A Due‑Diligence Checklist for Qualifying Property in Residence by Investment

Why qualifying real estate demands a different standard of due diligence

Buying a property that underpins a residence application is not a conventional real‑estate transaction. You are underwriting three things at once: a physical asset, a legal status, and a long‑term family option. Where citizenship may be relevant in the future, it is usually through separate naturalisation rules, not by property purchase alone. The due‑diligence standard should therefore be closer to a private‑equity investment than to a lifestyle home purchase.

This checklist is designed for internationally minded families who want a rigorous, pre‑purchase process. It is jurisdiction‑agnostic, but uses Cyprus as a primary worked example and adds comparative references to Greece and Mauritius where they illustrate the point. Every programme has its own rules and thresholds; these change and must be confirmed locally before you proceed.

Layer 1 – Programme suitability and rule‑level due diligence

The first question is not whether you like the property, but whether the property clearly qualifies under the route you intend to use. A surprising amount of later friction stems from starting in the wrong order.

1. Clarify the recognised residence route

Each jurisdiction defines its own recognised residence route and what counts as qualifying real estate. Cyprus, for example, has more than one residence route. The fast‑track route is the Immigration Permit under Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, often referred to as Category 6.2. It is distinct from the regular Category F route for financially independent persons. Category F has no strict property‑purchase requirement, permits resale property, usually involves a lower secured annual income expectation, around EUR 30,000, and is typically slower, often 12–24 months. Regulation 6(2), by contrast, is the faster property‑linked route, with an indicative examination target of about 2–3 months from a complete file, although practical end‑to‑end timing can run longer.

Your first step in any jurisdiction should be to:

• Identify the exact legal basis of the route, such as a specific regulation, law or investment category.
• Confirm that real estate is an accepted qualifying asset class for that route.
• Distinguish permanent residence from temporary residence and from any longer‑term naturalisation path.
• Check the current rules against official sources where available, including immigration, land, tax and gazette materials, with law‑firm commentary treated as useful but secondary.

2. Confirm qualifying property criteria

Programmes often specify detailed criteria for qualifying real estate. Using Cyprus again as an illustrative case, the residential house or apartment category under Cyprus Regulation 6(2) generally requires a first‑sale residential unit purchased from a developer, with at least EUR 300,000 plus VAT invested from funds remitted from abroad. The required minimum investment amount must be paid and evidenced before filing; if the contract price is above the minimum threshold, any remaining contractual balance depends on the purchase agreement and the current programme rules.

It is important not to overstate that residential rule. Other Regulation 6(2) investment categories may have different requirements, including certain non‑residential real estate such as offices, shops or hotels, where resale may be possible, as well as non‑property options. The precise category should therefore be confirmed with Cyprus counsel before any commitment is made.

Comparative examples show why the exact category matters. Greece revised its Golden Visa thresholds in 2024–2025. The EUR 800,000 tier applies to one single residential property of at least 120 m2 in the entire Region of Attica, the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and any Greek island with more than 3,100 inhabitants. The EUR 400,000 tier applies elsewhere, also generally for one single residential property of at least 120 m2. A EUR 250,000 tier remains available for specified commercial‑to‑residential conversion or listed‑building restoration cases. Mauritius, by contrast, grants property‑linked residence for a qualifying acquisition of at least USD 375,000 in approved schemes such as PDS, IRS, RES or Smart City, while also maintaining other non‑property routes such as occupation permits and retired non‑citizen residence.

Your checklist at this stage should include:

• Property type: Is it residential, commercial, touristic, converted, restored or mixed‑use, and does that type qualify under the exact route?
• New‑build vs resale: Does the route require first‑sale construction for the relevant category, or allow secondary market purchases?
• Developer vs private seller: Is purchase from a developer required, or is a private sale acceptable?
• Timing: Must the minimum qualifying amount be paid and evidenced before filing, or can you file on the basis of a contract of sale or staged payments?
• Ownership structure: Are corporate or trust structures allowed, or must title be held personally?

3. Align family coverage and stay obligations

Residence planning is rarely about a single individual. You should test how the route treats spouses, minor children, older dependants and adult children in higher education. Under Cyprus Regulation 6(2), the main applicant may include a spouse and minor children. Adult children aged 18–25 may be included only if they are unmarried, financially dependent and studying abroad. Financially independent adult children generally require a multiple of the EUR 300,000 investment. Parents and parents‑in‑law are not included under the current Regulation 6(2) rules.

