How Can Russian Citizens Get a Cyprus Passport?

Cyprus citizenship is attractive for many Russians. The Republic is a member-state of the European Union, so when you get a local passport, you get the appropriate rights and freedoms to live, work, and travel freely across 156 countries. Cyprus also attracts with its flexible tax laws, mild climate, culture similar to Russian, developed education and health care systems. All this makes this country suitable for permanent residence. Another advantage of obtaining local citizenship is that you can keep the residence of another state. That's why obtaining a Cyprus passport is popular among Russian citizens. 

The standard way to obtain citizenship is the so-called naturalization. To get a Cyprus passport, you shall first obtain a residence permit and live in the Republic for at least 10 years. But there is another faster and easier way to obtain citizenship. The authorities of the Republic have developed a special program under which wealthy foreigners can get a Cyprus passport by investment in the amount of EUR 2,000,000 or more. This option of obtaining citizenship has many advantages. 

Investments can be made in one of the following ways:

Russian citizens often combine several methods. For example, it is common practice to purchase commercial real estate and apartments or houses for personal use. 

Let's take a closer look at the algorithm for obtaining citizenship when using the most convenient and reliable way of investment, that is purchasing a house, apartment, or villa. The entire procedure can be divided into several key stages. 

Each of the stages has its own characteristics that need to be taken into account when planning further actions. 

If you decide to get a Cyprus passport by real estate, please contact P.L. Property Gallery Developers & Constructors Ltd. Our company is the biggest developer in the region with 18+ years of successful experience. We offer our clients a variety of commercial and residential real estate, as well as a range of related services. 

It is extremely difficult to purchase a house, villa, or apartment on your own in Cyprus. The language barrier and lack of in-depth knowledge of local legislation are all to blame. Experts from P.L. Property Gallery Developers & Constructors Ltd. will help you avoid these pitfalls. We will select a suitable property in the region of interest (Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos, Ayia Napa, and others), advise on the amount of upcoming taxes, and help you get all the necessary permits and documents. 

Once a suitable property is selected, you can start the process of its registration. The sale contract shall be signed in person or remotely if the required amount is available on the deposited account. The latter means that access to money is only granted with signed permission from a lawyer appointed by the owner of the savings himself. 

To get a Cyprus passport, you will need to provide the following documents.

 

When the documents are prepared, employees of P.L. Property Gallery Developers & Constructors Ltd. will translate them into Greek with apostilization and submit them to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Cyprus. This procedure takes several days, after which the application review stage begins. 

The Cyprus authorities will announce the decision in 4-5 months upon submission. If it is positive, the investor has 90 days to get a certificate of naturalization, register it and get a passport of the Republic. Employees of P.L. Property Gallery Developers & Constructors Ltd. will accompany you at each of these stages and will advise you on any related issues.  

In addition to purchasing real estate with a total value of  EUR 2,000,000, you can invest your savings in shares of local companies or joint-stock investment funds in the amount of EUR 2,500,000. There are also contributions to mandatory funds, the size of which cannot be less than EUR 150,000. 

Another category of expenses is tax fees and commissions for processing documents the amount of which depends on the cost of the purchased property, as well as the number of related services. If you are purchasing your first permanent residence in Cyprus, you can expect significant VAT benefits. 

If you would like to get a Cyprus passport by real estate or other types of investment, it is important to remember about the mandatory state duties. Before applying to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you shall pay EUR 2,000 for each adult program participant (spouse, children under 28 years of age). If you get a favorable decision, you will need to pay another state duty to get a passport. Its amount is EUR 5,000 for each adult program participant.

There are a few reasons why you may face difficulties when applying for citizenship. These include errors in documents and an incomplete set of documents to be submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Cyprus. Citizenship will also be refused if you have a criminal record in other countries, as well as if you have a low level of confirmed income (less than EUR 10,000 per year). 

To be sure that the documents are properly drafted and contain no errors, enlist the support of professionals. Contact experts from P.L. Property Gallery Developers & Constructors Ltd. for detailed advice on how to participate in citizenship-by-investment program to get a Cyprus passport.