The Cyprus Cabinet of Ministers has approved new criteria for the Cyprus Investment Program, which will come into force on May 15, 2019. According to the Minister of Finance, the Program will become “more efficient and trustworthy”. The program (CIP) has the following changes:

• The amount of investment increases from € 2 million to € 2.5 million, including the purchase of real estate for permanent residence, if at least one of the residential properties was previously acquired under the Cyprus Investment Program;
• Mandatory contribution of € 75,000 to the Research and Innovation Fund;
• Mandatory contribution of € 75,000 to the Cyprus Land Fund Corporation in order to implement the construction of affordable housing;
• The applicant must have a residence permit in Cyprus for at least six months before acquiring Cyprus citizenship;
• The applicant is obliged to preserve the provided investment for at least 5 (five) years from the date of naturalization instead of 3 (three) years;
• In cases where investments are related to the acquisition of real estate and real estate for permanent residence, planning permission, a completion certificate and refusal of bank assistance will be required;
• Applicants whose applications have been rejected by other EU member states with similar programs are not eligible to participate in the Cyprus Investment Program;
• The investor must have a Schengen visa in order to be able to apply for naturalization.