Destination guide

Moving to Cyprus from New Zealand

A permit made for remote workers, with a firm income test. It is in the EU but not in Schengen, and has no tax or social security agreement with New Zealand.

What we found

The research, in short.

Research information, not advice. Sources last checked 16 October 2026.

If that does not fit: the Category F permit, or an investment above a set minimum (to be safe, hold more than 310,000 euros)

If you will live on income from abroad without working in Cyprus, the Category F immigration permit asks for a secured annual income from pensions, dividends, deposit interest or rents above set minimums, which run about 4,600 to 9,600 euros depending on whether it is for you or for a dependant; to be safe, have more than 9,600 euros a year for yourself, about NZ$19,200 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026. Dependants are a spouse and children under 18.

More detail

The page names no deposit and no age minimum. The fee is 500 euros for everyone on the application, plus 70 euros for each alien registration certificate. The Immigration Control Committee recommends and the Deputy Minister decides, applications are taken only at the Nicosia offices, and the page gives no decision time. The right of residence has no end date (the card is replaced every 10 years), but the permit lapses if you take up permanent residence abroad or are absent from Cyprus for two years, or if you do not settle within a year of approval. The investor route under Regulation 6(2), which the Department files under Permanent Residence and which carries the same right of residence with no end date, asks for a set minimum investment (to be safe, hold more than 310,000 euros, about NZ$620,400 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026) in a first-sale home from a developer, other real estate, shares in a Cypriot company with five employees, or fund units, with the money shown to have come from abroad. On top you need a secure income from abroad above a set minimum that rises with your family; on our own sum it runs about 50,000 to 75,000 euros a year, from one adult to a couple with one child, and to be safe you should have more than 76,000 euros a year (about NZ$152,100 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026) if all three of you come, shown by a tax return from the country where you are tax resident or by certificates from an independent certified accountant. The fee is 500 euros and the Department estimates about two months. Neither route lets you work in Cyprus, except as a director of the company you invest in.

Sources: Migration Department, European Central Bank. Checked 16 October 2026.

Tax: Social security, NZ Super, KiwiSaver and student loans

New Zealand has no social security agreement with Cyprus: Cyprus is not on Work and Income's list of 11 agreement countries, and the Treaties Online record for a Cyprus agreement says negotiations are paused, it has not been signed and it is not in force. Without one, we found no official page that says whether Cypriot social insurance would also apply to someone on a foreign payroll or self-employed for foreign clients, so that is unknown here.

More detail

If you get NZ Super, you must apply at least 6 weeks before you leave; in a country with no agreement you may get your full payment, depending on the months you lived in New Zealand between ages 20 and 65, and you do not pay New Zealand tax on it but may owe tax in Cyprus. The government KiwiSaver contribution needs you to live mainly in New Zealand; after a year living overseas (not in Australia) you can withdraw most of your savings, but not the government contributions. You are overseas-based for a student loan if you are in New Zealand 31 days or fewer in a 184-day period, and the loan then stops being interest-free. New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements only with Australia and the United Kingdom.

Sources: Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand Treaties Online), Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Checked 16 October 2026.

The country

More on Cyprus.

Sources

Official sources we used.

Government and official pages only, each with the date we checked it.

  1. Euro reference rates, 15 October 2026, European Central Bank. Checked 16 October 2026.
  2. Reciprocal health agreements, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Checked 16 October 2026.
  3. Getting my KiwiSaver funds when I move overseas, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026.
  4. I am going overseas (student loans), Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026.
  5. KiwiSaver benefits, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026.
  6. Immigration Permits (categories A to F), Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection (gov.cy). Checked 16 October 2026.
  7. Immigration Permits for Investors: criteria for the expedited procedure, Migration Department, Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection (gov.cy). Checked 16 October 2026.
  8. Agreement on Social Security between the Republic of Cyprus and New Zealand (treaty record), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand Treaties Online). Checked 16 October 2026.
  9. Living overseas if you get NZ Super or Veteran's Pension, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development). Checked 16 October 2026.
  10. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development). Checked 16 October 2026.

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