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Egypt Citizenship by Investment Program Has Received "Around 1,000 Applications", Says CIU · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking to IMI's Ahmad Abbas during Global Citizen Week in Cairo last month, Sharif Sami, deputy head of Egypt's Citizenship by Investment Unit, revealed that the country's Citizenship by Investment program had received around 1,000 applications.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of those applicants, quote, half of them have already paid the$10,000 administration fee, end quote, a prerequisite for application processing.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: About half of those who have already paid the administration fee had already received their Egyptian citizenships, SAMI confirmed.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest applicant group, he said, was Syrians, who constitute about three-quarters of applicants, and that typical processing times were between six and nine months.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: He also said the main target audience for the program so far had been long-term residents who have their own businesses.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Those are people who have been living here for 10, 20, or 30 years already, he remarked.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: While Egypt's CIP offers a variety of investment options, Sammy confirmed that the real estate investment option, particularly residential property, was the most popular, particularly in the wake of the government's decision to lower the investment threshold to$300,000.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to the full interview now.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: What can you tell us about the application approval volume for the program?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you know how many applications did you receive so far?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: How many have you approved?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: So far, uh we received around 1,000 applications.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: Half of them paid already the administration fees of$10,000, which is to examine the papers.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: And half of the people who paid already got nationality, and the rest is in progress to uh obtain their nationality, completing their papers, executing the investment program which they choose at the beginning.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Which nationality group is the biggest applicant group?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: So far, I would say Syrian nationality.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: I have around 75% of the applicants already applied is Syrian nationality.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: What source markets are you focusing on?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: What is your target audience?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: Currently, we are targeting the people who live in Egypt.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: Because those are already living here since 20 years or 30 years or 10 years, they have their own business.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: So we've opened the door for them to apply for Egyptian nationality.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: But not only the locals, I'm also targeting the foreigners.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I cannot say targeting as such.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: We are open for any nationality to apply, and whoever can implement uh first of all pass the security checkup that yes, he's approved, he's eligible, then we accept them.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: So simple.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And what is the expected processing time for an application?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, for the security checkup, it takes around from three to six months, and then we grant him another six months to execute the program.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: But in total, you may say that he can obtain the nationality if he's ready with his money.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: He can take it uh around from six to nine months.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: He can get his passport.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: And you have several investment options from bank deposits, donations, right?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Company permission and real estate.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Are we right in assuming that the real estate option is the most popular?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Currently, yes, the real estate option is the one preferred with uh the recent people who applied, especially after we decreased the amount, because when we started the program, the amount required was$500,000 and we uh under conditions that he buy from the state itself, but then we facilitate our process and we reduce the amount to$300,000, and he can buy from any developer or any individuals, even so it's much easier.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: That's why they currently preferring the real estate option.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And under the real estate option, is there a specific type of real estate investors prefer?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have any indication to what the most popular real estate uh type is?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: Residential, I would say, and some of them are preferring factory industrial land so they can build the factories or execute uh the uh uh projects.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: And do you have any specific plans to update or change the program in the future?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: Not for the current BNO, not for the current BNO.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: I believe that it's it's going to be stable for a while because we've already made changes in March 2023.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I don't think that we are going to change anything in the near future.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe later, yes, it's it's open.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: We always evaluate the programs and see the appetite of the market and what other countries are doing, then we might change.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: But for now, no.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Christian Henrik Nesheim on IMIDaily.com.
• 5:46
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