Golden visas set to be discussed by parliament

A parliamentary committee will on Wednesday convene extraordinarily to discuss a bill aiming to tighten up the rules regarding the granting of so-called ‘golden visas’.

The legislative proposal, put forward by opposition Akel, is being fast-tracked with a view to taking it to the House plenum before parliament dissolves ahead of the parliamentary elections this May.

The bill aims to amend the Aliens and Immigration Law so that the fast-track programme for permanent residency for non-EU nationals can continue to be in force only if relevant regulations are issued.

Under Akel’s proposal, the government would be given three months – after enactment of the law – to issue the relevant regulations, otherwise the fast-programme would be terminated.

The permanent residency fast-track programme – the ‘golden visas’ – is available to individuals who purchase new real estate (minimum €300,000 plus VAT), or invest in investment funds or company shares.

This residence permit covers spouses and financially dependent children up to 25 years old. However, investors must visit Cyprus once every two years at a minimum. After seven years of residency, investors can apply for citizenship.

Some of the main requirements include maintaining a clean criminal record and a foreign income of more than €50,000 annually.

Data given to MPs shows that since the programme’s inception in 2013, a total of 7,088 ‘golden visas’ were issued. All of them are still valid.

According to the Migration Department, the programme’s investment criteria have been revised four times since 2013.

The department cautions that giving parliament a say in the criteria risks “constraining” the programme’s “flexibility”.

It therefore recommends that the executive branch of government retain full jurisdiction.

During discussion of the Akel bill at the House interior committee, Akel said the purpose is to tighten checks on such investments by foreign nationals to avoid a repeat of the ‘golden passports’ affair.

Akel also says that increased demand by non-EU nationals drives up house prices.

In March this year, the European Commission officially closed its infringement case against Cyprus regarding the former ‘golden passport’ scheme, which was abolished on November 1, 2020 following findings that all legal concerns regarding citizenship-by-investment were addressed.

The EU previously demanded the immediate termination of such schemes due to severe security, money laundering, and corruption risks.

While the ‘golden passport’ programme is closed, EU monitoring of residence-by-investment (‘golden visa’) schemes continues, with the Commission demanding stringent checks to prevent abuse.