Cyprus Investment Program
The Cyprus Investment Program (CIP) (Greek: Κυπριακό Επενδυτικό Πρόγραμμα, ΚΕΠ) was an immigrant investor program conceived by the Government of Cyprus in order to attract foreign investors in exchange for Cyprus citizenship. Details of the scheme were made public after a leak of documents, the Cyprus Papers, to Al Jazeera which caused a controversy in Cyprus and led to the end of the program. The program was initiated in 2007. From 2007 to November 1, 2020 just over 7,000 people received Cypriot citizenship. The minimum investment was 2 million euros and citizenship was extended to the family of the investor as well. In 2013, the required minimum investment for citizenship was lowered from 25 million in 2007 to 2,5 million. Applicants did not need to physically stay in Cyprus or pass a langugage test to acquire citizenship. One of the reasons for citizenship by investment is tax evasion and visa free travel. An independent inquiry committee later found that more than half of the passports were wrongly issued. In 22 August 2022 a report by the Audit Office of Cyprus revealed that the Ministry of the Interior did not disclose required information about applicants to the Council of Ministers, and that the improper granting of citizenship had resulted in recorded losses of €200 million in taxes and €25 million in non collection of fees. Furthermore, investment contracts worth €1 billion had been canceled, while contracts worth €3.5 billion had not yet materialized. The influx of foreign investors has created a number of problems for the local communities that are priced out from rentals as well as gentrification. Russians have been the top foreign buyers of Cypriot properties. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cyprus revoked the passports of some Russians that were blacklisted in the EU for sanctions. As of January 2023, 222 holders of so-called "golden passports" had had their citizenship stripped. Five "golden passport" holders have been targeted by US sanctions for arms dealing. External links 

 Report of the Cyprus Investment Program by the Audit Office of Cyprus
 Report of the Committee of Investigation of Exceptionally Citizenships to Foreign Investors and Businessmen (Nikolatou Report)

References 

Business in Cyprus
Nationality in Cyprus