Newsletter No. 9 / 23 September 2020
By Angelika Petrou
Amendments to the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Programme
The Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Programme was introduced by the Council of Ministers in 2007 and since then, had been subject to several amendments. Investors, provided that certain investment/economic criteria are satisfied, can obtain the Cypriot citizenship through naturalization by exception.
In response to criticisms in regards to the Programme’s integrity, those being facilitating corruption and money laundering, received by European Institutions and bodies amongst others, the Cyprus Government has once again introduced several amendments on 18.08.2020. The purpose of this introduction is to prevent such criticisms as well as to safeguard the Investors’ interests.
The most significant amendments approved on 18.08.2020 are:
Required donation to Special government funds has been increased
Even if the financial criteria of the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Programme remain the same, the required donation has been increased. Each investor, who has been approved for acquiring the Cyprus Citizenship through the Programme, he/she is required to donate an amount of at least €100.000 to one of the below-provided special government funds:
a) the Research and Innovation Foundation; or
b) the Service of Industry and Technology, in order to materialise targeted funding plans for micro and small businesses; or
c) the Funds for Renewable Sources of Energy and Conservation of Energy; or
d) the National Solidarity Fund,
and
To donate €100.000 to the Cyprus Land Development Corporation.
The donation of the €200.000 to the above-mentioned funds should be made in the period between the acceptance of the application for the citizenship by exception and immediately before the issuance of the naturalization certificate.
Depended persons: eligibility criteria
Another important amendment of the Programme is that the parents of the spouse of the investor can be considered as depended persons and they can be included in the application for the Cyprus citizenship in addition to the investor’s parents. Same as for the investor’s parents, the parents of the spouse of the investor should own a permanent private residence in the Republic of the value of at least €500,000 (excluding VAT).
For further details and explanation of the Cyprus Investment Programme please contact our firm A. & E. C. Emilianides, C. Katsaros & Associates LLC via email at info@ekllc.eu or via telephone at 22676752.