Separate secured annual income thresholds also apply. For Cyprus Regulation 6(2), the current working figures are about EUR 50,000 for the main applicant, plus about EUR 15,000 for a spouse and EUR 10,000 per child, with the income rules and source requirements to be confirmed at filing. The permit can lapse if the holder does not visit Cyprus at least once every two years, and other loss conditions may apply if the qualifying investment is disposed of without replacement.

For any jurisdiction, your checklist should ask:

• Which family members can be included from the outset, and on what basis?
• How are adult children and older dependants treated?
• What secured income, maintenance funds or insurance evidence is required for each family member?
• What are the minimum physical presence or visit requirements to maintain status?
• Is there any pathway, however long, from residence to long‑term settlement or citizenship, and what additional conditions apply?

4. Understand mobility and tax context

A residence permit’s value is not only local. You should consider both mobility and tax positioning in the wider context of your family’s life.

• Mobility: Travel rights depend on the issuing state and the destination. Greece is a Schengen member, so a Greek residence permit carries 90/180‑day visa‑free short‑stay movement across the Schengen Area. Cyprus is a full EU member state but is not yet part of the Schengen Area, and a Cyprus residence permit does not currently confer Schengen short‑stay travel until accession is completed and in force. Mauritius is outside the EU and Schengen Area; a Mauritian residence permit is not a travel document for other countries.
• Tax: Some jurisdictions offer alternative tax‑residency rules, such as Cyprus’s 60‑day tax‑residency rule alongside the standard 183‑day rule, subject to conditions. Greece offers a separate non‑dom regime with its own investment and tax requirements. Mauritius has its own tax‑residence day counts and a different tax profile. These regimes may be attractive, but they must be assessed in the context of your existing tax residence, source of income and global structuring.

At this stage, independent tax advice in both your home jurisdiction and the destination country is essential. A residence permit does not automatically make you tax resident, and tax residency does not require a residence permit in every system; the two concepts must be analysed together.

Layer 2 – Property‑level due diligence

Once you are comfortable that the route and the property type are aligned, you move to the asset itself. This is where traditional real‑estate due diligence meets programme‑specific requirements.

5. Title, planning and legal checks

Your local counsel should run a full legal due‑diligence process on the property. At a minimum:

• Title verification: Confirm clear, marketable title; check for mortgages, liens, charges, easements and any co‑ownership complications.
• Planning and zoning: Verify that the property has the correct planning permissions and that the as‑built structure matches approved plans.
• Use restrictions: Check whether there are restrictions on use, such as touristic use only, limitations on long‑term rental, or owner‑occupation requirements linked to reduced VAT or incentives.
• Programme compliance: In some regimes, a property that exists legally may still fail to meet the specific investment, use, size, first‑sale or category rules required for residence.

6. Construction quality and technical surveys

Particularly for off‑plan or newly completed developments, you should commission independent technical surveys. These may include structural assessments, snagging reports, energy‑efficiency reviews and, where relevant, seismic or environmental risk assessments. The aim is to avoid underwriting latent defects that could impair value, insurability or usability.

7. Rental and exit assumptions

Marketing material often presents optimistic rental yields or resale timelines. Your due‑diligence checklist should treat these as scenarios, not promises:

• Request independent market rental comparables, not just the developer’s brochure.
• Understand local vacancy patterns, seasonality and regulatory constraints on short‑term rentals.
• Clarify any rental guarantees: who provides them, for how long, on what terms, and how they are secured, if at all.
• Consider liquidity: is there a functioning resale market for similar properties, or are you reliant on future programme investors?

Layer 3 – Counterparty and contract due diligence

In residence‑linked property, the quality of your counterparties is as important as the quality of the asset. A rigorous process looks through the marketing to the underlying actors and documents.

8. Developer, seller and intermediary checks

Your adviser team should conduct basic corporate and reputational due diligence on:

• Developers: Track record of delivery, financial strength, history of disputes or unfinished projects.
• Sellers: Beneficial ownership, authority to sell, and any red flags in public records.
• Intermediaries: Migration agents, introducers and brokers should be transparent about their role and remuneration. You should understand who is being paid by whom.

9. Contract structure and payment flows

Contracts for qualifying real estate often intertwine property purchase obligations with programme‑related milestones. Your checklist should cover:

• Conditions precedent: Are there any conditions linked to planning approvals, completion stages or programme filing?
• Payment schedule: How are deposits, stage payments and final balances structured? Are funds held in escrow, and under what conditions are they released?
• Minimum investment evidence: If the programme requires evidence of a paid minimum amount before filing, is the banking trail clear, foreign‑remitted where required, and matched to the contract?
• Default and termination: What happens if construction is delayed, if you withdraw, or if the programme rules change before completion?
• Dispute resolution: Which law governs the contract, and where are disputes resolved?

