Passport

‍

Participating in the programme an investor with his family obtain Cyprus passports. This is not a residence permit or a visa but rather full citizenship of the EU-member state. The programme has already attracted over 3 billion euros of direct investments into the economy of the Republic of Cyprus.

‍

Benefits of the programme

‍

The programme is unique in Europe and very appealing:

1. 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.
2. Holder of Cyprus passport can travel visa-free in 157 countries in total.
3. Dual-citizenship is permitted. Acquisition of Cyprus citizenship is not reported to other countries.
4. 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.
5. The investor’s parents are entitled to apply for citizenship provided that they are owners of a private residence in Cyprus of at least €500,000 excluding VAT.
6. An express procedure - 3 months to be approved.
7. No requirement to reside in Cyprus.
8. Minimum investment required is €2million (here and below amounts are excluding VAT where VAT is applicable).
9. 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.
10. No donation to the Cyprus government.
11. No history and language proficiency tests

‍

Investment options

‍

An investor is free to choose where to invest from a wide choice of 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 organisations
• Government bonds (maximum €500,000 in bonds; the balance €1,5mln should be invested in other assets)
• Combination of the above options

‍

Requirements for investors

‍

An investor must meet the following requirements:

1. The minimum investment amount is €2mln.
2. Keeping investments for a period of minimum 3 years.
3. Clear criminal record for applicant, spouse, adult children and parents.
4. 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.
5. 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 for the citizenship applicant. There is still no requirement for the investor to live in Cyprus.

‍

Comparison with similar programmes

‍