EU citizenship by Investment

By a decision approved by the Council of Ministers of Cyprus on 13th September 2016, the Scheme for Naturalisation of Investors in Cyprus by Exception was amended, so that investors can now apply for citizenship by making a stand-alone application, without the need of collective investment, with an investment of only 2 million EUR in real estate or in the purchase of a Cyprus company or investment funds, or a combination of the above.

The total investment for real estate must be a minimum of €2 million, provided that one residential property is of at least €500.000 (excluding VAT). Investments in a Cyprus company, investment funds, or a combination of all types, contrary to investments in real estate only, require a further investment of 500k for residential property.

With regard to residency, the new scheme provides that the applicant must be the holder of a Cyprus residence permit, or apply for such in order to qualify for citizenship. As such, an application for a residence permit can be submitted simultaneously with the filing of a citizenship application. However, most importantly for the applicant, there is no requirement for physical residency in Cyprus.

Citizenship may be granted within 3 months from the date of application, with the possibility to issue a Cyprus passport to the applicant’s spouse and dependent children (up to 28 years old), provided they are in full-time education, in addition to the applicant’s passport.

Investors and their families can obtain full EU rights, including the ability to live and work in any EU country practically immediately!

Conditions

The total investment for real estate must be a minimum of €2 million.
The main investment may be sold after three years; however, the investor must always maintain/purchase a property with a value of at least €500,000.
Property purchased up to 3 years prior to the submission of the citizenship application will count towards the required investment.
Applicants must hold a clean criminal record from the country of origin and country of residence if different and their name must not be on the list of persons whose property is ordered to be frozen within the EU.

Benefits of Cyprus EU citizenship

Unrestricted right to live, work, travel and study anywhere in the European Union
Visa-free travel to 168 countries
Free trade within EU, business access to 500 million EU citizens
Cyprus has no inheritance tax, has a highly favourable corporate tax structure and a comprehensive double tax treaty network
Cyprus offers a great place to visit/live, it enjoys a strategic geographical position, offers excellent worldwide connections, has excellent infrastructure, a pleasant climate and is highly stable
Establishment and free movement of services and goods

Documentation

The applicant must provide the following documentation for the purpose of the application:

Birth Certificate;
Copy of passport;
Certificate of criminal record from the country of origin, as well as the country of residence (if it differs) of the applicant;
Marriage Certificate;
Two passport size photographs;
Curriculum Vitae.

Procedural steps

Research & select real estate investment

The applicant is provided with a portfolio of available properties for their review. The applicant may personally visit the selected property accompanied by one of our representatives in a meeting held in Cyprus. Once approved, the purchase agreement will be scrutinized by our legal consultants, before it is signed by you. Following the signature of the agreement, the applicant will arrange a transfer of the funds to a secure account and a receipt will be issued by the developer and/or owner of the property.

Preparation of citizenship application

The applicant must gather all necessary papers required for the application (see Documentation section). The documents must be officially translated into Greek or English and certified with apostille (if in a country which has signed the Hague Convention of 1961) or stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant Cyprus Embassy.

Acquire pre-approval

The appointed lawyer will complete a pre-clearance check

Citizenship and PR application submitted to Government

The application is filed, together with the property purchase agreement and all required documents, at the Ministry of Interior, and the payment of the submission fee is made.

Issue of Cypriot citizenship

Once ratified by the Council of Ministers, a citizenship certificate is issued. This Certificate must be signed by the applicant either in front of a Registrar of a Cypriot Court or a Consular at any Cypriot Consulate abroad within 3 months of receiving approval. This process in Cyprus, including collection of biometric ID cards, takes less than 1 day, however through an embassy the process may take up to 2 weeks.

Naturalisation of children

The applicant has the option to submit applications for their children to be naturalised. Applications of minor children are processed within 3 weeks; they can visit Cyprus anytime to collect their papers. Adult children’s applications are processed within 2 months and are subject to a submission fee and approval fee. Adult children must visit Cyprus within 3 months to collect their passport and identity card.

Note: Further to the changes announced on the 13.09.2016 by the Ministry of Interior, an additional government fee may be applicable for the PR application.

We also offer services for obtaining citizenship by other means, such as due to Cypriot origins, as a spouse of a Cypriot citizen etc. For more information, please send us an inquiry and a specialized member of our team will contact you as soon as possible.