Cyprus, a Mediterranean island country, is distinct because it shares borders with African, European, and Asian nations. Its neighboring countries include Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, and Syria. The country enjoys a lovely Mediterranean climate with long summers. It has well-connected roads, a well-established public health system – having a global rank of 9 in terms of quality of life – and pervading safety and security, free from large-scale crimes and terrorism. So living in Cyprus is very varied and pleasant.
In recent years, the Government of Cyprus has undertaken several measures to improve its economy. Cities like Limassol have emerged as business hubs with thriving real estate, property and other forms of physical infrastructure investments taking place rapidly. Accordingly, there has been an increase in the number of people applying for the citizenship of Cyprus. These applications have come from people who either wish to give up their earlier citizenship and become citizens of Cyprus, or those who wish to take up Cypriot citizenship as their second citizenship. This increase in the number of applications for Cyprus citizenship is also driven by the strength of the Cypriot passport. Being in possession of Cypriot citizenship gives an individual a lot of advantages and privileges that may not be possible with other passports. A Cypriot passport allows its holder to travel to 122 countries across the world without a visa and visa on arrival to 39 other nations. It also allows free access to all the countries that come under the ambit of the Schengen area in Europe, the European Economic Association, and Switzerland. It is incredible that a small country such as Cyprus with a population of just a little more than one million has such a strong passport.
Benefits of Cyprus Citizenship
There are several benefits associated with citizenship planning for Cyprus. These include:
- The entire process is very quick and efficient. The application for citizenship is assessed and a decision is made within six months.
- It is not compulsory to know one of the spoken languages (Greek, Turkish, and English) at the time of making a citizenship application.
- It is not compulsory for an individual applying for the citizenship of Cyprus to give up his/her previous nationality. However, in case the previous country does not permit dual citizenship, then obviously the person has to give up his/her previous citizenship.
- Cyprus has lower taxes and the government regulations are not strict regarding establishing businesses with other countries of the European Union.
- A citizen of Cyprus is permitted to acquire property in any European Union nation.
The costs associated with applying for a Cyprus citizenship include Cyprus citizenship cost or Cyprus passport cost, and the Cyprus citizenship by investment cost.
Cyprus Citizenship By Investment Cost
To further facilitate the growth of the economy and invite more foreign nationals to take up the citizenship of Cyprus, the government of Cyprus started its citizenship by investment scheme from 2011. The scheme is called “Cyprus Naturalization of Investors by Exception”. The conditions of Cyprus citizenship by investment is enshrined in Section 111A (2) of the Civil Registry Laws, 2002-2019. The Cyprus citizenship by investment programme forms an important component of the Cyprus citizenship cost.
The initial Cyprus citizenship requirements are the following:
- The applicant must hold a valid passport of the country where he/she is currently a citizen.
- The applicant must have a clean criminal record, in the sense that he/she must not have any police complaints against him/her or be convicted for a crime.
- The applicant must have a residency permit of Cyprus. He/she ought to be in possession of it for a period of six months until the date when he/she is making the citizenship application.
One of the initial Cyprus citizenship by investment cost is that the applicant must have purchased a house in Cyprus that costs €500,000 along with other associated taxes. The applicant has to be in permanent possession of that house and cannot sell it at any time during his/her citizenship of Cyprus.
The other costs pertaining to Cyprus citizenship by investment cost are related to the minimum amounts of investment that the applicant has to make to qualify for Cyprus citizenship by investment. These include the following:
- Donation costs – The applicant can donate €75,000 or more to the Research and Innovation Foundation and the Cyprus Land Development Corporation. The Research and Innovation Foundation carries out research activity on technological issues, sustainable development, etc. whereas the Cyprus Land Development Corporation is responsible for providing affordable housing.
- Investment costs – The investment requirement of €2 million can be met in any of the following ways:
- Costs associated with development projects – The applicant can make investments in development projects – building residences as well as commercial sites, or in the real- estate business. The amount invested needs to be €2 million or higher.
- Costs related to investing in ongoing businesses – Here, the applicant can choose to either buy, be a part of, or help establish businesses in Cyprus. These investments have to be €2 million or higher.
- Costs related to alternative investments – These costs are related to making an investment in alternative investment funds that are recognized by the government of Cyprus. They can be hedge funds, commodities, assets such as antique coins, wine, art pieces, etc. In this case, the cost amounts to €2 million or more.
- A combined cost of minimum €2 million has to be borne by the applicant if he/she chooses to invest in a combination of all of the above-mentioned schemes.
The Cyprus Citizenship Cost is significant but the benefits accorded to citizens are also plentiful, including a pleasing environment, business opportunities and a second home in a picturesque location.
Cyprus Citizenship for Dependents
The Cyprus citizenship cost or the costs associated with the Cyprus citizenship price are one-time, and the Cyprus Citizenship benefits can be shared with the applicant’s spouse, children, adult dependents and even parents, and the citizenship can be passed down to further descendants.
Cyprus Citizenship For Spouse
Filling of the M 125 form is mandatory for those applicants who are married to a citizen of Cyprus. A prerequisite condition for those applicants making a citizenship application through the M 125 application is that the couple must have been married for three years at the time of making the application. Apart from this, they both must have stayed in Cyprus for a period of two years. The documents that need to be attached with the M 125 application form include the following:
- Birth certificate of the spouse seeking Cypriot citizenship
- Certificate of a clean criminal record of the spouse
- Certificate of marriage
- Copies of the spouse’s passport
- A statement signed in the presence of a district officer stating that they are in a happy and cordial marriage
- Statement from an authority that verifies their residency
- Copy of the bills provided in lieu of the €300 application fee
- Individual stamps costing €8.54 have to be attached with two forms of both the spouses
Cyprus Citizenship Price For Minors Below The Age of 18 Years
The cost of a citizenship application for minors who are below the age of eighteen is €20. Apart from this, the application also has to have attached stamps costing €8.54. The documents required along with these application fees include the following:
- The birth certificate of the minor applicant.
