Cyprus’ House of Representatives has approved legislative amendments that formally end the government’s ability to grant ‘Golden Passports’ to investors, closing the final chapter of the controversial Cyprus Investment Programme (CIP). The vote, marked by heated exchanges, also updates regulations on granting honorary citizenship.
The ‘Golden Passports’ scheme was definitively and irrevocably terminated in November 2020, in the wake of an undercover expose aired by the Al Jazeera news network. But the regulations giving the cabinet the authority to grant Cypriot passports stayed in place.
The new law approved yesterday removes that provision and the cabinet can no longer award Cypriot citizenship to investors, entrepreneurs and their families.
It introduces a 60-day deadline for appeals to the Independent Committee for the Examination of Citizenship Deprivation and requires publication in the Official Gazette of individuals stripped of citizenship.
The reforms aim to settle the EU’s infringement procedure launched in 2020 and prevent any revival of a citizenship-by-investment scheme.
Revised honorary naturalisation rules now allow citizenship to be granted to children of Greek soldiers who fell in 1974, as well as to prominent cultural figures who have made exceptional contributions to Cyprus. The Deputy Ministry of Culture becomes the competent recommending authority.
During the debate, Interior Committee Chair Aristos Damianou (AKEL) criticised the reform as Cyprus “shooting itself in the foot”, saying the country is compelled to act under EU pressure to avoid referral to the EU Court of Justice. He noted that 7,329 people obtained citizenship through the CIP, including investors who never visited Cyprus, and argued that the reputational damage was “irreparable”.
DISY MP Nikos Sykas countered that changes are natural once a programme is abolished, blaming CIP failures on “bad practices” under AKEL governance. Independent MP Alexandra Attalidou said the scheme had “rotten foundations” and allowed political profiteering, severely damaging Cyprus’ international image.
AKEL Secretary-General Stefanos Stefanou criticised widespread conflicts of interest, arguing that the scale of abuse cannot be excused by economic benefits. Socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou lamented the loss of the state’s sovereign ability to grant citizenship, saying abuses stemmed from overly broad executive powers.
DISY MP Onoufrios Koullas warned against generalising, noting the Golden Passports scheme supported jobs during a financial crisis, though around 100 applicants now face potential citizenship removal. Independent MP Andreas Themistokleous said abolishing exceptional naturalisation undermines state sovereignty.
The debate closed with further clashes over conflicts of interest and Cyprus’ international image, reflecting deep divisions over the legacy of the Golden Passports era.
In 2021, a report into the scandal led by former Supreme Court judge Myron Nikolatos revealed that more than half of the 3,000 citizenships granted between 2007 and August 2020 under the ‘Golden Passports’ scheme were unlawful.
