Cyprus enhances Citizenship by Investment Scheme
- Sep 18, 2016
- 2 min read
These changes further solidify Cyprus’ position as the leading EU Cypriot Citizenship by Investment program. A summary of the main changes to the program follows below:
Minimum required investment reduced to €2 million
The collective scheme is abolished, eliminating the burden of coordinating a group application. An applicant can individually invest an amount of only €2 million.
EU Citizenship for the parents of the main investor and his/her spouse
The investor’s parents can apply for Cyprus citizenship provided they own/purchase a permanent Cyprus residence with a minimum acquisition cost of €500,000.
Investment options
Cyprus land is now also eligible, provided there is a real estate development plan in place. Investment in government bonds is now restricted to €500,000 and the option to invest in a fixed bank deposit is abolished.
Residence permit
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 (only the CBI investment requirements will need to be met). It should be noted there is still no requirement for the investor to live or physically reside in Cyprus before, during or after the CBI application process.
In addition to the above, the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Scheme will retain its industry leading 3-month average processing time, being by far the quickest route to EU citizenship.
It should also be noted that it is expected the future elimination of the requirement to hold a private residence of €500,000 for life. We will keep you updated on developments in this regards.
The new Law comes into force on 1 November 2016 and existing Cyprus Citizenship by Investment applications which are filed prior to this date are not affected.
Comments