The number of foreign investors who have had their Cypriot citizenship cancelled has reached 304 people

Cyprus is still checking passports issued under the 'Citizenship by Investment' programme, which ended in 2021.

The other day, it was revealed that the government of the island state found that hundreds of them were obtained through fraud, false information and important information being hidden.

So far, the Council of Ministers has issued 304 decrees to cancel the Cypriot citizenship of these people. Of these: 88 of these were cases involving investors, and 216 involved their family members who got passports by getting around the rules. At the same time, 112 people (including 33 investors and 79 relatives) have already completed the procedures for the cancellation of Cypriot citizenship: official decrees have been issued and their passports have been invalidated.

The Cypriot government has said that there are very serious reasons why passports are being taken away. In most cases, it has been shown that people obtained their citizenship by lying. This could be by giving the wrong information, hiding important information, or breaking the rules of the programme. Some investors are involved in criminal cases in their own countries and in other countries too. Some have already been found guilty or are in prison. Many did not meet the programme's basic requirement of having no criminal record and an unblemished track record.

They were working hard to make the legal processes for removing citizenship faster and more effective. These measures are aimed at making people trust the Cypriot legal system again and at protecting the country's reputation around the world. This reputation has been badly damaged by the high-profile revelations. Cyprus is therefore clearly taking steps towards transparency, legality and international responsibility, demonstrating that citizenship cannot be traded like a commodity and that the country's reputation cannot be used as a bargaining chip.

Remember that Cyprus's investment programme has allowed thousands of foreigners to become EU citizens.

The programme was first set up to help the island state's economy recover from a long period of crisis. If you invest a maximum of 2.5 million euros in real estate in Cyprus, you can get a passport for yourself. The programme was especially popular with Russian and Chinese citizens.

However, in 2020 the Cypriot government stopped it because of a video by Al Jazeera that was very critical of the government. A report by the Qatari publication revealed that some people were using Cypriot passports to avoid international sanctions.

The EU put pressure on the island nation's government to investigate. The investigation, which was done in 2021, found that more than half of the 6,779 passports issued between 2007 and 2020 were given to people who did not meet the programme's requirements. Also, managers of foreign and Cypriot companies who were not investors or business owners were granted citizenship.

It is worth noting that:

1. Investors who are no longer citizens of the Republic of Cyprus will not get their registration fees back.
2. They will not be given the money back for the costs of preparing the application package and the fees of lawyers and counsellors.
3. The properties they bought as a condition of becoming citizens will stay in their possession.
4. If you are a foreign investor who does not have Cypriot citizenship, you have the right to challenge the Cypriot government's decision in court.