Cyprus cancels "golden visas"?

13.11.2023 The Audit Service of the Republic of Cyprus has published a report on the results of the audit of the investment program for foreigners who bought real estate or shares of Cypriot companies in the amount of at least 300,000 euros. In connection with the identification of many violations and weaknesses, the service recommended that the Ministry of Internal Affairs "seriously consider the possibility of completely canceling the golden visa program."
In March 2022, the European Commission stated that programs for granting residence permits to investors from third countries may pose a security threat, as well as risks of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption both for individual EU states and for the European Union as a whole.
According to the inspectors, the migration authorities of Cyprus "do not conduct regular checks for compliance with the criteria after granting a residence permit." The audit service claims that the Migration Department "does not ensure compliance with the provisions on the cancellation of a residence permit when investors acquire permanent residence in another country or stay outside the Republic for more than two years."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus agreed with the comments of the audit service. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the above violations of the program criteria were previously identified by the Ministry itself, and in the spring of 2023, the criteria for issuing "golden visas" were tightened.

Link to source: https://www.audit.gov.cy/audit/audit.nsf/all/B203C1615F6E7FBAC2258A62003E5BD6?OpenDocument
https://www.pio.gov.cy/%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%B8%CE%AD%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B...