The new amendments introduced into the Cyprus Citizenship Programme, as voted on the 31st of July of 2020, regard the obligations of the service providers of the Programme as well as the deprivation of the citizenship by exception. Specifically, the revised legislation includes the following introductions:
I) Honorary Naturalization:
The Law presents a new condition category into the Programme founded on the public interest, which includes the following categories of persons:
a) Persons having rendered high quality services to Cyprus, regarding transnational and diplomatic affairs, upon recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
b) Scientists and/or academics having participated in long-term scientific projects or researches in the Republic, upon recommendation of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts;
c) Individuals working in the sector of arts and culture, who have rendered optimal services to the Republic, upon recommendation of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and youth;
d) Athletes who have been members of the national sports teams of Cyprus, upon recommendation of the Cyprus Sports Organization;
e) High level Clergy members of churches of the religious groups of the Republic, upon recommendation of the representatives of the religious groups before the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus.
II) Cyprus Investment Programme:
A) Financial Criteria:
While the financial criteria remains intact, the newly amended legislation strikes the fact that the investor is not allowed to initiate a land development enterprise for the direction of his own investment. Furthermore, in case of investment into companies or organizations, the investor must prove the employment of at least 9 Cypriot or EU citizens in those enterprises.
In case of an investment into alternative investment funds (AIF) or Registered Alternative Investment Funds (RAIF) in the Republic of Cyprus, licensed, supervised and registered by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC), the aforementioned AIFs and/or RAIFS may invest into primary market stock-market values of the Cyprus Stock Exchange a maximum monetary amount of 200.000 Euros.
All funds related to the investments for the acquisition of the Cypriot citizenship must be transferred from a foreign bank account of the investor or of a company where the investor holds all of the shares, directly to a Cypriot credit institution or payment institution which is licensed and supervised by the Central Bank of Cyprus.
B) Permanent Residence:
All of the investment options require the possession of a permanent residence in Cyprus, purchased for at least 500.000 Euros plus V.A.T. In case of an investment into immovable property, a complementary residence of the aforementioned value is not required. However, in case the investment has been made into immovable property already in use for the acquisition of the Cypriot citizenship through the Cyprus Investment Programme, by way of resale, the total amount of investment required shall elevate to 2.500.000 Euros instead of 2.000.000 Euros.
C) Donations:
The newly adopted amendments have increased the monetary amount of the donations raising them up to 200.000 Euros which must be donated in the following way:
i) A minimum amount of 100.000 Euros must be donated to the Research and Innovation Foundation, following the approval of the application by the Council of Ministers and prior to the delivery of the naturalization certificate; or
ii) A minimum amount of 100.000 Euros must be donated to the industry and Technology Service for the iEntrepreneurship and Innovation, following the approval of the application by the Council of Ministers and prior to the delivery of the naturalization certificate; or
iii) A minimum amount of 100.000 Euros to the Fund for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving, following the approval of the application by the Council of Minister and prior to the delivery of the naturalization certificate; or
iv) A minimum amount of 100.000 Euros to the National Solidarity Fund established under the provisions of the Law on the Establishment of a National Solidarity Fund, following the approval of the application by the Council of Ministers and prior to the delivery of a naturalization certificate.
In the event that the investor invests a minimum amount of 400.000 Euros into shares of companies covered in the aforementioned points, he is exempted from the donation to those organizations.
In addition to the aforementioned choices of donation, the investor must donate a minimum amount of 100.000 Euros to the Cyprus Land Development Corporation for affordable housing schemes development and for the realization of other housing measures and schemes. In case the investor donates more than 100.000 Euros, the excessive amount may be used for supplementing the total investment amount.
D) The applicants’ criteria: The majority of the applicants’ criteria of eligibility for participation in the Cyprus Investment Programme remain intact, however the amendments have been focused on the following points:
i) The investor must have a clean criminal record from his usual country of residence, issued at least 6 months prior to the date of submission of the application;
ii) The investor and his family members must not recognize under any circumstances the illegal administration of the occupied zones which are not under the control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Furthermore, they cannot hold any office related to those areas nor hold or have illegally entered into or caused damage to any properties situated in such areas, as those are owned by another legal owner;
iii) The investor and his family members must not be included in the following categories of individuals:
a) persons whose property has been confiscated in the EU
b) politically exposed individuals pursuant the interpretation of section 2 of the Law on the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, who hold a state office on the application date or have done so within a 12-month period prior the date of application.