- The marriage certificate of the minor applicant’s parents.
- Passport copies of the parents and the minor.
- Photocopies of the invoice of the € 20 application fee.
Cyprus Citizenship Price For Adult Dependents
There are different kinds of application forms for Cyprus citizenship for adults based on eligibility criteria. These forms are called M 71, M 72, M 123, and M 125. The M 71 form has to be filled by an applicant who was born before the 16th of August, 1960. It is for citizens of the United Kingdom or its former colonies, who would now like to take up the citizenship of Cyprus. The M 72 form is also for people who have a similar date of birth like the ones for M 71. The only difference here is that it is meant for people who are not citizens of the United Kingdom or any of its former colonies. The M 123 form has to be filled by those applicants who were born after 16th August 1960. Another pre-condition with this form is that none of the applicant’s parents should be a citizen of Cyprus.
The Cyprus citizenship price for those applying for it through M 71 and M 72 is €20 along with stamps of €1.71. The Cyprus citizenship price of an M 123 application is €50 apart from the cost of stamps which is €8.54. Finally, for an M 125 application, the price is €300 and two separate sets of stamps have to be purchased in this case, each worth 8.54.
The documents that have to be submitted with an M 71 and M 72 form are as follows:
- The applicant’s birth certificate
- The applicant’s father’s birth certificate
- Copy of the bill provided for the €20 application fee
The documents required with the M 123 application are the following:
- The birth certificate of the applicant
- The certificate of birth of the father of the applicant
- Receipts of the €50 application fee
- Attached stamps amounting to €8.54
Cyprus Citizenship For Parents
In case a Cyprus citizen has parents who are not citizens of Cyprus, they can easily apply for citizenship. There are two ways this can be possible. One is if either of the two parents owns a house in Cyprus which is worth €500,000 along with added taxes, then they qualify for Cypriot citizenship. The other condition is if their child owns property in Cyprus and the parents own a part of it, which is worth a minimum of €500,000, then also they will qualify for the citizenship of Cyprus.
Cyprus Passport Cost
The passport of Cyprus is immensely valuable due to the visa-free travel options that it provides to 122 countries. Apart from this, there are also 39 countries that would provide a visa on arrival to people bearing a Cypriot passport. Currently, the passport of Cyprus is available in a biometric format. The biometric chip comprises of the passport holder’s photograph, fingerprints, and a digital signature. The passport contains the words ‘Republic of Cyprus’ written in Greek, Turkish and English. Given that a passport of a country is also a symbol of its national identity, the Cypriot passport also bears the national identity of the country. Greek mythology states that Cyprus was the birthplace of the Greek goddess of love, called Aphrodite. Hence, every Cypriot passport has an image of the same.
The Cyprus passport cost is €70 for an adult and €45 for a minor. The amount has to be paid through money order and in favor of the account-general of Cyprus. Unfortunately, other methods of payment are not available at the moment. This can be a mild inconvenience for those wishing to acquire a passport of Cyprus.
The application for a Cyprus passport is termed as M 9 and it is available in all the three official languages of Cyprus; Greek, Turkish and English. The other documents that need to be attached with the application form include the following:
- The M 9 form filled by the applicant
- A valid proof that could establish the identity of the applicant
- For citizens of Cyprus who are re-applying for passports, they will have to submit their previous passports
- A police complaint has to be filed in case the previous passports were stolen, and a copy of that police complaint has to be attached with the application
- For married women, a copy of their certificate of marriage is essential
- For those Cyprus citizens who did not possess a passport till now and are applying for it for the first time, they will need to attach a copy of their certificate of birth
It is essential for the applicant to submit their application by being physically present at the concerned office. This requirement is important because, at the time of submitting the passport application, the biometric data of the applicant is collected which is then stored in the passport.
An exception is granted in this regard for passport applications of minors. Their applications can be submitted by the parents can opt out of physically submitting the application, and can send it through the requisite email.
It is important to note here that all passport applications and citizenship applications have to be translated into one of the three official languages of Cyprus, in case they have not been originally produced in those languages. The translation needs to be certified by an official translator.
Apart from this, the documents must also bear the Apostille certificate if the applicant’s current citizenship country is a signatory of the Hague Convention, 1961. According to the agreements made at the Hague Convention, 1961, all the participating nations of the convention agreed to the validity of official documents issued by the governments of those countries. This foreclosed the necessity of double-checking any of the document issued by one signatory country by the authorities of another signatory country.
In case the applicant’s current country of citizenship is not a signatory of the Hague convention he/she has three options:
- He/she must get the documents validated by the foreign ministry of the country and then validated again by the Cypriot embassy in that country.
- It can be validated by the foreign ministry of the country, Cypriot embassy in that country, and then again validated by the foreign ministry of Cyprus.
- In case none of the above two options is feasible, then the documents need to be validated by the foreign affairs ministry of the applicant’s country and then he/she can get them re-validated at the Cypriot embassy in his/her nearest neighboring country.
There are considerable expenses involved in the Cyprus citizenship by investment cost, including the overall Cyprus citizenship price and the Cyprus passport cost, which is why it is important to carefully select the best course of action to proceed with the applications. A careful and concise application process can help you to clear the formalities and secure the Cyprus golden passport, along with all its benefits, in a time-efficient manner.
Let our experts help guide you through the process of selecting among the best citizenship programs for your needs. Register with us now!