Filenews 4 December 2025
The Plenary Session of the Parliament approved legislation amending the Civil Registry Law and the framework of honorary naturalization, abolishing the discretion of the Council of Ministers to grant honorary naturalizations. The meeting was characterized by intense confrontations, with the parties exchanging accusations about the responsibilities attributed to the abolished Cyprus Investment Program (KEP).
The law abolishes the provision that allowed the Council of Ministers to grant Cypriot citizenship to investors, entrepreneurs and members of their families on the basis of the KEP, while it provides for procedures for the review of acts issued under the program. At the same time, it introduces a 60-day deadline for lodging an objection to the Independent Committee for the Examination of Deprivation of Citizenship and an obligation to publish in the Official Journal the persons whose citizenship is revoked.
The changes are necessary to end the infringement procedure initiated by the EU since 2020, in order to eliminate any possibility of reintroducing a naturalisation investment programme.
The regulations of honorary naturalization provide, among other things, for the possibility of granting Cypriot citizenship to the children of Greek fallen in 1974, as well as the honorary naturalization of people of the arts and culture with an exceptional contribution to Cyprus. The competent body for the recommendations is now the Deputy Ministry of Culture.
The President of the Interior Committee, AKEL MP, Aristos Damianou said that "we are shooting ourselves in the foot", noting that the Parliament removes from the state the right to grant citizenship exceptionally for reasons of public interest. He underlined that the amendment is imposed due to coercion by the EU, as the Republic of Cyprus is in danger of being referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. "Today we are celebrating the political commemoration of the golden passport program," he said, adding that the Parliament is called upon to clean up the dirt of the previous government.
He also said that a total of 7,329 persons acquired Cypriot citizenship through the KEP, of which 3,522 were investors — some of whom never came to Cyprus — and 3,807 family members, even in cases with more than one wife. The program, he said, may have partially contributed to the economy, but the damage to the Republic has been "irreparable."
DISY Member of Parliament Nikos Sykas stated that it is absolutely clear what the Parliament is voting for, since, as he said, when a plan has been abolished, it is self-evident that the legislative framework that governs it must also change. He argued that the KEP ended up being abolished due to actions and bad practices of the AKEL government", while he called on those who criticize it to answer how helpful the program was in the essential time, despite the fact that some took advantage of it.
Independent Nicosia MP Alexandra Attalidou said the program had "shaky foundations from the beginning" and, as she said, was deliberately designed in a way that allowed it to be exploited by political figures who got rich. He stressed that some should finally admit this reality, noting that Cyprus lost a large part of its political capital abroad due to the KEP and that it will take "a long time" to regain it.
AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou said that the knife is a useful tool, but it also kills, noting that "the looting that took place with a conflict of interest" cannot be justified and claim that the program helped development. He added that for the Republic of Cyprus there is a great cost abroad. He also said that in Cyprus "the protagonists of the scandals go unpunished", adding that a "mea culpa" must finally be heard for the country to turn the page. He stressed that the rule of law was attacked, left unprotected and irreparably exposed.
The individual socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou said that every state has a sovereign right to honor and naturalize foreign citizens and expressed regret that the Republic of Cyprus is now deprived of this possibility. He stressed that it was not the law's fault, but the KEP itself and its regulations, as well as the "skeleton law" that gave too wide powers to the executive and civil servants, allowing excesses. He also pointed out that the Europeans who are forcing the abolition of the law "do not see the scandals of the Commission", while he said that the law worked perfectly and that if the account was lost during the Anastasiades period, the law is not to blame.
DISY MP Onoufrios Koulla asked for there to be no generalizations. He reminded that the KEP was implemented in a period of economic crisis and high unemployment, and "many of our fellow citizens found work", from developers to lawyers and accountants from all parties. He acknowledged that there were mistakes, illegalities and incomplete controls, but stressed that investigations are underway, while out of the 7,500 applicants, about 100 cases were identified that should be deprived of citizenship. He also countered that, despite what is said about damage in the name of Cyprus, "today we suffer from excessive investment".
Independent Limassol MP Andreas Themistocleous stated that "we are not a serious state if we cannot register any foreign citizen", arguing that the abolition of the right to naturalization cripples the sovereignty of the state. He said that they knew who was being naturalized at the time the program was taking place and that those who had "their nest dirty" paid larger amounts, with the result that their cases were promoted faster by accountants and lawyers.
In his second speech, Mr. Stefanou brought back the issue of conflict of interest, saying that it is self-evident that it constitutes a conflict of interest when the President of the Republic or Ministers who maintain law firms handle or approve applications for naturalization. He called for the abandonment of the logic that, as he said, was expressed by Mr. Koullas, that if we want to cover up illegalities we must find an "alibi".
In response, Mr. Koulla argued that Cyprus has a much better name abroad than AKEL claims and accused the party of seeking to enact legislation that will limit investment. He stressed the need to respect the decisions of the judiciary "not at will and as AKEL likes".
CNA
