Cyprus citizenship by investment: closed in 2020, repealed in 2025

No. The Ministry of Finance's registry of CIP service providers states plainly that the programme "has been terminated since November 1st, 2020, by the decision of the Council of Ministers dated October 13, 2020" and that no new naturalisation application can be submitted under it^[3]. Until December 2025 the enabling clause, section 111A(2) of the Civil Registry Law 141(I)/2002, technically remained in force, which is why the Commission kept its infringement case open for more than five years^[5][10].

Law 224(I)/2025 closed that gap. It deletes subsection (2) of section 111A, removes the words on "naturalisation of foreign entrepreneurs and investors and/or their family members" from the regulation-making power, and removes the €2,000 investor application fee from the First Schedule of the law^[2]. The CIP regulations survive only for applications submitted by 30 October 2020 and for court-ordered re-examinations of those old files^[2]. The public-interest (honorary) naturalisation power in section 111A(1) is kept in the published text^[2], although press reports of the parliamentary vote described the cabinet's honorary power as abolished as well^[11]. In either case, honorary naturalisation was never a purchasable product.

Any website that still sells a "Cyprus passport programme" with a fixed price is describing something that no longer exists in law. The only investment that still leads towards a Cypriot passport is the permanent residence permit under Regulation 6(2), and residence alone is not enough; you have to live in Cyprus^[1][4].

The programme was large. Figures differ by source and cut-off date. The government-appointed inquiry led by former Supreme Court president Myron Nicolatos covered naturalisations up to August 2020 and counted 6,779 passports. It found that more than half were granted unlawfully, a share reported as 52–53%^[9][10][22]. The Interior Ministry's later total, which runs to the scheme's closure, is 7,329 people: 3,522 investors and their family members^[11][23]. One press report gave the family figure as 4,807, but that does not add up to the total and appears to be a typo for 3,807. Most investors put in around €2 million, mainly in property^[9][14].

The scandal broke in two waves in 2020. First, leaked files, published by Al Jazeera as "The Cyprus Papers", showed passports granted to people facing criminal charges or wanted by Interpol. Then, on 12 October 2020, undercover footage showed the then House president, Demetris Syllouris, and MP Christakis Giovanis offering support to a fictitious applicant with a criminal record^[8]. The government announced the end of the programme the next day^[8]. The Nicolatos inquiry's final report of June 2021 pointed to a "complete lack" of a database to vet applicants, and faulted the Finance Ministry for approving applications that did not meet all the criteria because the investment was large^[22].

On 20 October 2020 the Commission opened infringement procedures against Cyprus and Malta. It argued that granting EU citizenship for a predetermined investment, without a genuine link to the country, breaches the duty of sincere cooperation (Article 4(3) TEU) and undermines EU citizenship (Article 20 TFEU)^[5]. The Court of Justice accepted that reasoning against Malta in April 2025^[6]; Malta's own closure is covered on our Malta passport-by-investment closure page.

The criminal fallout has been limited. On 17 February 2026 a Nicosia criminal court acquitted Syllouris and Giovanis, finding that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient because key witnesses had not been summoned; OCCRP reported this was the third first-instance case linked to the scheme^[13].

Pending applicants. Applications filed by 30 October 2020 could still be decided under the old rules, and Law 224(I)/2025 keeps the old regulations alive for those files and for re-examinations ordered by a court^[2]. Nothing filed after that date has any legal basis.

Existing citizens. Most CIP passports remain valid, but Cyprus has been revoking citizenship where the inquiry or later checks found problems: criminal charges or convictions, appearance on international wanted lists, failure of the good-character test, or investors who never completed or later sold the qualifying property. By September 2025 the cabinet had decided to revoke 332 golden passports (95 investors and 237 family members)^[12]. Interior Ministry figures from November 2025 put the total at 373 approved deprivations, 116 of them fully completed, out of 7,329 people naturalised under the scheme^[23]. In January 2026 the Administrative Court of Appeal referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court the question of whether former holders can challenge a refusal or revocation in court^[23].

Law 224(I)/2025 also tightened the deprivation procedure. It adds the deleted investor clause to the grounds handled under section 113, sets a 60-day deadline for the independent committee that reviews deprivation cases, and requires the Minister to publish the name of each person deprived of citizenship in the Official Gazette^[2]. If you hold a CIP passport, keep your investment documents, keep the property if you were required to hold it, and take legal advice at once if you receive a notice of intended deprivation.

