Should you apply for Cypriot citizenship now?
The Russian news agency Kommersant published an article regarding Cypriot passports, which states that “Cyprus has stopped issuing new passports, in particular, to those who applied for them after January 31, 2020”.
We cannot ignore this statement and would like to clarify the situation a little.
The Cyprus Investment Program started in September 2013 when the Cyprus Council of Ministers reorganized the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP) under the Civil Registry Law. Later, the Committee of Supervision and Control for the CIP was established and the Registry of Service Providers was created. On one hand, the reform simplified the procedure for obtaining citizenship, but on the other, tightened state control over the program. However, from the legal point of view, the reform was enshrined not by law, but by a regulatory act, therefore Cyprus continues to feel pressure from the European Union.
In December 2019, after the renewal of the cabinet of ministers, in particular the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, internal changes related to procedures and rules began, which led to delays in waiting time for the issuance of new passports from 9 months to at least 1 year.
At the same time, an initiative appeared to raise to the rank of law the current document regulating the program. The bill has already been submitted for consideration of the Parliament and, according to the experts’ forecast, can be passed in the next 2-3 months.
Today we received an unofficial comment from the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus that there were no orders not to accept documents for citizenship under the investment program. We remind you that the authorities discussed back in November 2019 the idea of suspending the acceptance of new applications but decided not to do so.
Therefore, we recommend that all applicants who planned to apply for an investment program in the near future or are considering participating in such a program do not abandon their plans, but simply refrain from submitting documents until the new law enters into force. In our opinion, the list of main documentation will not change, but it can be significantly expanded or enriched. Therefore, at present it is possible to concentrate on the preparation of main documents.