In an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Cyprus Parliament on 13 October 2020, the Council of Ministers has voted and decided to cancel the Citizenship by Investment Programme. In its official press release, the Republic of Cyprus announced that the proposal for cancellation was based on the long-standing weaknesses but also on the abusive exploitation of the provisions of the programme, with an immediate launch of investigation into possible criminal offenses.
The programme's cancellation comes after an investigation by Al Jazeera which publicly aired on October 12, 2020 exposing Cypriot officials abusing policies and regulations by offering citizenship to businessmen with reported criminal record.
The date of cancellation of the Citizenship by Investment Programme was November 1st, 2020, essentially meaning that all applications submitted could be processed until October 31st 2020.
It is important to note that there has not been any clarification referring to extensions and/or exceptions made for investors and/or applicants that have already provided all the necessary documentation, purchase contract(s) etc., duly stamped and submitted according to the regulations of the Programme. Nevertheless, even if all the aforementioned submissions have been duly made in accordance to the Law and Regulations, there are no guarantees of success, provided that the Republic of Cyprus announced the cancellation of the C.I. Programme and not its suspension, as some media incorrectly reported.
For further information relating to the cancellation of the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Programme please contact Constantinos Pavlou, Advocate/Legal Consultant and Immigration expert.
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