Cyprus Parliament voted to tighten the issuance of "golden passports"

Cyprus Parliament voted to tighten the issuance of "golden passports"

From January 31, 2020, investors will find it harder to obtain the “golden passports” of Cyprus. The law tightening the provision of such documents was supported by 29 deputies, 17 parliamentarians opposed

Ayia Napa, Cyprus (Photo: Petros Karadjias / AP)

Cyprus Parliament voted for the bill, toughening the issuance of so-called gold passports to investors, the Cyprus Times reported. So called passports and residence permits, issued in exchange for investment in the economy.

29 deputies voted for the law, against - 17. It will come into force on January 31, 2020, until that time, the Cyprus authorities must work out the rules for granting Cypriot citizenship. Voting was preceded by lengthy discussions, during which opponents of the bill indicated that it would impede investment.

According to them, there are sectors of the economy of Cyprus, which require additional investments, such as agriculture and research, but the authorities are limited only to the construction of luxury housing in the country, for example, towers in the city of Limassol. Supporters of the law indicated that it was intended to "protect the integrity of Cyprus."

In the European Union, three countries - Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta - issue golden passports to foreigners. To obtain such a document in Malta, it is necessary to contribute € 650 thousand to the national investment fund and another € 150 thousand to the economy, and it is necessary to purchase or rent real estate. The Bulgarian “gold passport” will cost € 1 million, Cyprus’s - from € 2 million, you also need to buy real estate.

In January, the European Commission prepared a report in which it pointed out the risks of providing "gold passports" that may contribute to money laundering, corruption and tax evasion. The European Commission also pointed out the risks to the security of the European Union, because thanks to such programs, organized criminal groups can get there. The report emphasized that Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria do not provide complete information about the identity of investors who are granted citizenship.

Russians become leaders among foreigners who received Cyprus passport

Russians become leaders among foreigners who received Cyprus passport

In 2017, 5,517 people acquired Cyprus passports, most of them are Russians (more than 1.3 thousand people), followed by the British and Ukrainians. In early 2019, the Cyprus authorities tightened the provision of citizenship to investors

Photo: Yiannis Kourtoglou / Reuters

The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) has published data on the number of foreigners who received European citizenship in 2017 - this is about 825 thousand people. In 2016, this figure was 995 thousand people, in 2017 - 841 thousand

The most numerous group, which was given passports of the EU member countries, were Moroccans - almost 68 thousand people, 83% of them received citizenship of Italy, Spain and France. Albanians follow (almost 59 thousand, 97% of them received passports of Italy and Greece) and Indians (31.6 thousand people, 53% became citizens of Great Britain).

Then come the Turks (almost 30 thousand people, more than 50% received German passports), Romanians (25 thousand, of whom 32% decided to obtain another EU citizenship, in particular Italian), Pakistanis (23.1 thousand, 45% became citizens of Britain), Poles (22 thousand, 63% received another EU citizenship - British and German) and Brazilians (21.6 thousand, 74% of them received passports of Portugal and Italy).

Most of the passports for foreigners were issued in Italy (146.6 thousand), then in Britain (123.1 thousand), Germany (115.4 thousand) and France (114.2 thousand). In 2017, over 5.5 thousand people received Cyprus citizenship, of which 23.8% (1313 people) were Russians, 9.1% (502 people) were British, and 8.7% (479 people) were Ukrainians.


In February 2019, the Cypriot parliament voted for a bill to toughen the issuance of so-called gold passports to investors, which, like a residence permit, can be obtained in exchange for investment in the economy of the republic. It will take effect from January 31, 2020.

In the same month, the Cyprus authorities tightened the conditions of the program for issuing citizenship for investments, now investors need to make an additional contribution of € 150 thousand. Since 2013, 1864 applications have been approved for this program, not counting the applicants' family members, the total investment amounted to € 6.6 billion

CNN linked the increase in the share of Russian pollock in the US market with the policy of Trump

CNN linked the increase in the share of Russian pollock in the US market with the policy of Trump

By 2017, almost half of the fish sticks that were served in American school canteens were made from Russian fish processed in China. Due to the cheapness of pollock from Russia took a share of $ 200 million in the US domestic market

The administration of US President Donald Trump inadvertently provided a price advantage for the Russian pollock, which is sold in America in the form of fish sticks and imitation of crab meat. This is reported by CNN.

Russian pollock is cheaper than fishermen in Alaska catching, which helped him to get a share of $ 200 million in the American domestic market. By 2017, almost half of the fish sticks fed in schools in the United States were made from Russian pollock recycled in China, reports TV channel referring to the data of 14 American fish companies Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers.

American fishermen and fish producers hoped that Trump’s policy on imposing sales duties would help “erase the price advantage of Russian fish,” but the presidential administration instead aggravated their situation, CNN said. The reason was the US trade war with China. The US Trade Representation has excluded the Russian pollock from the list of goods for increasing import duties, while maintaining its price advantage, but Beijing’s response rates of 25% limited US fishermen’s access to the Chinese market.

Sales of American pollock in China almost doubled in 2016–2017, Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers spokesperson Pat Shanahan told CNN. “China’s response has virtually closed the Chinese market for pollock [from the US],” he said.

Earlier in the States, pollock from Russia was sold under the Alaska brand because of the “confusing nomenclature and secret coding system,” notes CNN, this was only changed after Congress in 2015 settled the law. At the same time, in the tariff code used by the US trade mission, the fish are still identified as Alaska Pollock, regardless of its origin.

Russia is the world's largest supplier of pollock, reminds Agro & Food Communications managing partner Ilya Bereznyuk. This species of fish is the main target of fishing in the Far East: according to the Pollock Mining Association association, in 2019 the authorized catch volume in this region is 1.8 million tonnes. This is 0.3%, or 5.2 thousand tons more than was set for 2018. The “sensation” is that the United States purchases Russian pollock Bereznyuk does not see: in his opinion, this is due not so much to politics as to the fact that it is cheaper than similar products from the same Alaska. The price advantages of the Russian pollock are primarily used by American companies that buy pollock directly from Russian fishermen, or through Chinese intermediary companies, emphasizes Bereznyuk. The main part of pollock mined both in Russia and in the United States is traditionally processed into fillets or fish sticks in China, he points out. American companies are trying to find an alternative to Chinese processing in other countries - for example, in Vietnam, but this can not be done quickly, adds Bereznyuk.