The Audit Service urged the interior ministry to “seriously consider the possibility of abolishing the golden visa programme” on Thursday.
They added that if the programme is not abolished, the civil registry and migration department should “strictly apply the relevant legislation on the conditions for granting and maintaining visas … and carry out regular checks to verify compliance with the relevant criteria, proceeding to revoke visas where violations of the criteria are found.”
The recommendations come following the publishing of a report on an investigation into the golden visa scheme, wherein people who invest €300,000 in Cyprus are granted permanent residence in the country. To date, around 5,800 people have been granted permanent residence via the scheme.
The audit service’s investigation into a randomly selected sample of golden visas found that the civil registry and migration department “does not ensure compliance with the provisions for cancellation of residence permits in cases where investors acquire permanent residence in another country or remain outside the Republic for more than two years.”
In addition, they said the department “does not carry out any regular checks to verify compliance with the criteria after the residence permit is granted.”
They also found that the department was issuing residence permits in cases where investors had bought real estate without being issued title deeds, and where only “unofficial proof of payment” had been presented.
Additionally, they found that one person had been granted a residence permit after presenting evidence of an investment made by a relative.
They added, “given the large number and seriousness of the randomly selected sample, we expressed the opinion that one can reasonably conclude there has been sloppiness in the drafting and implementation of the programme in general and the inadequacy of the checks and balances.”
For this reason, they said, “the interior ministry should seriously consider abolishing the programme altogether.”