The system that has been introduced in 2013 remains in full force and our previous note in this respect applies in full, however, certain changes have been implemented by the council of Ministers and those are:
- The Scheme which was previously known as a Cypriot Citizenship by Investment Program is now to be known as Cypriot Investment Scheme;
- The annual number of the investor applicants is to be limited to 700;
- Supervisory and control committee to be established to manage and control the whole process of obtaining citizenship via investment scheme as well as a set up of the registry of the service providers, which means that only authorized individuals and entities will be able to act and submit applications. The Registry shall be accessible on the webpages of the Ministries of Finance and Interior and Invest Cyprus from 31st July 2018.
Introduction of the Code of Conduct for the providers to be observed otherwise same stand risk of incurring penalties.
- Stringency in due diligence process meaning that new due diligence test will be introduced and the overall process of clearance, it is expected to be increased by six months.
- The ban will be placed on promotion of the Cyprus Investment Scheme and any publication of the identity of the investors will be punishable offence, unlike, for example, in some other European states, where publication is a legal requirement.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
