Cyprus passport is the most affordable in the EU
Professional Wealth Management has published a rating of states granting citizenship for investment. Cyprus is located in an honorable 7th place among countries around the world and in first place among the countries of the European Union.
The top five states included Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda. Among the EU countries, Cyprus (7th place), Malta (8th place), Bulgaria (10th place) and Austria (11th place) were on the list. Closes the list Jordan.
Cyprus received low scores in the category of the required amount of investment, but was very highly rated in terms of living standards and mobility. Interestingly, the amount of investment more than in Cyprus is required in only one country – in Austria. The publication concludes that Cyprus remains one of the easiest options for those who want to obtain EU citizenship. The list includes 13 states that are implementing a program for providing a passport for financial injections into the economy. They took places in the ranking based on seven criteria of importance to investors. The presence and content of relevant legislative acts, the conditions for providing a passport and the amount of investments, statistics of issued documents, the possibility of moving with new citizenship, and the standard of living in the country are examined.
Cyprus recently introduced stricter criteria for applicants for a Cyprus passport. Now consulting companies will conduct a comprehensive audit of each applicant. Citizenship will be denied to persons associated with political regimes and those under sanctions. A mandatory contribution to the Research and Innovation Fund was introduced, as well as a mandatory contribution to the Cyprus Land Development Organization (COAG) to finance affordable housing. Each of the applicants will be required to have a Schengen visa and a residence permit in the Republic of Cyprus for at least six months prior to the date of application. Those investors who applied for citizenship in other EU countries but were rejected will not be considered by Cyprus either.