In some jurisdictions, transaction costs are sensitive to how the contract is structured. In Cyprus, new property where VAT is lawfully charged and paid benefits from a full exemption from property transfer fees; where no VAT is charged, transfer fees may be reduced. Legal fees for conveyancing are typically charged as a percentage of the property value, often around 1% plus VAT, subject to minimums. These details matter when comparing options and should be confirmed for each transaction.

Layer 4 – Jurisdiction‑level and tax due diligence

Finally, you should step back from the individual property and assess the jurisdiction as a whole. A technically qualifying asset in a misaligned jurisdiction can be more costly than not investing at all.

10. Tax, succession and holding structure

Key questions at this level include:

• Tax residency rules: How is tax residency determined, and how might your new residence permit interact with those rules? As an example, Cyprus operates both a standard 183‑day rule and a 60‑day tax‑residency rule, subject to specific conditions.
• Local property taxation and transaction costs: Understand ongoing property taxes, VAT treatment on acquisition, and any stamp or transfer duties. In Cyprus, the standard VAT rate is 19%, with reduced rates available for qualifying primary residences under defined conditions. Cyprus stamp duty has been abolished for instruments executed on or after 1 January 2026, so for such documents the stamp duty amount is EUR 0 under the current law.
• Succession and inheritance: How will the property be treated on death? Some jurisdictions, such as Cyprus and Mauritius, do not levy inheritance or estate tax under current rules, but forced‑heirship or local succession rules may still apply.
• Holding structure: Should the property be held personally, via a company, or via a trust or foundation? This will depend on local law, the residence route, your home‑country tax rules and your broader estate planning.

These are areas where local legal and tax counsel are indispensable. A residence‑by‑investment transaction is rarely just a property purchase; it is a structural decision for your family balance sheet.

11. Regulatory and geopolitical context

Residence and investment migration programmes sit at the intersection of migration policy, financial regulation and geopolitics. You should consider:

• How stable the programme has been historically and whether there have been abrupt changes.
• The jurisdiction’s relationship with your home country and with key blocs such as the EU or Schengen Area.
• Any emerging regulatory scrutiny on investment migration in that jurisdiction.
• Whether the jurisdiction has closed or amended previous investment routes. Cyprus, for example, no longer operates a citizenship‑by‑investment programme; citizenship is a separate naturalisation matter.

This does not mean avoiding dynamic jurisdictions, but it does mean building flexibility into your residence planning, for example by not over‑concentrating in a single programme or property type.

Putting it together – a practical checklist

For a private client family, a practical due‑diligence process for qualifying real estate might look like this:

• Step 1 – Objectives: Clarify your aims: mobility, education access, lifestyle, diversification, succession, or tax efficiency, usually a combination.
• Step 2 – Jurisdiction selection: Shortlist jurisdictions whose recognised residence routes and tax regimes align with those aims.
• Step 3 – Programme screening: For each shortlisted route, confirm qualifying real‑estate criteria, family eligibility, stay requirements, indicative timelines, fees and source‑of‑funds requirements.
• Step 4 – Property shortlist: Only then, identify properties that appear to meet the programme rules and your lifestyle or investment preferences.
• Step 5 – Independent due diligence: Engage local legal, tax and technical advisers to run the layered checks described above.
• Step 6 – Structuring and documentation: Decide on holding structure, confirm transaction costs and tax treatment, and finalise contracts with appropriate protections.
• Step 7 – Filing and monitoring: Coordinate the property completion with your residence application, and monitor for rule changes that might affect future renewals, family members or exit value.

How a private‑client advisory can help

A disciplined due‑diligence checklist does not remove risk, but it does make the trade‑offs explicit. For families considering qualifying real estate as part of their residence planning, the key is to integrate property selection with programme suitability, tax structuring and long‑term family optionality.

Kestrel Private works alongside your existing legal, tax and family advisers to help you compare jurisdictions, understand which recognised residence routes are genuinely aligned with your objectives, and identify where qualifying real estate can play a sensible role. If you are evaluating a specific property or programme and would value a second, private‑client view on the due‑diligence process, we are happy to discuss this in a confidential consultation.