Cyprus plans to tighten its “golden visa” rules as it prepares for possible entry into the Schengen area. Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides said about 1,500 visas had been issued in exchange for investment over the past two years. Authorities are now reviewing roughly 12,000 passports granted under the programme since 2013 to check whether holders still meet its requirements.
Ioannides said Schengen membership would make Cyprus more attractive. President Nikos Christodoulides said earlier in September that he hoped to secure a political agreement by the end of 2026. Under the island’s previous “golden passport” programme, applicants had to invest €2.5 million in the economy.
The review sits alongside a broader audit of migration records. For 2021–2023, officials found about 290,000 third-country nationals who had legally entered Cyprus but had no recorded departure. Ioannides cautioned that a missing exit record does not necessarily mean someone stayed illegally: people may have left through a crossing outside government control, obtained a residence permit or departed using another passport.
According to the deputy minister, recorded cases of irregular migration fell 92% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2022. New asylum applications declined 93% over that comparison. The figures were cited as authorities review both migration records and the investment-based documents.
A 2023 Der Spiegel report said Cyprus and Malta had revoked the citizenship of 45 Russians: Cyprus withdrew passports from nine investors and 34 family members, while Malta revoked citizenship from two people. Some of those affected were subject to EU sanctions; Russia considers the sanctions illegitimate.