Digest REVERA Cyprus №3
Cypriot “golden” passports to come under scrutiny
The questions to Cypriot citizenships granted to foreigners arose recently. It was told that there were some violations of the rules and regulations of the Citizenship for Investments Scheme, e.g., naturalized persons declared addresses/numbers where there are only empty fields instead of houses/apartments. Minister of Interior Nicos Nouris said that an individual audit will be conducted for each and every one of the 3,517 investors. He further stated that the audit process is expected to be time-consuming.
7000 work permits being issued for highly skilled people relocating to Cyprus
The president of the national investment promotion agency Invest Cyprus Evgenios Evgeniou said that Cyprus’ policy of granting tax incentives to foreign technology companies has been effective, resulting in 7,000 work permits being issued for professionals who chose to relocate their activities to Cyprus. Furthermore, the Invest Cyprus president noted the positive prospects of the economy of the island: “some of these people are already in Cyprus or are in the process of doing so, adding that they live, work, get paid here, consume here, send their children to schools and contribute to the Cypriot economy”.
Interest in digital nomad visas increases in Cyprus
Minister of Interior Nicos Nouris noted that interest in digital nomad visa program has been elevated in 2022, with 127 applications being received and approved to third country nationals. Originally, the plan was for a maximum of 100 digital nomad visas to be approved, however, this number was subsequently increased to 500 visas.
It’s worth noting that the digital nomad visa is applicable for a single year, but holders can extend them for a further two years.
Increase in average gross monthly earnings in Q2 2022
According to provisional data published by Cyprus Statistical Service, the average gross monthly earnings of employees increased by 100 EUR in the second quarter of 2022. In particular, they reached 2,081 EUR, compared to 1,982 EUR in the same period of 2021, resulting in increase of 5%.
Upgrade of Cyprus banks by Moody’s
Moody's rating agency upgraded Hellenic Bank's basic credit ratings (BCA) and adjusted BCA to b1, from b2, by one notch.
Further, Moody’s upgraded the long-term deposit ratings to Ba2 from Ba3 and the basic credit ratings (BCA) to b1 from b2 of the Bank of Cyprus.
The higher BCA reflects the reduced risks to the bank's credit profile, due to the resilience in the Cypriot economy, as well as the continuous improvements in the bank's asset quality.
