Non European citizens are eligible to obtain full Cypriot citizenship, provided they meet the criteria of the citizenship program.
The program’s benefits are as follows:
- Cyprus passport is an EU passport. The 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.
- Holder of Cyprus passport can travel visa-free in 168 countries (or acquire visa for other countries e.g. the USA in a quick and cost effective manner). - Dual-citizenship is permitted. The investor may retain the citizenship of his/her country of origin. - There is no requirement of physical residence in the country during or after the application procedure is initiated. - Minimum investment required is €2 million (excluding VAT where VAT is applicable). - No donation to the Cyprus government required. - No language proficiency test is required. - Right to own property in an EU member state. - Fully transparent, fairly simple and fast procedure.
The applicant’s spouse and any financially dependent minors (i.e. children below the age of 18) also have the right to apply for a Cypriot passport. The option is also available to any dependent children up to the age of 28 provided they are students in the process of obtaining their 1st degree. All the descendants of the persons who have obtained citizenship, may also be regarded as Cypriot and EU citizens. Dependent parents of the investor also qualify for citizenship provided they own a house of €500,000 + VAT or own a share of €500,000 in a residential property of the main applicant.
The conditions for the application for the fast track procedure are as follows:
- A clean criminal record of the Applicant from the country of origin and/or Cyprus. - The name of the applicant must not appear on the list of persons with ‘frozen’ assets within the EU. - The applicant must own a property in Cyprus to be considered as a ‘permanent residence’ of value at least €500,000 (excluding V.A.T.). - The applicant must invest in Cyprus in one of the following ways of a total value at least €2 million: - Investment in Real Estate - Purchase or Incorporation of a Cyprus Company or participation in Cyprus businesses or Cyprus Companies. - Investment in alternative investment funds (AIFs), financial assets of Cypriot businesses or organizations. - Combination of the above
Further information can be found on the portal of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Cyprus www.moi.gov.cy