Recall that at the very beginning of February this year, the Cypriot parliament made a decision to tighten the conditions for obtaining the so-called Golden Visas. It was planned that the changes in the scheme will take effect from January 31, 2020, but later the deadlines were seriously adjusted, and the amendments will enter into force this month, specifically on May 15.
Thus, from May 15, all candidates for a passport of the Island Republic will have to have a Schengen visa for up to 90 days (tourist or business) and go through a special verification procedure. Invest Cyprus (CIPA) will deal with the development of an updated program for issuing citizenship to foreigners, through which all applications of passport seekers will pass through investments.
Of course, such decisions cause a serious stir among those who plan to obtain Cypriot citizenship. This is especially true for those who were in no hurry to resolve this issue. Already in the fourth quarter of last year, when rumors about new decisions by the authorities were circulating, the number of transactions with luxury real estate, the value of which exceeds 1 million euros, increased by 27% compared to the figures of the last quarter of 2017. Almost a third of the transactions, of those that were completed last year, fell precisely in the period from October to December.
Accordingly, immediately after the adoption of the new terms, the activity of applicants intensified even more. Experts already expect the 700 Golden Visa application limit issued for this year to be reached well ahead of the forecast.
However, it should be noted right away that the Cypriot authorities initially announced that those applicants who participate in the Golden Visa program or managed to submit documents before May 15, will go through the procedure for obtaining under the previous legislation. Now there is information that the Ministry of the country will single out certain categories of applicants who will be given a delay of 2 months.
First of all, it is expected that they will include those applicants who have already managed to draw up a real estate purchase agreement for the amount required under the Golden Visa program. Even if they have not yet received the rest of the documents for obtaining Cypriot citizenship. In other words, if you are an applicant for citizenship, and you have a real estate purchase agreement in your hands, completed before May 15, then your application will be considered according to the earlier, more loyal scheme.
