Time to rethink the citizenship-byinvestment scheme
Our support to the Cyprus citizenship through investment programme (passports/visas) is there, as is our objection to placing provocative adverts, especially after the EU warnings on the subject.
This scheme has earned Cyprus more than EUR 4.5 bln and as such, it is not something that we want to fool around with, but on the contrary to use this investment programme and to direct interest to locations/areas that have not benefited from this influx of fresh money.
We have previously argued how this could be done by distributing the 700 p.a. passports under a quota system to the various districts. This could benefit Nicosia and the mountain areas which are left behind in this unexpected bonanza. The overdoing it with the passports/visas measure got the previous Minister of the Interior (Socratis Hasikos) to prepare some sort of guideline of things not to do, more detailed due diligence by appointed firms, more details regarding laundering of money etc.
You do remember the Hilton add on the subject (reported in our previous article), as well as the large posters at the airports. Yet those who are the main benefactors of this measure are the same who will destroy it – i.e. the Developers, who if they are not following the guidelines they should be charged with a hefty penalty.
Our objection came about when we read an advert by a Paphos-based developer saying that “earn a good income by selling your customers the Cyprus citizenship .....”. What does this mean? Anyone from a taxi driver, pub waiters, agents and others are invited to enter into this game of all sport?
We will be sending this report to the Minister of Interior (together with the add) so that Cyprus is not taken by surprise. We are suggesting that anyone who uses such ads to receive a hefty penalty not less than EUR 500,000 (bearing in mind the Cyprus-wide economy).
We are not learning dear readers by our past mistakes and warnings, we fear that we must protect ourselves (the Cyprus economy) from those money-hungry developers and others. We are all benefiting from this investment programme (including our Office) but there is a limit on how one should promote it.
Going back to passport numbers and our idea of the quota we suggest that out of the 700 passports the following quota is adopted: Nicosia 100 applicants per annum, Limassol 200, Larnaca 150, Paphos 150 and Famagusta 100.
In addition, for the mountain areas, a special dispensation could be given both regarding the numbers as well as the speed of examination of the applications (e.g. instead of 6 months – 3 months thus getting a head start). Renovation of old buildings/hotels and infrastructure projects within the mountain regions to have a priority on all other applications.
We are aware of that we are suggesting something which does not necessarily reflect market demand, but we doubt that these foreign investors are particularly interested (in their majority) of the location of their property purchase (see empty units) and our suggestion could be re-examined depending on response/results.
The way this “sport” is evolving is very dangerous for all of us and it must be checked before it is too late.