October 12, 2016 at 22:22A few words about moving to Cyprus
Quite a lot of specialists from the IT industry thought about moving, and we decided to talk about it here on Habré.
We specially publish this article on our personal blog and in the IT-emigration hub in order to avoid criticism from those who are not interested in such content.
If you have repeatedly thought about the prospect of obtaining citizenship in one of the EU countries, the LAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants team recommends to consider a country such as Cyprus as a priority. Recently, obtaining Cypriot citizenship has become much easier, however, subject to investment in the country's economy.
Firstly , the citizenship of Cyprus, like any EU country, gives you and your family members the opportunity to live, study, work, do business in any EU country, as well as visa-free entry to more than 150 countries, access to medical care and European education level.
Secondly , the income tax of Cyprus companies is 12.5%, which is one of the lowest rates among the EU countries (only Bulgaria is lower - 10%).
Thirdly , this jurisdiction is no longer offshore, and at the same time remains popular for tax planning. She is no longer new, onshore status, minimizes all possible problems when opening bank accounts and increases the respectability of your international business.
Cyprus Government revised sizeinvestments made to obtain citizenship and significantly reduced their minimum threshold (previously it was necessary to invest 5,000,000 EUR or 2,500,000 EUR for group investment).
An investment of 2,000,000 EUR without VAT in various objects:
- residential real estate,
- commercial real estate,
- development,
- purchase of a share in a Cyprus company, {by the way, many IT companies are registered in Cyprus}
- registration of a Cyprus company,
- investment funds,
- financial assets of Cyprus companies or organizations,
- government bonds,
- or a combination of the above options;
The purchase of residential real estate for personal use in the amount of more than 500,000 EUR without VAT (when investing in residential real estate is taken into account only in the amount of 500,000 EUR).
Investing is necessary for a period of 3 years, after which all assets, except for residential real estate specified in the previous paragraph, can be sold without loss of citizen status.
A very important requirement is the lack of criminal record of the investor and members of his family, as well as confirmation of the legal source of origin of capital.
- The term for consideration of documents is about 3 months - this is the fastest time for consideration among similar programs in Europe.
- The investor does not need to live in Cyprus for 7 years, as it is required to obtain citizenship by the standard procedure, and also does not require a test for knowledge of the history of Cyprus and the Greek language.
Citizenship can also be obtained by family members of the investor (spouse, financially dependent children under 18 years old, as well as the parents of the investor, provided that they have residential real estate in Cyprus worth from 500,000 EUR).
Under Cyprus law dual citizenship is permitted, i.e. refuse the first passport is not necessary. Guaranteed acquisition of Cypriot citizenship by future generations of investors.
If you are interested in the issue of relocation, then the best option is to apply for permanent residence in Cyprus through the acquisition of real estate.
- The presence of acquired property in Cyprus in the amount of at least 300,000 EUR without VAT (both residential and commercial);
- The presence of a constant annual income of 30,000 EUR with a source of origin outside Cyprus, which is regularly credited to an account with a Cypriot bank;
- A deposit of EUR 30,000 for a period of 3 years in one of the banks in Cyprus.
Permanent residence is executed for an unlimited period and is also available for members of the applicant’s family, but without the right to work in Cyprus. Submission and consideration of the application is carried out within 2 months.
There is, of course, another option for obtaining a work visa, but, as LAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants practice shows , the majority of applicants (95%) are refused due to the state policy on employment in Cyprus: the essential condition when inviting a foreigner to work is the absence of a suitable according to all requirements of a candidate among citizens of Cyprus . Moreover, with a work visa you cannot take your family with you.
Thus, we examined key points regarding options for moving to Cyprus.
If you are interested in other EU countries and what programs they offer for obtaining citizenship, please write to us in the comments and we will gladly publish the basic information as part of the blogLAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants.
For a more detailed consultation, you just need to write to us. Read our articles on Habré, we have a lot of interesting things!
