Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2018 | Page 48

EUROPE Secure Your Plan B in Europe Protect your family’s future JENNY ELLINAS Founder and Managing Director of Cypriot Realty P utting together a meaningful leg- acy that protects both you & your family’s future is something that many people want to explore. There are a number of investment options available from the stock ex- change or investment schemes, to more adventurous opportunities like flirting with Crypto currencies; and of course the tried and tested investment tool of tangible bricks and mortar. Each invest- ment class has its own benefits, and de- pends on your appetite for risk and how quickly you want to maximize the final payout in terms of your financial plan. To acquire an  EU passport (i.e. be- come a citizen of the EU) is not a short and easy process; and as a South Afri- can passport holder, there are current- ly 3 ways to secure European citizenship and therefore get an EU passport:  1. Marriage to a European citizen;  2. Through  naturalisation  (living in that country every year for a speci- fied time);   3. Through  investment  (personal or business). Property ownership in Cyprus gives you instant access to the EU 46 Cyprus’ ‘Citizenship by Invest- ment’  programme is  the  quick- est  and  most cost-effective  way to get EU passports for the whole fami- ly.   EU citizenship is granted within  6 months  of making application. The programme is limited to 700 approv- als in 2018 and 700 in 2019, then the programme will close! That means that now is the time to seriously consider this opportunity. Programme details • investment of minimum  €2Mil- lion + VAT in a single property or a portfolio of properties; • the property/portfolio can be rented out to earn a Euro-based income;  • the property/portfolio must be kept for a minimum of 3 years after which it can be sold; as long as it is replaced with a property of min €500k. Benefits of the programme • dependent children up to age of 28 qualify (as long as they are full-time students);   • citizenship is passed down by de- scent to future generations; • you have the same rights as any EU citizen: • you can  travel, live, work and study anywhere in the European Eco- nomic Area – including the UK and Switzerland; • visa waiver programme to USA is  imminent  (travel to the USA for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa); • visa-free travel to 169+ countries; • business access to  500Million EU citizens; planning; • no need to ever live in / visit Cy- prus to retain citizenship; • you have an insurance against politi- cal instability; • free movement of capital, services and goods in Europe  – there is no exchange control; • Cyprus allows multiple citizenship. Some of the tax advantages are • no inheritance tax; • highly  favourable corporate tax rate structure; • one of the  most attractive personal tax rate structures; • double taxation treaty with 60 coun- tries. Cypriot Realty is a proudly South African company in operation for nearly 10 years with offices in Sandton, Cape Town and Cyprus; and we can assist you to realise your Plan B. We are recognised and respected as Southern Africa’s authoritative offshore investment specialists, promoting Cy- prus as an ideal destination for acquiring EU citizenship or permanent residency, property investment, immigration or retirement and starting an EU-based business – we globalise our client’s wealth and understand our investor’s needs.   Contact us for a confidential meeting to discuss how we can help you realise your and you family’s Plan B in Eu- rope. Tel: [phone] (South Africa) [phone] (Cyprus) Email: [email protected] • effective tool for family and tax JULY/AUGUST 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JULY/AUGUST 2018 47