Citizenship Through Investment – Republic of Cyprus

Procedure for Citizenship through naturalization; herein referred to as the “NATURALIZATION”.

Financial Criteria:

Eligible persons who meet one of the following financial  criteria may apply for the  acquisition of the Cypriot Citizenship:

• Investment in real estate,  land development and  infrastructure projects of at least €2m – if the investment will be in land, an investment plan for the development of the purchased land should be included in the application.
• Investment in financial assets of Cypriot  companies or organisations of at least €2m. The should be companies or organisations with physical presence in Cyprus, with significant activity and turnover, and should employ at least 5 EU Citizens.
• Investment in Alternative Investment Funds or financial assets of Cypriot companies/ organisations that are licenced by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission of at least €2m
• Combination of the above criteria, which can also include investment in government bonds of up to, but not exceeding, €500.000

Privately-Owned Residence

• An investor must also own a permanent privately-owned residence in Cyprus of at least €500.000 (+VAT). If investment is made into residential properties, as per the first financial criterion, this requirement is not applicable, if at least one of the units is worth at least €500.000 (+VAT), provided that the applicant retains the possession of the residence for life
• Members of the same family, who apply separately as investors, can collectively acquire a residence, provided that the total value of this home-property covers €500,000 for each applicant
• In case that the value of the permanent privately-owned residence in Cyprus exceeds the amount of €500,000, part of the additional amount can be used for  supplementing the total amount of the investment made on the basis of the financial criteria above.
• If the applicant has invested in housing unit/units, the purchase of another permanent residence in Cyprus will not be required, if at least one of these housing units is worth at least €500,000 (+VAT). In this case, the applicant must retain possession of this residence for life.
• The investor can rent his privately-owned residence to someone else.

Investments can be made:

• Personally by the investor,
• By his/ her spouse, or jointly with the spouse
• Through a company in which they are participating as shareholders or as ultimate beneficial owners – however only a percentage of the investment will be taken into consideration in proportion to the holding percentage.

Eligibility:

The following non-Cypriot natural persons who meet one of the set financial criteria, are eligible to apply for the acquisition of Cypriot Citizenship:

• natural persons, either personally or through a company in which they are participating as shareholders, in proportion to their holding percentage
• through investments made by their spouse or jointly with the spouse
• as high-ranking senior manager of a company that meets one of the financial criteria below (provided that they receive a remuneration that generates paid tax revenues of at least €100.000 over three years and that their tax has already been paid or prepaid

Other Terms and Conditions:

• Prior to the naturalisation, investors must hold a residence permit in Cyprus. Nevertheless, the application for a residence permit can be submitted simultaneously with the application for the naturalisation
• There is no requirement of residing in Cyprus after acquiring citizenship

Duration of Keeping Investments

The applicant should have made the necessary investments during the 3 years preceding the date of the application and must retain the said investments for a period of at least 3 years as from the date of the naturalization.

Family Members:

The program applies to:

• The immediate family of the applicant (spouse or partner, minor and adult financially dependent children up to the age of 28, provided they are university students).
• The investor’s parents may also apply for citizenship after the investor has acquired his/her citizenship, provided that they are owners of a private residence of at least €500,000 (+VAT). The investor and his/her parents may collectively acquire one residential property of a total value of at least €1m (+VAT).

THE PROCEDURE

1. IMMIGRATION PERMIT FOR APPLICANT AND SPOUSE

To proceed with the application for European/Cypriot citizenship, it is important that we primarily receive all of the required documents, necessary for naturalization and denoted on the “Check List” document, for both the applicant and spouse.

These are:

SCHEME FOR NATURALISATION OF INVESTORS IN CYPRUS BY EXCEPTION on the basis of subsection (2) of section 111A of the Civil Registry Laws of 2002-2015 – Checklist of Investor’s Application Documents.

A. Direct Purchase of Freehold Units:

1. Letter by the applicant or by the representative of the applicant, in which the investment and criterion, under which the application is submitted, are briefly explained
2. Application Form M127 fully completed and signed before a Registrar of a Cypriot court or a consular officer
3. Birth Certificate – (1. Translated in English 2. Certified by Public Notary 3. Legalised by Ministry of Internal Affairs proof Authenticity 4. MoIF sends to Cyprus Embassy and being Apostilled)
4. True Copy of passport
5. Certificate of Clean Criminal Record from the country of origin and the country of residence (if different) (1. Translated in English 2. Certified by Public Notary 3. Legalised by Ministry of Internal Affairs proof Authenticity 4. MoIF sends to Cyprus Embassy and being Apostilled)
6. Marriage Certificate/ Civil Partnership Certificate (1. Translated in English 2. Certified by Public Notary 3. Legalised by Ministry of Internal Affairs proof Authenticity 4. MoIF sends to Cyprus Embassy and being Apostilled)
7. Copies of advertisements in a daily newspaper two consecutive posts
8. Two passport size photographs
9. Curriculum Vitae (Brief – Prepared by Applicant)
10. Copy of Residence Permit in the Republic of Cyprus – PRP Card – Issued within 5 working days
11. Application of a High-Ranking Executive
    a. Copy of the employment contract
    b. Receipt from the Department of Inland Revenue
12. Contract of Sale
13. Proof of Submission of the contract to the Lands and Surveys Department
14. Proof of payment of the agreed purchase price

