The Cyprus Citizenship program is one of the most attractive and popular during the last decade. Cyprus is known for its beautiful Mediterranean beaches and is home to many historical monuments. The island’s nature, culture, history and lifestyle are all part of the island’s charms.
Comprising an area of 9.251 sq. kilometres and a population of just under a million, Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. The strategic location of the island on the crossroads of major international trade routes between Europe, Asia and Africa has played an important role in its continuing development into a financial centre.
The main benefits of granting the Cyprus citizenship include:
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An express procedure, it takes only 3 months to be approved
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The investment is as low as €2,5 million
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The investor must retain the investment for 3 years after which s/he is free to release it
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Citizenship granted to spouse of the investor and minor children as well as to the financially dependent adult children up to the age of 28 who are full time students
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No requirement to reside in Cyprus
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Visa-free travel to over 150 countries worldwide
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All the rights of an EU citizen protected by EU legislation and regulations: freedom to work, study, reside in any EU member state, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
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No language proficiency tests
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Dual-citizenship is allowed and the acquisition of citizenship in Cyprus is not reported to other countries
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Low government fees for the filing of the application
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Wide choice of investment options
There are two schemes available to qualify for Citizenship by Investment:
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Individual scheme with the threshold of €5 million or
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Collective Scheme with the threshold of €2,5 million
Individual scheme – Criteria (€5 mn investment):
1. The applicant should have direct investments in Cyprus of at least €5 million in Cyprus Government Bonds (it shall be noted that the Cyprus Government Bonds must be acquired only from the primary market), or
2. The applicant should have direct investments in Cyprus of at least €5 million in financial instruments of companies and shares in public companies registered in Cyprus, or
3. The applicant should have direct investment in Cyprus of at least €5 million in real estate (e.g. residential, commercial or other infrastructure), or
4. The applicant should have direct investment in Cyprus of at least €5 million through the purchase, establishment or participation in businesses/companies that are based and have activities in Cyprus, or
5. The applicant should have deposits in Cyprus banks amounting to €5 million, for a period of three years. The deposits can be either personal or deposits of a private entity or of a trust whereby the applicant is the beneficiary, or
6. The applicant may choose to have a combination of any of the above amounting to €5 million, or
Any applicant who was the holder of deposits in Laiki Bank and suffered an impairment in the value of his/her deposits of at least €3 million as on March 15th 2013, as a result of the measures imposed on the bank.
In the instance that the applicant has suffered impairment in the above mentioned bank which is lower than €3 million, s/he may still apply for Cypriot citizenship provided that s/he invests the remaining amount (i.e. the sum up to €5 million) in any of the criteria 1-5.
The conversion of deposits held in the Bank of Cyprus, which have been compulsory converted into shares, is included under criterion 4 above.
Collective scheme criteria (€2,5 mn investment):
The applicant will be required to invest a reduced amount of €2,5 million in any of the mentioned categories:
1. Investment in Government Bonds
2. Investment in financial instruments
3. Investment in real estate and land developing
4. Investments in Cyprus businesses and companies on the basis that they participate in a collective investment scheme with a total value of at least €12,5 million.
In addition, every applicant must be the owner of a residential property in Cyprus worth at least €500.000.
If you have any questions or would like to begin an application procedure, please do not hesitate to
contact us.