Since 19 December 2023, when the Civil Registry (Amendment) Law of 2023 came into force, an adult applying for naturalisation based on residence must meet all of the following conditions, according to the Ministry of Interior^[1]:

1. Final year in Cyprus: legal and continuous residence for the 12 months immediately before the application. Absences totalling up to 90 days do not break this period.
2. Seven earlier years: in the 10 years before that 12-month period, legal residence adding up to at least 7 years.
3. Good character.
4. Greek at B1 level, shown by a certificate from the Greek Language Centre exams or the University of Cyprus School of Modern Greek. Holders of a Greek-language secondary diploma or degree are exempt.
5. Civics: a score of at least 60% in the Ministry of Education's exam on the basic elements of the contemporary political and social reality of Cyprus.
6. Housing and means: suitable accommodation and stable, regular resources for yourself and your family.
7. Intention to live in Cyprus.

All seven conditions are cumulative^[1]. For an investor, the key point is that a Regulation 6(2) permanent residence permit does not by itself count as residence. The permit stays valid as long as you do not settle elsewhere or stay away for two years^[4], but naturalisation requires that you actually live in Cyprus^[1]. A permit holder who visits once a year will never qualify.

Fast track for highly skilled employees

Section 111B(2) gives a shorter path to people employed in highly skilled roles at companies covered by Council of Ministers Decision 92.018 of 15 October 2021: foreign-interest companies with real Cypriot offices, shipping, high-tech, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and accredited international universities. On top of the final 12 months, the cumulative residence requirement is 4 years with Greek at A2 level, or 3 years with Greek at B1^[1]. Applicants must have worked at least two years for the qualifying company, as a director, specialist or key staff member, or earn at least €2,500 a month gross and hold a degree or equivalent experience. They can pay €5,000 for a decision within eight months^[1]. Note that a Regulation 6(2) investor may not work in Cyprus, except as a director of the company the investment was made in^[4]. An entrepreneur who wants this route therefore usually needs a work-based permit through a foreign-interest company rather than investor residence.

Other routes

Foreign spouses of Cypriot citizens can register after three completed years of marriage or civil partnership. If the couple lives in Cyprus, a Cyprus law firm reports that they must show at least six months' presence a year and at least two years in total over the three years. The application uses form M125 and costs €300^[15]. People with a Cypriot parent or Cypriot origin can register by descent through several forms^[15].

On paper the general route takes eight years: seven years of legal residence within a ten-year window, plus a final twelve months spent in Cyprus with no more than 90 days away^[1]. In practice you should add the time needed to reach B1 Greek and pass the civics exam, then the processing time. The Audit Office examined the Civil Registry and Migration Department's work in 2020–2023 and reported a backlog of 11,891 citizenship cases, some pending for more than 15 years, with naturalisation and marriage cases taking up to about 37 months^[21]. Cyprus law firms describe 2–3 years as a typical wait for an ordinary residence-based file^[15].

A realistic plan for an investor family starting today is therefore: permanent residence approved in about two months^[4], a move to Cyprus, eight years of real residence, then two to three years of processing. That is about 10–11 years from investment to passport, longer than the residence-based route to Greek citizenship through naturalisation, and in line with the ten-year rule that now applies to Portuguese naturalisation. For a ranking of shorter routes, see our guide to residence programmes with the fastest path to a passport.

The investor version of the process, using permanent residence as the base^[1][4]:

The Regulation 6(2) permit covers the investor's spouse and children under 18 for no extra investment. Each spouse can hold a separate permit for a separate fee. Unmarried children aged 18–25 who are full-time students abroad can apply separately if the family shows €10,000 more income per child. Adult children who are not dependent need a further €300,000 investment each^[4]. The permit has unlimited validity; the card is renewed every ten years, and children's cards run until age 18^[4].