We specially publish this article on our personal blog and in the IT-emigration hub in order to avoid criticism from those who are not interested in such content.
If you have repeatedly thought about the prospect of obtaining citizenship in one of the EU countries, the LAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants team recommends to consider a country such as Cyprus as a priority. Recently, obtaining Cypriot citizenship has become much easier, however, subject to investment in the country's economy.
Why to Cyprus?
Firstly , the citizenship of Cyprus, like any EU country, gives you and your family members the opportunity to live, study, work, do business in any EU country, as well as visa-free entry to more than 150 countries, access to medical care and European education level.
Secondly , the income tax of Cyprus companies is 12.5%, which is one of the lowest rates among the EU countries (only Bulgaria is lower - 10%).
Thirdly , this jurisdiction is no longer offshore, and at the same time remains popular for tax planning. She is no longer new, onshore status, minimizes all possible problems when opening bank accounts and increases the respectability of your international business.
Cyprus Government revised sizeinvestments made to obtain citizenship and significantly reduced their minimum threshold (previously it was necessary to invest 5,000,000 EUR or 2,500,000 EUR for group investment).
What are the new conditions of the investment program?
An investment of 2,000,000 EUR without VAT in various objects:
- residential real estate,
- commercial real estate,
- development,
- purchase of a share in a Cyprus company, {by the way, many IT companies are registered in Cyprus}
- registration of a Cyprus company,
- investment funds,
- financial assets of Cyprus companies or organizations,
- government bonds,
- or a combination of the above options;
The purchase of residential real estate for personal use in the amount of more than 500,000 EUR without VAT (when investing in residential real estate is taken into account only in the amount of 500,000 EUR).
Investing is necessary for a period of 3 years, after which all assets, except for residential real estate specified in the previous paragraph, can be sold without loss of citizen status.
A very important requirement is the lack of criminal record of the investor and members of his family, as well as confirmation of the legal source of origin of capital.
Benefits of this program
- The term for consideration of documents is about 3 months - this is the fastest time for consideration among similar programs in Europe.
- The investor does not need to live in Cyprus for 7 years, as it is required to obtain citizenship by the standard procedure, and also does not require a test for knowledge of the history of Cyprus and the Greek language.
Citizenship can also be obtained by family members of the investor (spouse, financially dependent children under 18 years old, as well as the parents of the investor, provided that they have residential real estate in Cyprus worth from 500,000 EUR).
Under Cyprus law dual citizenship is permitted, i.e. refuse the first passport is not necessary. Guaranteed acquisition of Cypriot citizenship by future generations of investors.
What other programs exist?
If you are interested in the issue of relocation, then the best option is to apply for permanent residence in Cyprus through the acquisition of real estate.
Terms of receipt
- The presence of acquired property in Cyprus in the amount of at least 300,000 EUR without VAT (both residential and commercial);
- The presence of a constant annual income of 30,000 EUR with a source of origin outside Cyprus, which is regularly credited to an account with a Cypriot bank;
- A deposit of EUR 30,000 for a period of 3 years in one of the banks in Cyprus.
Permanent residence is executed for an unlimited period and is also available for members of the applicant’s family, but without the right to work in Cyprus. Submission and consideration of the application is carried out within 2 months.
Is there another option for moving to Cyprus?
There is, of course, another option for obtaining a work visa, but, as LAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants practice shows , the majority of applicants (95%) are refused due to the state policy on employment in Cyprus: the essential condition when inviting a foreigner to work is the absence of a suitable according to all requirements of a candidate among citizens of Cyprus . Moreover, with a work visa you cannot take your family with you.
Thus, we examined key points regarding options for moving to Cyprus.
If you are interested in other EU countries and what programs they offer for obtaining citizenship, please write to us in the comments and we will gladly publish the basic information as part of the blogLAWBOOT Lawyers & Consultants.
For a more detailed consultation, you just need to write to us. Read our articles on Habré, we have a lot of interesting things!