B. Financial Documents if investing in shares of a company

1. Certificate of Registration of the company/companies by the Registrar of Companies
2. Certificate of shareholders by the Registrar of Companies or certificates evidencing that the applicant is the beneficiary owner of the company/companies
3. Contract of Sale
4. Proofs of payment of the agreed purchase price
5. Certificate of shareholders by the Registrar of Companies

These documents are essential for obtaining the following:

1.1 IMMIGRATION PERMIT FOR FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ADULT CHILDREN

It is noted that the financially dependent adult children of the investor that do not already hold a residence permit, need to submit separate Immigration Permit applications (above the age of eighteen and up to twenty-eight).

For the issuance of the Immigration Permit, the collection of biometric data (fingerprints and photograph) and signature is mandatory for the Financially dependent adult children. Thus, adults are required to appear in person at the Civil Registry and Migration Department in Cyprus. Moreover, they need to present an original travel document (passports).

1.1.1 Application Timeframes

• The time for the adult to submit an application for acquiring an Immigration Permit, simultaneously with the application for naturalization, is right after the applicant acquires the naturalization certificate and Cypriot passport.
• The time for the adult to acquire the immigration permit card is 3-5 days from the day of submitting the application for immigration permit and the application for naturalization.
• The time for the adult to acquire the naturalization certificate and CY passport is six months from the day of acquiring the immigration permit card.

1.2 IMMIGRATION PERMIT FOR MINORS (under the age of eighteen):

1.2.1 Two options:

a) 1ST Option: The minor children are not obliged to obtain a permanent residency card prior to the acquisition of the Cyprus passport since they are considered as dependent family members. The applicant/investor may not include the minor children in the application form for permanent residency.

b) 2nd Option: In case the applicant/investor wishes to issue a permanent residency card for his minor children, then, he will include them in the application form for permanent residency. The collection of biometric data though, is mandatory for the minors above 6 years old, who must visit Cyprus in order to obtain the immigration permit card. The minors under 6 years old will obtain the immigration permit card by only providing a passport size photo.

1.2.2 Timeline for minors to obtain CY passport:

The required documents for minors’ must be submitted upon the applicant acquire the naturalization certificates and Cy passports. Minors will obtain Cy passport between 1-3 days upon applicant receives the naturalization certificates and CY passport. The acquisition or not of the permanent residency card will not affect the acquisition of the Cyprus passport.

2. ISSUANCE OF IMMIGRATION PERMIT AND NATURALIZATION PROCESS

STEP 1: We will arrange a meeting at the Ministry of Interior in order to submit all the required documents for naturalization for the applicant and spouse. Upon examination of the documents, the Ministry of Interior will provide to us on the same day the “Confirmation of Submission of Application for  Naturalization by Exception” and the receipt of payment for submitting the applications for naturalization.

STEP 2: You must arrange a trip to Cyprus for the applicant and the spouse for at least five working days. Upon your confirmation with the date of the trip, we will visit along with the applicant and spouse the Civil Registry and Migration Department in order to submit the “Confirmation of Submission of Application for Naturalization by Exception by the Ministry of Interior”, the application form MPI, copies of the criminal records (for applicant/spouse), marriage certificate and passports (for applicant/spouse).

After submitting the said documents, the Civil Registry and Migration Department will proceed to collect the biometric data for applicant and spouse.

For the issuance of the Immigration Permit the collection of biometric data (fingerprints and photograph) and signature is mandatory. Thus, applicant and spouse are required to appear in person at the Civil Registry and Migration Department.

Moreover, they need to present an original travel document (passports).

In five working days, they will receive the immigration permit (cards). In case that the applicant and spouse cannot stay in Cyprus to collect them, we can send them via DHL. (From our side, we try to get them in 2-3 working days).

With regards to the minor children as mentioned above, the applicant/investor has two options to acquire or not the minor’s children permanent residency card (PRc).

NOTE: If he wishes to acquire the PRc for his minor children, then, the minor children above 6 years old, are required to appear in person at the Civil Registry and Migration Department in order to collect their biometric data and obtain PRc.

Upon receiving the immigration permit (cards) in approximately 3 months the Ministry of Interior will approve the applications for naturalization by providing an approval letter. (From our side, we ALWAYS attempt on getting the approval letter before the 3-month period).

However, the applicant and his spouse will be able to issue a Cyprus (European) passport after the six months, from the day of acquiring the immigration permit card.

The timeline of six months cannot be avoided.

The applicant and the spouse must be a holder of a card for immigration permit for at least six months. Upon the six-month period, the applicant and his spouse may either visit our Cyprus Embassy (if it’s available) to collect their CY passports and sign before, through an officer, at the CY Embassy, the naturalization certificate.

The ID’s can be send via DHL or otherwise, the applicants must visit Cyprus to collect their CY passports and ID’s; applicants should also sign at the Cyprus Court the naturalization certificates.

3. Payment Breakdown per Citizenship application

Governmental Fees payable upon application for Naturalisation and prior to receiving the Cyprus Passports from the Immigration Department: