Immigration: Cyprus Revokes ‘Golden’ Passports to 26 Investors in a Bid to Join Schengen

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The government of Cyprus has decided to strip of citizenship 26 investors that obtained their EU-Cyprus passports through the Citizenship by Investment program, in e bid to curb risks coming from unvetted foreign investment, after the country announced it has applied for Schengen membership.

The Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides, who announced the news, said nine of these investors are Russian, eight Cambodians, and five Chinese, without giving further information, including their names. The rest of the investors who no longer hold EU passports are from Malaysia, Kenya, and Iran.

According to Petridis, during the processing of some citizenship applications, there were made some ‘mistakes’ which the government was moving to correct now.

“If there were nine investment cases, concerning 26 people, among 4,000 applications, it is logical that some would be problematic when controls weren’t strict. It was a mistake not to have criteria, for instance, for high-risk persons,” he said among others.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides announced on November 5 in front of the House Committee on Finance that the government had applied to become part of the Schengen Area earlier in September.

Minister Christodoulides was then asked by the MP Marinos Sizopoulos on the issue of the Golden Visas granted by the Republic of Cyprus, which permits foreigners who invest a minimum of €2.15 million in the country, to obtain citizenship, and an EU passport at the same time, which grants the holder with the right to move through the whole EU and most other countries located in Europe.

Christodoulides told Sizopoulos that Cyprus has asked the EU to proceed with the first part of the Schengen membership application evaluation so that the country could have access to the EU inside information.

A report of the European Commission presented in January this year, identified the risks coming from Golden Visa and Residency Programs similar to the one Cyprus operates, such as money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption, outlining the steps that must be taken in order to address these concerns.

Later in February, Cyprus approved several changes to the golden visa scheme, in accordance with the EU guidelines, including stricter criteria for applicants, background checks by a specialized foreign firm, and immediate rejection of applicants that have already been rejected from any other EU member.

When announcing the move to strip the 26 investors of their EU passports, Minister Petrides brought up these changes.

“In February 2019, safeguards have been added, for example, that applicants must hold valid Schengen visas and not have been refused citizenship by any other EU country,” he said.

Cyprus, alongside Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia are the only EU but non-Schengen countries. The latter three have completed the five-stage evaluation process and are now waiting for admission.

The island country of Cyprus has been unable to join the Schengen area so far, due to its territorial division, that has followed the events of 1974, when a coup attempt took place in the country.  It is, however, part of the European Union since May 2004.

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