New regulations for the Cyprus citizenship program.

The government has now officially announced the new Regulation K.D.I. 379/2020, for the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP). The CIP Regulations are essentially the same with the following changes:

1. The contribution will be paid after the application is approved and before the certificate of naturalization is issued. This has been the government's policy to this day, but it was not included in the CIP previously.
   
   
2. The amount of donations has been increased and the approved Funds have changed as follows:
   i. Donate €100,000 to the Cyprus Research and Innovation Fund OR Industrial and Technological Services OR Energy Saving and Renewable Energy Fund OR National Solidarity Fund, AND
   ii. Donate 100,000 EUR to the Cyprus Land Development Organization.

3. The first investment criterion is real estate, and they have added the following two options for investors:
   i. Investing in key sectors of the economy or in research and technology, education, healthcare, or renewable energy sources.
   ii. Investing in residential or commercial development projects, tourism development, or other infrastructure projects.

4. Investors are no longer eligible to establish a real estate development company to make investments for citizenship purposes.

5. For investment in companies, they have increased the requirement for EU staff from 5 to 9 people.

6. Payments of investment funds for CIP purposes must be transferred from the principal investor's account or his company's account; payments cannot be made by a spouse. Please note that we are awaiting official clarification on this matter.

7. Two or more investors may purchase a single apartment as their primary residence in Cyprus, provided they are first-degree relatives and at least €500,000 in property value is attributed to each investor.

8. Applicants are only required to provide a criminal record certificate from their country of residence, and this certificate may be valid for up to 6 months.

9. The applicant and family members must not have committed any acts constituting illegality in areas not controlled by the Republic, must not hold any position related to the Government; or unlawfully possess, enter, damage, or interfere with real estate located in areas legally owned by others.

10. Currently, applications from all dependents can be filed simultaneously with (or later) the principal applicant's application. Previously, applications from dependents could only be filed after the principal applicant's naturalization process was complete.

11. The parents of the principal applicant's spouse are now eligible to apply for citizenship, provided they purchase real estate worth €500,000 + VAT. Previously, only the parents of the principal applicant were eligible. However, they could not purchase a single property with the principal investor and the principal applicant's parents; the property of the principal applicant's spouse's parents had to be separate.
    
    
12. The principal applicant and his family members do not fall under any of the following categories:

• (i) Persons who commit crimes of misappropriation of property within the borders of the European Union.
• (ii) Politically involved persons (PEPs), as defined in provision 2 of the Law on Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering: persons holding political positions on the date of application or in twelve (12) months prior to the date of application.
• (iii) Persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense, sentenced to imprisonment for five (5) years or more, or of another serious offense or a reprehensible offense relating to moral depravity. This is understood to mean, in the case of conviction in another country where the prison sentence is imposed; in connection with criminal offenses and in the Republic of Cyprus.
• (iv) Persons under criminal investigation in Cyprus or in another country in connection with a serious criminal offense, with a prison sentence of five (5) years or more, or for another serious offense or a reprehensible or morally depraved conduct;
• (v) Persons associated with any individual, legal entity, organization or agency against which restrictive measures have been applied and are in effect by the European Union, such as shareholders or senior executives of companies on the sanctions list;
• (vi) persons who were associated with but are no longer in contact with any individual, legal entity, entity or agency to which the restrictive measures were applied and took effect, such as shareholders or senior executives of the sanctioned companies on the list, who were associated with such companies at the time the sanctions were applied;
• (vii) persons to whom the European Union or the United Nations has applied sanctions that are in effect or in effect for up to twelve (12) months prior to filing the application;
• (viii) persons associated with any individual, legal entity, organization or agency which has been sanctioned by the European Union or the United Nations in effect for a period up to twelve (12) months prior to filing the application;
• (ix) persons who were involved but no longer in contact with any physical or legal entity, entity or agency to which restrictive measures were applied by the European Union or the United Nations were or were in effect for a period of up to twelve (12) months prior to filing the application, such as shareholders or senior executives of companies on the sanctions list, who were involved with those companies at the time the sanctions were applied.
• (x) persons wanted throughout Europe by EUROPOL or internationally by INTERPOL

Dependent
According to the amended law, the following individuals are considered family members of the principal applicant:

• The applicant's legally unmarried children with their spouse or with either spouse (i.e., from a previous marriage) who are under 18 years of age, and including legally adopted children.
• Parents of the principal applicant and parents of the spouse
• Adult children who are financially dependent on the principal applicant, for example (a) are the principal applicant's unmarried legal children with their spouse or either spouse, aged 18 to under 28, provided that the child is studying at a higher education institution for a master's or graduate degree and whose primary activity is research, and includes the spouse's children from a previous marriage, recognized extramarital children, and legally adopted children, AND (b) are disabled and unable to work.

Q&A

Please see the section Questions & Answers Below is what we believe will help you better understand the implications of PEP.

1. Will PEPs be excluded from the citizenship program under the new CIP regulations?

No, PEPs are generally not excluded from applying for and obtaining Cypriot citizenship; they are simply restricted for a specific period. More precisely, the new Regulations stipulate that a person cannot apply for Cypriot citizenship if he or his family members are considered politically involved under the PEP terminology of the Law on Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering, in 12 months before submitting your application.

This means that if someone stopped doing PEP more than 12 months ago, they can continue investing and apply without any problems. Additionally, even if someone is currently a PEP, once they stop doing PEP and 12 months have passed, they will be able to apply.

2. What is the definition of the term PEP according to the Law on Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering?

A PEP is an individual designated to hold a A public position that is important to Cyprus in another country. This includes these immediate relatives and those referred to as that person's close collaborator

3. What does the term “important public positions” include?

This term is defined in the Law and encompasses all of the following positions:

1. State leaders, Government leaders, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Secretaries
2. Member of parliament or similar legislative body
3. A member of the administrative body of a political party.
4. Members of the Supreme Court, Administrative Court, or other high court whose decisions are not subject to other legal remedies, except in exceptional circumstances.
5. Members of the central bank's audit committee and board of directors;
6. Ambassadors, non-commissioned officers, and senior officers of the armed forces and security forces;
7. Members of the administrative, management, and supervisory bodies of state-owned enterprises;
8. Directors, Deputy Directors, and members of the Board of Directors, or those holding equivalent positions in international organizations;
9. Mayor

The list above not included those who hold mid-level or lower-level positions.

4. Who are considered "relatives" of someone holding an important position?

This term is defined to include the following people:

1. i. PEP's wife
2. PEP's children and their spouse.

iii. PEP's parents

5. Who are considered "close associates" of someone holding an important public position ?

This term includes people who:

1. Known as the ultimate beneficial co-owners of a legal entity/agreement or those connected in any other close business relationship with a person involved in politics.
2. To be the ultimate beneficial owner of a legal entity/legal agreement known to have been formed for the practical benefit of a person with political views.

It is understood that for someone to be eligible to apply, after they have stopped taking PEP for 12 months, they must meet all other conditions of the CIP.