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PostPosted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 1:17 pm 
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THERE WERE only 15 of them six months ago but the number of foreign millionaires now granted Cypriot citizenship “by exception” has jumped to 26, according to latest statistics.

According to reports, 20 from out of the total are Russians while the others include Ukrainian and Cuban, among others.

Citizenship by exception effectively having enough money to jump the queue, although the authorities insist it’s a bit more complex than that. The practice was approved by the cabinet in 2007.

One requirement is that a person must have at least €17 million deposited in a Cypriot bank with a five-year restriction on withdrawals or that a company has an annual turnover of €85 million.

"Since 2007 the Council of ministers has established financial and other criteria for applications to become Cypriot citizens,” said Lazaros Savvides, the Permanent Secretary for Interior Ministry.

“The special criteria are not just financial and some cases were rejected last year on these other grounds. For example, residents have had to reside here for seven and half years and full uninterrupted residency for the past 12 months. They must be over 30 and also have a clean police record. In any case, the applicant’s background will be thoroughly checked and approved by the Interior Minister,” he added.

The rules are not set in stone, however, and in January this year Minister Neoclos Sylikiotis waived the residential criteria for the owners of the Russian-based Commercial Bank in Cyprus.

He said at the time that they had been living n Cyprus for years and had a house.

They got residency even though they may not have resided in Cyprus for the entire seventh year of their residency on the island.

Savvides explained that citizenship is also open to people with specialist skills, such as athletes or those in the entertainment industry. "The Council granted the Greek singer Dalaras Cypriot citizenship for services to the Republic,” he said.

Period of 5 years, or be main investors in businesses with over €50 million turnover.

"Cyprus is not unique in having this arrangement. It was not the first country to do this and it will not be the last." Savvides added.

Shipping billionaire John Fredriksen, Norway’s richest man, often described as the “modern-day Onassis, gained Cypriot citizenship in 2006 after operating a business on the island for 20 years. His citizenship came before the cabinet decision that approved the practice on a wider basis.


* Wish I was one of them................... :there

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