Insisting that it is not similar to the Golden Passport Program, Cyprus has launched its Golden Knowledge Programme in order to attract tech talent to the island.
The decision comes following an amendment passed to the Civil Registry Law by the House, thus facilitating the rules for granting Cypriot citizenship to internationals.
The bill was introduced by the Diko MP Nicolas Papadopoulos, who insisted that it was not another citizenship programme.
It has nothing to do with investing [in Cyprus] but rather with knowledge. The aim is to attract qualified specialists in specific fields. Investing in research and innovation means investing in our country’s future, which will have an immense economic benefit.
He emphasised that this is not a golden passports programme but a golden knowledge program.
This is not a golden passports programme, but a golden knowledge programme.
Papadopoulos said that interested persons need a working knowledge of the Greek language, be financially self-sufficient, and have no criminal record.
Besides, family members of these applicants will also be qualified for citizenship, provided that they legally and continuously resided in this country during the 12 months.
The amended law introduces key provisions for the Golden Knowledge Programme:
- Accelerate citizenship for internationals engaged in the research and innovation sector.
- Requirement of proficiency in the Greek language for applicants.
- Financial independence
- Clean criminal record
- Citizenship eligibility also extends to applicants’ family members.
The streamlined processing of these citizenship requests ensures completion for a period of eight months.
The new changes have also been welcomed by Aristos Damianou of Akel while stressing that a large number of tech experts are already residents on the island and their children have an excellent knowledge of Greek.
We’re not talking about the Jho Low phenomenon.
He added that research and innovation companies bring to Cyprus a total of €3.2 billion, noting that nearly 70 per cent of their employees are citizens from Cyprus.
In addition to attracting tech talent to Cyprus, the new amendments also seek to encourage the retention of skilled workers in the country and further contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Cyprus’ Golden Passport Program was abolished by authorities in this country back in 2020, following a report from Al Jazeera called the Cyprus Papers, which revealed that persons involved in irregular acts were also eligible to benefit from this scheme.
A report from the Audit Office also revealed that this program remained rotten until the end, thus leading to the loss of millions in public revenue.
Besides, local media reports noted that a total of 6,779 people benefited from this scheme for a period between 2007 and 2020.
