November 24 2019
In 2013, Cyprus started offering an intriguing program for those seeking to obtain a European passport. Invest 2 million euros or more in the country and be accelerated towards citizenship. Although participation is not a guarantee of residence in itself, a number of people have accepted the government’s offer and Cyprus was happy to use its investments to strengthen the financial, real estate and tourism sectors of the island.
Now, however, it appears that the “gold passport” program could be terminated prematurely, should the recent criteria fail to save the initiative. A total of 26 people will be drained of their Cypriot citizenship, consisting of nine Russians, eight Cambodians, five Chinese, two Kenyans, one Iranian and one Malay, most of them linked to nine specific investment projects.