NEW REGULATIONS IN THE CYPRUS INVESTMENT PROGRAM
The number of wealthy investors and families who are looking for a second passport and citizenship as an open door to secure their future is growing during the current Covid crisis.
A recent article published by CNN earlier this month reported that Cyprus CIP has been one of ''the most popular citizenship programs, with new applications up to 75% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.'' According to the Investment Migration Insider online publication, the Cyprus Investment Program's approved applications have jumped from 55 in 2013 to 579 in 2019, soon approaching the maximum cap of 700 applications.
Last week, on August 18, 2020, the Official Gazette of Cyprus published new regulations for the Program, with the goal of ensuring the continuity and the reputation of the Program. While the minimum real estate investment requirement remains the same (2 Million Euros), these are the new changes:
Simultaneous application for all family members
The investor's family members may now submit their citizenship application simultaneously with the main applicant. With this measure, the timeline to process the files submissions should be considerably shorten for a family.
Welcoming other family members
The Cyprus Investment Program has always been considered to be family-friendly, allowing the spouse, children, parents and grandparents to be part of the application. With the Program's new regulations, the main applicant's parents-in-law can now also be included in the citizenship application, under the condition that they acquire a residence with a value of at least € 500 000, the same condition as for the main applicant's parents.
Increased donation amount
The mandatory contribution to the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation and to the Cyprus Land Development Corporation has been increased by 50,000 Euros, payable only after the approval of the citizenship application.
Along with these new regulations, a special unit has been created to ensure that all applicants comply with the terms of their approval. This will add transparency to the whole process, before, during, and after an application's submission.