The processing fee of Egyptian citizenship by investment programme is 10,000 USD
Published at: 24/05/2019 03:28 pm
Foreign investors must pay 10,000 USD process fee for the Egyptian citizenship by investment programme, according to the Egypt Today. The legislators enforced the passport scheme in 2018, but the final details of the program started to emerge now.
It is good to know, that Kamal Amer, the head of the Parliament's Defense and National Security Committee denied granting the citizenship to foreign investors until now because of the not complete legal framework.
Meanwhile, the Defense and National Security Committee of the House of Representatives approved on June 10 the new amendments of the related laws (Entry and Residence of Foreigners in Egypt), so the foreign investors can start their processes. The legislators accepted the official citizenship by investment programme's regulations in 2018, and applicants may obtain the citizenship of Egypt in exchange for a deposit of seven million Egyptian pounds (373,000 EUR) in one of the state-owned banks of Egypt.
According to the amendments of law's Article no. 2, the prime minister gained the force to grant the Egyptian citizenship for "any foreigner, who invested in a state-owned or private property. Only those projects may qualify, which follow the Egyptian Investment Law and the deposited amount of investment is in hard (foreign) currency".
First of all, Egypt must create a "citizenship by investment unit" to control the process. The unit will include the representatives of the investment, international cooperation, foreign affairs and interior ministries. Practically, the applicants should only submit their forms, even online and pay the 10,000 USD in foreign currency or Egyptian pound.
The passport of Egypt is perhaps not the most attractive investment product on the market. It allows it's holders to enter visa-free only in 17 countries, but they can pick up entry-visas upon arrival in 41 other nations. However, the short processing time of three months may offer benefits for those who are looking to invest in the African country. In 2015, the net migration rate was -0,62 (migrants per 1000 people) in Egypt.