The Cyprus Investment Program (CIP) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Κυπριακό Επενδυτικό Πρόγραμμα, ΚΕΠ) was an immigrant investor program conceived by the Government of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

in order to attract foreign investors in exchange for Cyprus citizenship. Details of the scheme were made public after a leak of documents, the

Cyprus Papers The Cyprus Papers was a leak of government documents related to the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP) obtained by Al Jazeera and released in August 2020. The CIP allows non-citizens to apply and obtain a Cypriot passport by investing at least 2 mill ...

, to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

which caused a controversy in Cyprus and led to the end of the program. The program was initiated in 2007. From 2007 to November 1, 2020 just over 7,000 people received Cypriot citizenship. The minimum investment was 2 million euros and citizenship was extended to the family of the investor as well. In 2013, the required minimum investment for citizenship was lowered from 25 million in 2007 to 2,5 million. Applicants did not need to physically stay in Cyprus or pass a langugage test to acquire citizenship. One of the reasons for citizenship by investment is tax evasion and visa free travel. An independent inquiry committee later found that more than half of the passports were wrongly issued. In 22 August 2022 a report by the Audit Office of Cyprus revealed that the Ministry of the Interior did not disclose required information about applicants to the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

, and that the improper granting of citizenship had resulted in recorded losses of €200 million in taxes and €25 million in non collection of fees. Furthermore, investment contracts worth €1 billion had been canceled, while contracts worth €3.5 billion had not yet materialized. The influx of foreign investors has created a number of problems for the local communities that are priced out from rentals as well as

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...

. Russians have been the top foreign buyers of Cypriot properties. After the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, Cyprus revoked the passports of some Russians that were blacklisted in the EU for sanctions. As of January 2023, 222 holders of so-called "golden passports" had had their citizenship stripped. Five "golden passport" holders have been targeted by US sanctions for arms dealing.{{Cite web , title=Five Cyprus Golden Passport Holders Sanctioned for Russian Arms Trading , url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/17298-five-cyprus-golden-passports-holders-sanctioned-for-russian-arms-trading , access-date=2023-04-20 , website=www.occrp.org , language=en-GB

External links

Report of the Cyprus Investment Program by the Audit Office of Cyprus

Report of the Committee of Investigation of Exceptionally Citizenships to Foreign Investors and Businessmen (Nikolatou Report)

References

Business in Cyprus Nationality in Cyprus