Acquire EU passport by Cyprus Property Purchase

Investing in Property and Your Future: Acquiring an EU Passport in Cyprus

More people around the world are recognising the benefits of dual citizenship. They have realised that in the current economic and political climate, acquiring an additional passport brings safety, security and peace of mind to them and their family.

Becoming a citizen of Cyprus offers you and your family the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of having an EU passport. This includes unlimited access and complete freedom of movement throughout all the European countries. This means an unrestricted right to live, work, own and operate a business, travel and study anywhere in the EU. Furthermore, an EU passport provides visa-free travel to over 150 countries, such as Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and more.

Not to mention that Cyprus is an outstanding holiday destination, with excellent healthcare and education systems and as a sovereign European country it has a wealth of cultural heritage to enjoy.

So, how do you become a citizen of Cyprus? Cyprus’s citizenship-by-investment programme provides a straight forward opportunity to become a citizen of Cyprus. This article will tell you more about the scheme.

Benefits of the program

The Cyprus citizenship program is a popular scheme. Since 2013, land development has attracted more than four billion euros of investment in Cyprus. The success of the Cypriot program is likely a result of the advantages offered, together with the simple and transparent procedure.

There are a number of unique benefits of the Cypriot program, which will be set out for you now. Firstly, your whole family can benefit from the program, as it grants citizenship to the applicant, the spouse and all financially dependent children up to the age of 28. Citizenship also is passed on by descent which provides a legacy for future generations of your family.

Secondly, there are clear tax benefits of being a citizen of Cyprus. This is because there is no dividend tax on world-wide income for non-domiciled tax residents; Cyprus does not administer inheritance tax and has the lowest rate of corporate income tax in Europe.

Thirdly, the application process is straight forward and fast - you could have your EU passports in two to three months of making an application! More details about the application process and requirements are set out below. Citizenship is granted after 3 months once the application is approved by the Council of Ministers and without the requirement for any language proficiency test. In comparison, competitive programs award citizenship after a period of time has elapsed, and can take six to eight years.

Fourthly, the program is ‘citizenship through Investment’ not donation. This means that you will be making a relatively low risk investment - if carefully and diligently chosen, there is a high possibility that you will receive a generous return in the future.

Finally, it goes without saying that Cyprus offers a wonderful climate and ecology, one of the safest places in the World and an English speaking environment.

What do you need to qualify?

In order to benefit from the program, an applicant must invest in either a single residential property for at least €2 Million. Once you have purchased your residence you can live there yourself or rent it out. You only have to retain the investment for three years, after which you can sell the property. (If you choose to do this you would need to retain a property worth at least €500k.)

What are the steps you need to take?

• Choose a property to invest in of at least 2 million
• Sign the purchase contract
• Complete citizenship documentation
• Approval for Citizenship by Ministry of Interior
• Passports are usually issued 6 months after the submission of application.

Successful applicants must have a clean criminal record and submit a residence permit application simultaneously with the Cyprus citizenship application.

Purchasing residential property in Cyprus can be a lucrative investment that could allow you to reap all the benefits of possessing a European passport.

If you would like to find out more about applying for an eu passport in Cyprus then click here or choose one of the contact links at the top of this page. We'll get straight back to you.