The Minister of the Interior may grant a permit only if the Immigration Control Board confirms that the applicant falls under one of the following categories and meets the necessary criteria. (a) Farming. He possesses adequate land or a permit to acquire it and at least CYP250.000.(b) Mining. He possesses a mining permit and at least CYP200.000. (c) Trade. He has capital of at least CYP150.000,(d) Retirement. He has a secure income of about CYP5.000 per person and he and hid dependants will not work.

In these circumstances, promises and the willingness of locals to help may meet the Authority's objections. A more serious consideration however is section 4A of the Streets' and Buildings' Regulations. This amendment of the Law states that, in certain cases, no building permit will be granted to plots of land which are the result of field subdivision. Therefore, the derivation of the site's title must be examined and verified by the District Lands' Office.

Property owners in Cyprus are advised to make a will in Cyprus to cover their Cypriot estate. A Cypriot will speed up the process of obtaining probate in Cyprus.Inheritance Tax is payable on a Cypriot estate and rates are on a sliding scale depending upon the value of the estate. Full professional advice should be obtained with regard to making a Cypriot Will and Inheritance Tax planning.

In addition a 1.5%-2% is payable for the structural design and 0.3% for structural supervision. If you are at a loss as to the choice of a suitable consultant, seek the advice of the Registrar of the Association of Architects & Engineers (all licenced architects must be registered). Please bear in mind that in case of large buildings you may be able to negotiate a lower fee (as also in the case of repetitive work).

It is recommended that a building permit be secured first before works commence, although works such as excavations etc may begin prior to the issue of the building permit. In this case, your architect must consult with the Appropriate Authority to see whether there are any major objections to the drawings.