in, Cyprus.
• A home in Cyprus: owned or rented; a rental agreement is enough.
• Dependants: your spouse and children under 18 (regulation 8). Parents are not dependants.

Category F does not fit EU, EEA or Swiss citizens, anyone who needs to work or run a business in Cyprus, people who live on savings rather than a regular income (the criteria state no savings alternative), or anyone planning to stay away from Cyprus for two years at a stretch.

Is Cyprus's retirement visa a golden retirement visa?

Yes. In the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index, Mirabello Consultancy's ranking of retirement routes scored from official sources, Cyprus Category F is rated Golden, with a score of 75.4 out of 100 and confidence grade B, scored on 11 October 2026 under methodology 1.1. A route is Golden when it scores at least 70 out of 100 with confidence grade A or B and has no fail on tax of foreign income, physical presence or renewal; locked capital above US$50,000 caps a route at Partial. Category F earns full marks on durability, because it is permanent from the grant, and scores strongly on presence, with no minimum stay; its lowest score is on processing, as no official time is published. Its renewal category is "never: permanent from grant", and no reasons for caution are recorded against it. A golden retirement visa is a residence permit, not citizenship; no investment is required.

Do you have to live in Cyprus?

Cyprus Category F sets no minimum stay, but the permanent residence right lapses if you are absent from Cyprus for two years or acquire permanent residence in another country (regulation 6). If you live abroad when the permit is approved, you must settle in Cyprus within one year of approval.

In practice, return to Cyprus within every two-year period. How the loss rules apply to holders who keep a main home abroad is not documented, so we check your travel pattern first. Compare routes in our guide to residency without relocating.

Tax residence is a separate test: more than 183 days in Cyprus in a tax year, or the 60-day rule. The 60-day rule also requires business, employment or an office held in Cyprus, plus a permanent home, which sits uneasily with the Category F bar on work, so plan on more than 183 days if you want Cyprus tax residence. See our guide to the Cyprus 60-day rule.

Does Cyprus tax a foreign pension?

Cyprus taxes the worldwide income of its tax residents, whether or not it is brought to Cyprus, so our data label is partial: some foreign income is taxed and some is not. A foreign pension for services rendered outside Cyprus can be taxed at a flat 5% on the part above EUR 5,000 a year, by annual election, instead of the normal rates (Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, section 20, as amended by Law 244(I)/2025).

From 1 January 2026 the normal rates run from 0% up to EUR 22,000 to 35% above EUR 72,000. Residents who are not domiciled in Cyprus pay no special defence contribution (SDC) on dividends or interest; that status applies automatically until you have been tax-resident in 17 of the last 20 years.

Tax follows tax residence, not the permit: a holder who spends fewer than 184 days a year in Cyprus, and does not meet the 60-day rule, is not a Cyprus tax resident. The country that pays your pension may still tax it under the relevant double tax agreement, which we did not assess country by country. This is general information, not tax advice. Official texts: the Income Tax Law on CyLaw and the Tax Department page on tax residency and domicile (both read 11 October 2026). See also our Cyprus residency tax guide and countries that don't tax foreign pensions.

How long does it take, what does it cost, and what documents do you need?

No official processing time is published for a standard Category F application, so we confirm the current timeline for your case; the estimate on the Migration Department's investor page applies only to the separate investor policy. Applications are lodged only at the Migration Department offices in Nicosia, in person or through an authorised representative, and incomplete files are not accepted. After approval, a holder living abroad settles in Cyprus within one year.

The application fee is EUR 500 for everyone included in the application, plus EUR 70 if an Aliens Registration Certificate is needed, and EUR 50 for each dependant added later. The file includes original criminal record certificates for you and your spouse; original medical test results (HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and a TB chest X-ray) for applications from 1 September 2026; original Cyprus bank account statements; proof of the income; and a title of ownership, contract of sale with proof of payment, or rental agreement. Forms are on the Immigration Permits forms page (read 11 October 2026). Health insurance is not on the documents list, and a non-EU citizen ordinarily resident with a permanent residence permit is a beneficiary of the General Healthcare System (GESY).

Is Category F permanent, and can it lead to citizenship?

Category F is itself permanent residence: the right has unlimited validity for you and your adult dependants, so there is no renewal. The residence card expires ten years after issue and is replaced, and permits for minor dependants run to age 18. The right lapses on two years' absence, on acquiring permanent residence abroad, or on failing to settle within one year of approval, and the bar on work applies throughout.

For Cypriot citizenship, our data records the general naturalisation requirement as 12 months of continuous legal residence immediately before applying, plus 7 years of legal residence in the preceding 10, and Greek at level B1 (Ministry of Interior, read 1 October 2026). Whether time on a Category F permit counts as legal residence for naturalisation is not yet officially confirmed; we assess it for your case.

What does the market get wrong about Cyprus Category F?

Some guides mix Category F up with other Cyprus routes or rules:

• "You must buy property or invest." Category F requires only a secure income from abroad, and a rental agreement is accepted; the investment some guides quote belongs to the separate investor policy.
• "You need a much higher income." The Migration Department states EUR 9,568 a year for the applicant plus EUR 4,613 per dependant; the higher income test belongs to the investor policy.
• "Cyprus does not tax a resident's foreign pension." Cyprus taxes residents' worldwide income; a foreign pension is taxed at 5% above EUR 5,000 by election, or at the normal rates.
• "60 days a year is enough for tax residence." The 60-day rule also needs business, employment or an office in Cyprus and a permanent home there; otherwise more than 183 days is needed.

Cyprus Category F or another route?

Category F suits non-EU retirees with a steady income from abroad who want permanent residence in an EU member state without investing or working locally. If you would rather invest, Cyprus permanent residency by investment is a separate permit under the Migration Department's investor policy.

• The Greece financially independent person visa is a renewable permit on passive income in another EU state, not permanent from the start.
• San Marino residence for pensioners has no expiry date but is kept only while you live there habitually.
• Outside Europe, the Panama Pensionado visa is also permanent from the grant, for retirees with a lifetime pension, under a territorial tax system.

Compare every route in the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index and side by side in our retirement and passive-income residency guide.

What is not yet officially confirmed

• Processing time: no official standard is published.
• Whether Category F time counts as legal residence for naturalisation.
• The 2026 income tax treatment of foreign interest.
• Whether a purchased annuity qualifies for the 5% pension option, and the treaty treatment of your pension.
• How the loss rules apply to holders who keep a main home abroad.
• Whether remote work for a foreign employer, or actively managing your own investments, fits the no-work condition.
• Whether health insurance is required in practice.
• The evidence the Committee expects: the income amounts are administrative, and the Committee keeps discretion.

Ask Mira, by Mirabello

For a first answer at any hour, ask Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence. It reads the same verified programme data as this page and can compare this route with the other options in our retirement and passive-income residency guide. A specialist then checks the details that decide your case.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps

Mirabello Consultancy checks that your pension or passive income meets the Category F test, prepares the certified record and medical documents, helps you arrange the Cyprus bank statements and your home, coordinates the filing in Nicosia through an authorised representative, and plans your travel so that the two-year absence rule never puts the permit at risk. To find out whether you qualify, book a free, confidential consultation.

Information only, not legal or tax advice. Requirements were read from the official sources linked above on 11 October 2026 and can change; we confirm them for your case.