The Law accentuates the definition of PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) by explicitly undertaking the prominent public function as follows:
– heads of State, heads of government, ministers and deputy or assistant ministers;
– members of parliament or of similar legislative bodies;
– members of the governing bodies of political parties;
– members of supreme courts, of constitutional courts or other high-level judicial bodies, whose decisions are not subject to further appeal, except in exceptional cases;
– members of courts of auditors or of the boards of central banks;
– ambassadors, persons in charge of affaires and high-ranking officers of the armed
forces;
– members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of State-owned enterprises;
– directors, deputy directors and members of the board or equivalent function of an international organization;
-mayors
c) persons who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses punishable by imprisonments of 5 years or more or of other serous offenses or of dishonorable offenses or an offense involving moral indecency. The aforementioned offenses must also be punishable with imprisonment offenses according to Cypriot Law.
d) persons under criminal investigation in the Republic of Cyprus or any other country, on the foundation of a serious criminal offenses corresponding to a 5 year imprisonment sentence or more or for any other serious offense or a dishonorable offense or an offense involving moral indecency.
E) Family Members: With regards to the definition of family members, the Law accentuates on the following terms:
i) Minor child: the legally unmarried child of the spouses, cohabitants, belonging to any one of them, who has not completed the 18th year of age. The term includes an ancestor, an offspring recognized out of wedlock and a legally adopted child.
ii) Family members is a broader term which is interpreted under the Law in the following way:
a) The alien’s spouse or partner;
b) The minor children of an alien who have not completed the 18th year of age;
c) The alien’s parents and/or parents in law, or parents of the partner;
d) The financially dependent adult child of the alien. The Law further specifies that the term “partner” is interpreted according to the provisions of the Civil Partnership Law of the Republic of Cyprus, while the term “financially dependent adult child” is interpreted as follows:
– an unmarried legal child of the spouses belonging to any one of them, having completed the 18th year of age but not the 28th year of age, provided that the child attends a higher education institution for the acquisition of a diploma, undergraduate or postgraduate degree, having the studies as their main activity. The term includes an ancestor, a child recognized out of a wedlock and a legally adopted child.
– a person with a disability who is incapable of working. The term “spouse” refers to the legal husband or wife as a result of a marriage, recognized by the State.
The provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 111A of the Law explicitly state that the family members of the applicant may also submit for naturalization if they meet the conditions stated by the legislation, simultaneously with the investors’ submission or at a later stage. The parents of the applicant or the parents of the spouse or partners must also possess a private residence in Cyprus, of a value of a minimum of 500.000 Euros plus VAT. However, the investor and the parents or parents in law may share one residency, provided that the total value of the property shall be equal to at least 1.000.000 Euros plus VAT.
F) Revocation of the Cypriot Citizenship: For reasons of transparency and credibility, the news amendments in the legislation accentuate particularly on the provisions regarding the revocation of the Cypriot citizenship for both the applicant and his family members in the following cases:
a) They have by deeds or words demonstrated a lack of legitimacy or dislike in the Republic of Cyprus;
b) They have accepted in any way the illegal administration in the areas which are not controlled by the Government of the Republic, hold any office related to it or hold or have illegally entered, caused damage or interfered with real estate located in those areas, which belong to another rightful owner;
c) In any war waged by the Republic of Cyprus, they have illegally engaged in a transaction or communicated with the enemy or engaged in an operation or participated in any operation which was knowingly conducted in such a way, as to assist the enemy in the war again the Republic of Cyprus;
d) Within a period of 19 years since the registration or naturalization date, they have been sentenced in the Republic or in any other country to imprisonment for a serious criminal offense punishable by a 5 year imprisonment sentence or more or for any other serious offense or for an offense of dishonor or for an offense involving moral tarnish. In case of conviction in a different country, for this provision to be valid, the offense committed must also constitute an offense punishable with imprisonment in the Republic of Cyprus;
e) Within a period od 10 years from the date of registration or naturalization, they are wanted by EUROPOL or INTERPOL for a serious criminal offense punishable with a 5 year imprisonment or more or for any other serious offense or for an offense of dishonor or for an offense involving moral tarnish. The aforementioned offense must also constitute a serious offense punishable with imprisonment in the Republic of Cyprus in order for the revocation to be valid;
f) Within a timeframe of 10 years from the date of registration or naturalization, they have been subject to sanctions or have been included in a last of ancients, according to the Regulations issued pursuant to Articles 111A and 117;
g) Within a period of 10 years from the date of registration or naturalization, they do not continuously comply with the criteria and/or additional conditions specified in the Regulations issued pursuant to Articles 111A and 117.
For the establishment of further transparency and credibility of the Programme, the Government has created an independent Committee for the Examination of the Revocation of the Cypriot Citizenship. The administrative organ consists of one chairman and two members, who provide advice to the Council of Ministers on revocation issues. The role of the chairman is assumed by the representative of the General Attorney of the Republic of Cyprus, while the two appointed members are the General Accountant and the General Director of the Ministry of Justice, or their representatives. The Committee may, at the discretion of its’ members, summon the individual in question to express their position or review the material that is being examined.
The present article is for informational purposes only and does not, under any circumstances, constitute legal advice. For further information on the matter, please contact Arsen Theofanidis LLC and one of our legal advisors shall be glad to assist you.
N. Kalifatidou
Advocate – Legal Consultant
Arsen Theofanidis LLC