The amendments to the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Scheme

ARQ are pleased announce that they may assist investors who are interested in becoming Cypriot citizens through the citizenship by investment programme.

The Council of Ministers in Cyprus announced the following revisions to their citizenship programme which will take place as of 15th May 2019. The most significant change is that the total investment required will increase from €2,000,000 to €2,150,000.

The changes include:

• A donation of €75,000 for research and development shall be mandatory;
• A donation of €75,000 to the land development organisation to fund affordable housing schemes shall be mandatory;
• Applicants should be in possession of a Schengen visa;
• Applicants who have been previously rejected by another EU country will not be eligible to apply for the CIP;
• The investment should be maintained for 5 years following the date of naturalisation, as opposed to 3 years;
• During the 5-year period the investor will be able to change his investment, provided that a consent will be granted in this regard by the Ministry of Finance;
• A planning permit shall be mandatory for properties under construction;
• If investors chose to invest in re-sale property, the required investment amount is increased from €2,000,000 to €2,500,000;
• Investment into government bonds will no longer be available

Notwithstanding the above amendments, which we feel will enhance the programme’s reputation, the Cypriot citizenship investment scheme remains the fastest citizenship option available in the EU, as the process just takes six months. We urge any interested investors who are looking to apply before the amendments come into force, to start their application as soon as possible, to ensure they beat the May investment deadline.