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Cyprus Citizenship

Revised Criteria for Cyprus Citizenship by Investment
A number of new regulations and incentives have been introduced by the Council of Ministers of Cyprus in September 2016. The intention was to attract non-EU residents to invest through many options including buying property. There are better economic criteria on the basis of which Cypriot Citizenship/Passport can now be obtained.
A high-ranking senior manager and Directors of companies may apply, provided that he/she receives such a remuneration that generates for the Republic tax revenues of at least €100,000 over a three year period and provided that his tax has already been paid or prepaid.

For the above case, the applicants must have a clean criminal record in their country of origin and country of residence (if different) and not to be a sanctioned person in the EU and
Own residential property in Cyprus of a value of at least €500.000 and
Hold a residence permit in Cyprus

Parents of the Investor
Parents of an investor may also qualify to apply for Cypriot citizenship when they own a residential property in Cyprus of value at least €500.000. In such a case they will not need to make the investment of the €2 million.
Permanent Residence Permit
Many foreign property buyers have been attracted by the island of Cyprus, which is a member state of the EU since 2004. Many non-EU residents have chosen Cyprus during the past year for investing in an overseas property and have also been issued a Permanent Residency or Citizenship, hence gaining access to Europe. There are many reasons leading non-EU residents to choose Cyprus for a holiday home, business investment or even a permanent or retirement home. The main factor is the stable tax system, where some of the other reasons are Cyprus’ exceptional standard for education, the island’s beautiful landscapes that offer a great holiday and retirement destination as well as the getaway that Cyprus offers towards Europe.
The main criteria required to apply for an Immigration Permit in Cyprus are:

Acquisition of property of a minimum of €300.000
Clean criminal record

Citizenship/Passport in Cyprus
The applicant, prior to his/her naturalization as a Cypriot citizen must hold a residence permit in Cyprus. If the applicant does not already hold a residence permit, he/she may apply for an immigration permit on the basis of Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Law, simultaneously with the application for naturalization. From the 1st of November 2016 investors will only be able to apply for the citizenship under the rules of the new scheme.
SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS:
For the evaluation of the applications, the form (M127) as well as the following documents must be submitted.

Clean Criminal Record:

Certificate of Clean Criminal Record from the country of origin and the country of residence (if different)

Residence in the Republic of Cyprus:

Contract of Sale.
Title Deeds or Proof of Registration of the contract with the Lands and Surveys Department.
Proof of payment of the agreed purchase price.
Copy of the wire transfer to a Cypriot commercial banking institution in the name of the seller or the seller’s company.
An evaluation certificate from an independent registered land surveyor, if required by the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Finance.

Criteria regarding the investment (when applicable):

Certificate of Registration of the company/companies by the Registrar of Companies.
Certificate of shareholders by the Registrar of Companies or certificates evidencing that the applicant is the beneficiary owner of the company/companies.
Audited accounts of the company/companies for the last three years preceding the year of the application.
If the applicant is a high-ranking senior manager, the submission of the employment contract and the receipt from the Department of Inland Revenue are additionally required.
If the investment is made by the spouse of the applicant or jointly, a marriage certificate is required.

THE MAIN CRITERIA ARE:

Direct investment of €2.000.000 in real estate, land development and infrastructure projects. ( previously it was 2.5 Million Euros) The applicant must have made an investment of €2.000.000 for the purchase of construction of buildings or for the construction of other land development projects. When a 3-year period has passed, the investor has the right to sell his property and buy another one at a minimum value of €500.000. The following are required:

Contract of sale.
Title Deeds or Proof of Registration of the contract with the Lands and Surveys Department.
Proof of payments of the agreed purchase price.
Copy of the wire transfer to a Cypriot commercial banking institution in the name of the seller or the seller’s company.
An evaluation certificate from an independent registered land surveyor, if required by the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Finance.

Combination of investment of €2.000.000 in financial assets of Cypriot companies or organizations. The following are required:

Contract of sale.
Proof of payment of the agreed purchase price.
Certificate of shareholders by the Registrar of Companies.
Copy of the wire transfer to a Cypriot commercial banking institution in the name of the company or the organization.
Specific investment plan.
Copies of the employment contracts of the Cypriot or EU citizens employed by the company in which the applicant has invested.
Confirmation from the Social Insurance Department as to the insurable income of the Cypriot or EU citizens employed in the company.
Copy of the Social Insurance Contributions for every Cypriot or EU citizen employee.
Registration Certificate (MEU1) or Permanent Registration Certificate of Union Citizen (MEU3) for employees that are European Union citizens.

Business activities for three years in Cyprus that result to a total of €2.000.000 in investments in Alternative Investment Funds. The following are required:

Title/Titles and other relevant documents of the financial assets/units purchased.
Copy of the wire transfer to a Cypriot commercial banking institution in the name of the company or the organization.
Specific investment plan.
Confirmation by the CySec.

Investing an amount of at least €2.000.000 in a combination of the three financial criteria above. In such combination the investor may also invest in government bonds for a maximum amount of €500,000 and provided that he holds the bonds for at least 3 years.

NEW CRITERIA FOR MAJOR COLLECTIVE INVESTMENTS
The Council of Ministers shall have the right on special occasions to reduce the above criteria to:

€2.000.000 for investors who participate in a special collective investment scheme, provided that the total value of the investment is at least €10.000.000

In all of the above cases the applicant should also meet the requirements below:

Acquisition of property of a minimum of €500.000
Clean criminal record

Our office can offer you all necessary services required to obtain Residency or Citizenship in Cyprus, such as:

Acquisition of immovable property in Cyprus
Advising on the application process
Answer any possible questions
Drafting all necessary application forms
Monitoring the status of your application

So we may assist you with the exchange and drafting of contracts for the acquisition of immovable property in Cyprus, to make sure that the title deeds can be obtained and that there are no encumbrances in the property. Besides we can recommend you property valuators to assess the real market value of the property bearing in mind the financial situation at the material time. Furthermore apart from the financial reports for properties, we may lead you to the issuance of the Cyprus passport and Identity cards.
Please feel free to make all relevant enquiries and do not hesitate to ask us any clarification and we will be very willing to assist you for any future steps you may need.