Cyprus has submitted legislation to permanently abolish its controversial investor citizenship programme following pressure from the European Commission to end an infringement procedure pending since 2020.
The government’s draft bill removes all provisions that could allow the reinstatement of the Cyprus Investment Programme (CIP), which permitted citizenship grants to investors.
New law creates process for citizenship revocation
According to the explanatory memorandum, the changes result from consultations between the Law Office and the Commission and have received the Commission’s approval.
The legislation establishes a new process for revoking Cypriot citizenship from foreigners who acquired it through the programme. Affected individuals will have 60 days to file objections with the Independent Committee for Examination of Citizenship Revocation.
The Interior Minister will be required to publish relevant notifications in the Republic’s Official Gazette to inform public and private authorities and ensure transparency. This provision has been approved by the Data Protection Commissioner.
Cabinet loses power to grant nationality to investors
The bill also includes a special provision for cases where naturalisation applications are being reconsidered following court decisions. These provisions will apply only to applications submitted until October 30, 2020.
The Cabinet’s legislative authority to grant citizenship to investors has been permanently deleted.
The Interior Minister has been authorised to submit the bill “The Population Archive (Amendment) (No. 2) Law of 2025,” to Parliament.
The current government is thus undertaking the institutional termination of a programme that formally ended in 2020 but remained pending in terms of European compliance.