Citizenship is personal. Each adult family member must meet the naturalisation conditions in their own right, including the residence period, B1 Greek and the civics exam, and pay their own €500 + €500 fees^[1]. Under the highly skilled route, spouses or partners can apply with or after the main applicant if they meet the residence and language conditions^[1]. A Cypriot law firm notes that naturalised men aged 18–26 may have to serve about six months in the National Guard, enlisting within two years of gaining citizenship; check this with a lawyer if you have sons approaching that age^[15].

There is no separate passport for foreigners. Once naturalised, you are an ordinary citizen of the Republic of Cyprus and of the EU. You get the right to live, work and study in all 27 member states, and the passport counts 175 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations in the Henley Passport Index, about ten fewer than the 185 of Malta, Greece or Portugal^[7].

Two gaps explain the difference. Cyprus is not yet in Schengen: on 1 October 2026 the deputy minister for migration said Cyprus is "technically ready", but the EU Council has not voted on its accession^[19]. And Cyprus is still outside the US Visa Waiver Program. Washington has confirmed that Cyprus meets the technical criteria, but is not admitting new countries while it reviews the scheme, so Cypriots still need a B-1/B-2 visa for the United States^[20]. Neither gap affects the core EU right to live and work in any member state.

Cyprus allows dual and multiple citizenship. Neither the Civil Registry Law 2002 nor the 1960 Treaty of Establishment restricts it, and you do not have to give up your existing nationality when you naturalise^[18]. Whether you keep your original citizenship depends on your home country's law. Some countries, including several in Asia, end citizenship automatically when a national naturalises abroad, so check this before you file. Voluntary renunciation of Cypriot citizenship is possible only for adults who hold another nationality^[18].

Cyprus taxes by residence, not citizenship, so a passport changes nothing on its own. The tax reform in Official Gazette No. 5070 took effect on 1 January 2026^[17]. Its main points for individuals:

• Income tax: 0% up to €22,000, then 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% above €72,000^[17].
• Non-domiciled residents: exempt from Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest for 17 years. After that they can extend for up to two further five-year periods by paying €250,000 per period^[17].
• Domiciled residents: SDC on dividends cut from 17% to 5% for profits from 2026 on, and deemed dividend distribution abolished for 2026 profits onwards^[17].
• Stamp duty: abolished from 1 January 2026^[17].

Cyprus has no inheritance or wealth tax. Note that a naturalised person who was born abroad usually keeps non-domiciled status, because domicile for SDC depends on domicile of origin and long residence, not on the passport. Take advice before relying on this, because the 17-of-20-years test still applies.

What you should look at depends on what you wanted from the Cypriot passport.

If you want EU residence and are willing to relocate

Stay with Cyprus: the Regulation 6(2) permanent residence permit is the direct successor for most former CIP clients, and it leads to citizenship if you live there. In the region, the Greek residence-by-investment programme starts at €250,000 for conversion and listed-building projects and leads to naturalisation after seven years of real residence. Malta's permanent residence programme (MPRP) gives permanent status from about €99,000 in fees plus property or rent. Portugal's investor residence, from a €250,000 cultural donation (€200,000 in low-density areas) or a €500,000 fund, now leads to naturalisation only after ten years. Our comparison of European residence programmes sets them side by side.

If you want a second passport quickly

No EU state sells citizenship any more, as our explainer on whether EU citizenship can still be bought shows. The live programmes that grant citizenship directly are outside the EU: St Kitts and Nevis economic citizenship from a $250,000 contribution, Grenada's programme from $235,000, and Turkish citizenship through a $400,000 property purchase. Note that Caribbean passports face EU visa pressure. Europe's other closed schemes, in Montenegro and Bulgaria, are covered in our overview of closed investor programmes, and the trade-offs between buying a passport and buying residence are set out in citizenship by investment versus residence by investment.

Cyprus still suits families who actually want to live on the island: retirees and investors with foreign income who value an English-speaking legal system, a non-dom regime and permanent residence in about two months. It also suits entrepreneurs who will run a foreign-interest company from Cyprus and can use the highly skilled naturalisation route, and anyone ready to learn Greek and treat citizenship as a ten-year project.

Look elsewhere if you want a passport without moving, a quick plan B, or Schengen and US visa-free travel in the short term. For a passport within a year, the remaining routes are outside the EU. For EU residence with a lighter physical-presence requirement, compare Greece and Malta. And treat with suspicion anyone who still offers a guaranteed Cypriot passport for money.