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Citizenship - Cyprus - FAQs

1. Does a Permanent Residency Permit (PRP) help towards obtaining Citizenship?

A holder of a PRP who eventually wishes to be granted Citizenship has an advantage in that he may legally reside in the Republic for five consecutive years prior to filing an application for Citizenship by naturalisation in the traditional way (as opposed to the Citizenship by Investment route). This is the only advantage afforded even though many persons opt to obtain the PRP first, and subsequently proceed with an application for Citizenship by Investment, especially when they intend to reside in the Republic with their families.

2. How long is the examination period for the Citizenship application?

Upon filing of a completed Citizenship application, it usually takes between two to three months before a decision is made by the Ministry of Interior.

3. Is it a requirement that an applicant must live in Cyprus prior to or after Citizenship being granted?

There are no residency prerequisites either prior to filing the Citizenship application or following the granting of Citizenship. This is one of the many benefits of the Cypriot Citizenship by Investment program, when compared to other EU Citizenships programs.

4. When does the successful applicant receive their Cyprus passport?

Once citizenship is granted, the applicant can receive a Cyprus passport on the same day simultaneously with the issuance of the naturalization certificate, if done in person in Cyprus. On that day, the applicant issued a sworn statement that he accepts citizenship and can then obtain the Cypriot passport issued by the Ministry of Interior, on payment of acceleration fees of €120. Alternatively, the applicant may obtain the Cyprus passport any time after the naturalisation certificate is issued, from the Citizens Service Centers at a lower cost of €70, but it could take up to two weeks to have the passport issued in this case. A Cypriot passport will also be issued to the Investor's spouse and dependent children up to the age of 27, provided they are in full-time education.

5. What does "acquisition of businesses or companies based in Cyprus" mean precisely?

This criterion pertains to a €5m/€2.5m (depending on whether the application is submitted as a group or individual) investment in the participation rights or shares of a Cyprus company(ies) that maintains offices and operates in Cyprus, employing a minimum of five Cypriot citizens, for a period of three years.

An eligible company/business can also be one that was acquired by the Investor, up to three years prior to filing his citizenship application.

In all cases, the Investor must demonstrate the correlation with the companies or businesses purchased. This requires the investor to continue to be an owner or be directly involved in the operations of the businesses acquired.

6. In regards to satisfying the financial criterion of investment into real estate, are real estate properties purchased by the applicant in the past eligible?

Any property purchased three years prior to filing the Citizenship application is eligible. Additional properties may be purchased in order to meet the total sum required for this investment criterion, namely €5 million (or €2.5 million in the case of a group application).

7. Are re-sale properties eligible for the real estate investment criterion and/or the private residence requirement?

Investors can purchase resale properties, where it should be noted that VAT is not applicable, for both purposes.

8. How can the Investor maintain Citizenship granted?

To maintain Cyprus Citizenship acquired via the Investment Program, the investor must always honor the conditions on which citizenship was granted. This includes maintaining possession of a residential property in Cyprus of a minimum value of €500,000. The relevant investment (i.e. real estate, government bonds, fixed deposit account etc.) can only be disposed of/liquidated after the expiration of the three year period.

9. Can the residential property be sold or rented out once Citizenship is granted?

Since the Investor is not required to reside in Cyprus, it is possible to rent out their privately owned residence. It is also possible to replace the residential property with another residential property of the same or higher value than €500,000 at any time.

10. Are medical tests required or a health insurance prior to applying for a citizenship?

No medical tests are required prior to applying for Cypriot Citizenship by Investment. Obtaining health insurance is not obligatory for the applicant.

11. Where an applicant for a Cypriot Citizenship by Investment is the holder of a European permanent residency, is it required for the residency to be revoked prior to applying for Citizenship in Cyprus?

No, it is not required for the European permanent residency of any country to be revoked in order to apply for Citizenship in Cyprus.

12. In case an applicant already owns residential premises in Cyprus, will he still be required to purchase an additional permanent residence of at least €500,000 for the purposes of the Citizenship by Investment application?

Provided the existing residential premises owned by the applicant were purchased for a value of at least €500,000, then it will not be required to purchase an additional permanent residence. If however, the acquisition price at the time of the purchase was below €500,000, then the applicant will be required to purchase an additional residential property(ies) to satisfy the €500,000 residential property criterion.

13. Can an unmarried couple simultaneously file a Cyprus Citizenship by Investment application where the investment will be made solely by one of them as the main applicant and the unmarried partner will be considered the spouse?

No, a couple is required to be married before they can simultaneously file a Cyprus Citizenship by Investment application as spouses. It is however possible to approach such scenario in two-steps as follows; one partner to file the citizenship application as the main applicant, and once the couple is married, and subsequent to the main applicant's successful application, the new spouse to file an application. In such cases, no additional investment will be required by the new applicant spouse in order to obtain citizenship.

About Us

Global Immigration Services Group (GIS) is an Immigration Services Provider focusing on Second Citizenship by investment programs & Residency Programs.

We offer a variety of Second Passport options including but not limited to; Caribbean Citizenships such as Saint Kitts & Nevis, Grenada and Dominica. European Second Citizenship by investment programs inclusive of Cyprus and Malta. As well as other Residency Programs such as Portugal and Greece...

Our selection of established and well-respected Developers, excellent Government Relations and Caribbean Contacts makes us the obvious choice for all your Citizen & Residency needs.