The Cypriot Government has established a number of incentives to attract foreign direct investment into the country. One of these is a citizenship-by-investment program that grants full Cypriot citizenship to those that invest more than EUR 2 million in real estate and who meet certain other requirements. Successful applicants gain the right to live, work and study in all 28 EU member countries.

In September 2016 , the Government of Cyprus introduced changes to its citizenship-by-investment program. The changes include the reduction of the minimum investment amount to EUR 2 million (from EUR 2,5 million) and the possibility to include the parents of the main applicant provided that an additional EUR 500,000 + VAT will be invested in the purchase of a private residence in Cyprus.

Any non-Cypriot citizen may apply for Cypriot citizenship through Naturalization by Exception if they meet one of the investment criteria presented below. The qualification may either be done personally or through a company/companies in which the applicant acts as a shareholder or even as a high-ranking senior manager.

MAIN BENEFITS

• Automatic EU citizenship with the right to live, work, and study anywhere in the EU
• Visa-free travel to 159 countries and territories, including Canada, Hong Kong, and Switzerland
• The citizenship is granted to the whole family – husband, wife, all financially dependent children up to the age of 28.
• Lifetime citizenship; can be passed onto future generations by descent
• Fast and simple procedure (3 months)
• Dual citizenship is allowed
• Acquisition of citizenship in Cyprus is not reported to other countries
• High standard of living
• Cyprus passport ranked 17th in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index