Granting of citizenship to investors in Cyprus
Participating in the programme, the investor with his family may obtain Cyprus passports. This is not a residence permit or a visa but rather full citizenship of the EU-member state. The programme requires the amount of €2mln to be invested in Cyprus for 3 years preceding the date of application and must retain the said investment for the period of at least three years from the date of the naturalization. The application must be examined within a 6 month period approximately. The programme has already attracted over 4 billion euros of direct investments into the economy of the Republic of Cyprus.
Advantages of the Programme
- Cyprus passport is a full EU passport. Investor and his family can freely reside, work, study, have business in any of the EU-member states as well as in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland
- Holder of Cyprus passport can travel visa-free in 157 countries in total
- Dual-citizenship is permitted. Acquisition of Cyprus citizenship is not reported to other countries
- The passport is issued also for the investor’s spouse and all financially dependent children (up to 28 years old). All next generations of investor retain EU citizenship.
- The investor’s parents are entitled to apply for citizenship provided that they are owners of a Cyprus permanent residence of at least €500.000
- Time of approval of citizenship for the investor and his/her spouse is approximately 6 months
- Minimum investment required is €2mln (here and below amounts are excluding of VAT)
- The investment must be kept just for 3 years. After that the assets can be sold. To be more precise, the Law states that a property of minimum value of €500.000 must be kept as a private residence (we expect that this condition will be removed; anyway this private residence can be rented out and generate rental income for investor)
INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Residential properties
Commercial properties
Development projects
Purchase or creation or participation in Cypriot businesses or companies
Investment funds, financial assets of Cypriot businesses or organizations
Government bonds (maximum €500.000; the balance €1,5mln should be invested in other options like property)
Combination of these options
Requirements for INvestors
An investor must meet the following requirements:
- The minimum investment amount is €2mln
- Keeping investments for a period of minimum 3 years
- Clear criminal record for applicant, spouse, adult children and parents
- The investor must own a private residence(ies) in Cyprus, purchased for at least €500.000. If investments are made into residential property(ies), this requirement is not applicable
- The investor must be the holder of a residence permit in Cyprus to qualify for receiving the Cyprus Citizenship. For this purpose, he/she should submit an application for a residence permit, which will be issued simultaneously with the filing of the Citizenship application. The obtaining of residence permit is a formality due to EU regulation. There is still no requirement for the investor to live in Cyprus.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Utility bill showing place of residence (apostilled);
The application ‘Form for Civil Union’ completed by both parties;
Presentation of passport.
Affidavit (made not older than a month from the date of presentation of the which can be sworn in Cyprus or abroad at the Cyprus embassy. Each person intending to enter in the union must present A NON IMPEDIMENT CERTIFICATE (NIC) should be presented by the Director of Civil Registry of those living or residing or have residency in Cyprus for those not then those living abroad by their competent authority confirming that no marriage religious or otherwise or civil union is currently in force which concerns them. All public documents issued in any other country must be certified and apostilled or if not a signatory to the Hague Convention. This document must be translated into English or Greek.