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Cyprus has been a favourable second citizenship destination for high net worth individuals for a long time due to its favourable tax regime, high percentage of English speaking population, low crime rate and high standard of healthcare and educational institutions. Cyprus is also set to join the EU schengen zone soon.
Cyprus Citizenship by Investment
Cyprus citizenship programme requires an investment of €2.0 million in real estate and a donation of €75,000 to the Government’s Research and Development fund and €75,000 to the Land Development Organisation. Cyprus offers the quickest, most assured route to citizenship out of all the EU countries.
Cyprus is also very unique in its offering of citizenship within just 6 months of such an investment. This grants a Cypriot passport and citizenship of an EU country, allowing the freedom to work, travel, study and live anywhere within the EU including countries such as Germany & France. It is also possible to reduce the investment to just €500,000 after 5 years. The main attraction for high net worth individuals is the rapid citizenship on offer for qualifying real estate investments. Applicants are also required to have a clear criminal record and there is currently no language requirement, medical test or interview for citizenship applicants.
Cyprus Permanent Residency
The investors can also obtain permanent residency in Cyprus through real estate in investment. The permanent residency programme is also one of the simplest and fastest one available among the EU countries and requires an investment of just €300,000. The residency is granted normally in two months and family members including parents of both the main applicant and spouse plus dependent children up to the age of 25 can be included. Cyprus Residency under this route is valid for life and can be passed down to dependents and spouse.
The permanent residency programme offers ease of travel throughout the European Union and requires just one visit to Cyprus by all family members once every two years. The investment may be made by a company for which the main applicant and spouse are beneficial owners. The investment can be into a maximum of two properties provided they reach the €300,000 permanent residency limit. The properties purchased must be brand new.
How can we assist?
Our global citizenship lawyers at City Legal have immense experience in assisting investors in obtaining second citizenship and have been working with wealth managers, leading banks, Investment management and real estate companies in Cyprus to facilitate this at ease. We are a multi award winning law firm and pride ourselves in being approachable, innovative and always going that extra mile to make sure our clients receive the individual attention they deserve. Our Immigration team maintains a high reputation and is committed to provide clear, transparent and reliable advice to our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
The maximum duration of Tier 2 General visa is upto six years unless an exemption applies. Individuals may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after spending 5 years under this category, if they meet all other requirements.
Any individuals granted with Tier 2 general visa cannot have recourse to public funds and can only work for their sponsor in the job as described on the CoS. Voluntary and supplementary employment are permitted. Individuals with this leave can also study as long as it does not interfere with their main job. Individuals granted with a Tier 2 leave can undertake supplementary employment of no more than 20 hours per week in the same profession and level as their main job or on a profession under the shortage occupation list. This must be outside of their normal working hours.
Tier 2 Cooling off period refers to the 12 months period applicants have to wait before they can apply for a Tier 2 visa again to re-enter the UK. This triggers when an individual was previously sponsored under Tier 2 by any employer in the UK, and they have left the UK and their visa lapsed or expired. There is an automatic refusal failing to adhere to the cooling off period.
The minimum salary requirement is set out by the relevant SOC codes. The common SOC code used is 2444 Clergy and the minimum salary requirements or this SOC code is of national minimum wage requirements.
The new PBS skilled worker visa will not apply to any EU nationals living in the UK by 31 December 2020. EU nationals and their families are eligible to apply under EUSS scheme up until 30 June 2021 and employers may continue to accept Passports and National ID cards as evidence of right to work up until 30 June 2021. All EU nationals who enter the UK to work from January 2021 will need to apply for permission in advance.