For those looking to become citizens of Egypt, it has become way much easier. Egypt’s cabinet has approved five requirements to grant citizenship to foreigners by investment in the country’s economy, per Law №90 of 2019, a law recently approved by the Parliament.
Here Is All You Need To Know
Under the new law, there are five main conditions of eligibility for Egypt ‘s citizenship by investment, each independent of the other. The conditions include:
- Either purchasing state-owned or public juridical person-owned property valued at $500,000 or more; or
- Establishing or partnering in an investment project with $500,000 or more.
- Other cases include depositing $750,000 through direct wire transfer from abroad into a special Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) account and to be retrieved in Egyptian pounds after five years without interest;
- Or depositing $1m through direct wire transfer from abroad in a special CBE account, and to be retrieved in EGP after three years without interest.
- The fifth case is to deposit $250,000 non-refundable, through a direct wire transfer to the CBE.
The cabinet approved the establishment of a special unit to look into citizenship by investment applications.
According to the law, the application for obtaining Egyptian nationality shall be submitted at the unit’s headquarters or through its to-be official website accompanied with the required data and documents after the payment of a $10,000 fee.
The unit shall examine the applications and made its decision within three months from the date of submission, after making the required security investigation, and in the case of initial approval for the request, the foreign individual will be granted the right of temporary residence in Egypt for six months to complete the procedures and documents necessary to obtain the final approval of his application.
The unit shall complete the examination of each application and submit its report to the prime minister for approval, all within three months of the submission date of the required data and documents.
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The Journey Of Egypt’s Citizenship Through Investment
Last year, Egypt’s House of Representatives approved a bill that would grant foreign residents with the Egyptian nationality if they deposit seven million pounds over a period of five years, Egypt Independent reported.
Also in 2018, in an attempt to enhance Egypt’s hard currency and financial state, the Ministry of Interior stated that the government would be able to grant residency to foreigners owning residential properties in Egypt.
This move was deemed to sustain Egypt’s economy and gradually invite foreign investors back to the country since 2011. Egypt’s Minister of Interior, Mahmoud Tawfik, said that these amendments will make it easier for foreigners to obtain residency in the country.
Citizenship by investment is a practice and a choice offered for many seeking a second nationality in the countries where they often travel to or have business in. In Moldova, Dominica, Cambodia, Turkey, Canada, Malta, Cyprus, Montenegro, Bulgaria offer the same option of buying citizenship, and many other nations offer residency.
Other than these conditions, the only other ways foreigners can acquire Egyptian citizenship is either by being born in Egypt, or to Egyptian parents, or, finally, after having resided in Egypt for ten consecutive years.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world