Cypriot Citizenship Law Amendments

• The Applicant must have made an investment of at least €2 million for the purchase or construction of building or for the construction of other land development projects.
• It is noted that the applicant can proceed to purchase land provided that in his application there is an investment plan for the development of the land.

• The applicant must have made an investment of at least € 2 million in the purchase, creation or participation in businesses or companies, that are based and operating in the Republic
• These businesses or companies should evidently have a tangible presence in Cyprus and employ at least five (5) Cypriot citizens or Citizens of the EU. The minimum number of employees shall be increased in case where more than one applicants invest at the same time or almost at the same time in the same company or business. In addition, the above mentioned employees should have had a legal and continuous stay in the Republic for the 5 years preceding the submission of the Citizenship application

• The applicant must have made an investment of €2 million from alternative investment funds that are established in the Republic of Cyprus, are licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and are supervised by such. The investments shall be carried solely in the Republic of Cyprus in investments that comply with the criteria set out in the current scheme or in areas that are approved by the Ministry of Finance.
• The auditor of the Funds shall inform the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Finance on an annual basis that the investments still comply with the criteria set out above for a period of 3 years.
• It is understood that the purchase of financial assets from Cypriot companies or Cypriot organizations of at least €2 million such as bonds / securities / debentures, that have been issued from companies that have a proven physical presence in the Republic and a significant financial activity fall into the above mentioned criterion.

• The applicant can combine any of the above mentioned criteria provided that the total investment amounts to at least €2 million.
• Clean Criminal Record: the applicant must have a clean criminal record. Furthermore, his name must not be included on the list of persons whose property is ordered to be frozen within the boundaries of the European Union.
• Residence in the Republic of Cyprus: In all cases listed above, the applicant must hold a permanent privately-owned residence in the Republic of Cyprus, the purchase price of which must be at least €500.000, plus V.A.T.
• It is noted that members of the same family, which apply separately as investors, can collectively acquire a residence, provided that the total value of this home-property covers the amount of € 500.000 per each applicant.
• In addition, it is understood that in case the applicant has invested in residential property ( ies) as mentioned in criteria A1 he shall not be required to purchase another permanent residence in the Republic if at least one of the properties he is purchasing is of a value of at least €500,000 plus VAT and provided he shall be keeping this property for life.
• The appicant shall be a holder of a Permanent Residence permit of the Republic of Cypus before being naturalised as a Cypriot Citizen. In case the applicant is not a PR holder he will be able to submit the application for the issue of the Permit according to regulation 6 (2) simultaneously with the submission of his Citizenship application. It is understood that in case the submission of a PR application is made solely for obtaining the Cypriot Citizenship according to the present regulations, there are no further requirements that the applicant should comply with apart from the ones mentioned in the present scheme. It is understood that the above applies to the adult members of the applicant’s family that will wish to obtain the Cypriot Citizenship. In case the Citizenship application is for some reason rejected, the PR permit obtained according to the present regulations will be automatically cancelled.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: The spouse and/or the cohabitat and/or the PARENTS as well as minor children under 18 years old of an investor that has obtained the Cypriot Citizenship based on the above mentioned criteria shall also obtain the Cypriot Citizenship provided the relevant application (M127) is submitted with the Ministry of Interior together with all the necessary documents. It is understood that the spouse’s and /or cohabitat’s Citizenship applications can be submitted simultaneously with the Citizenship application of the investor. The Citizenship application of the parents and of the minor children of the investor shall be submitted to the Ministry of Interior after the procedure for naturalisation of the investor has been completed.
• It is clarified that: The parents of the investor will have to be purchase a property in the Republic of a purchase price of at least €500,000 plus VAT. It is also understood that the parents of the investor can purchase a property jointly with the investor provided the total purchase price of the property is at least €1,000.000 plus VAT
• In addition, it is understood that financially dependant adult children are considered to be : (a) students until 28 years old that are students at a University studying to obtain a bachelor’s degree and or a Masters degree and (b) children with serious medical and physical disabilities.
• The above are just the most imporant changes made in the regulations; we will be able to obtain more information directly from the Ministry in the following days and we will of course notify you asap.