Stakeholders concerned by “shelving” of highly-skilled workers bill

10:25 - 19 April 2023

Current Affairs

Stakeholders have expressed concern over the House Interior Committee’s apparent shelving of DIKO-proposed legislation aiming to simplify citizenship procedures with the ultimate aim of attracting more highly-skilled international professionals to Cyprus.

The bill was submitted by Democratic Party (DIKO) President Nicholas Papadopoulos in November 2022 and proposes simplifying and in some cases suspending parts of the time-consuming bureaucratic procedures currently required for highly-skilled foreign workers to obtain the right to live and work in Cyprus.

While submitted to the Committee some five months ago, the bill has yet to be added to the agenda for discussion, although it should also be noted that the House was closed due to the Presidential elections from mid-December until the beginning of March.

According to an article written by Stakeholders have told InBusinessNews that the bill’s importance and potential value for the local business sector, and by extension the Cyprus economy, there is no more room for delay.

Papadopoulos, meanwhile, has in the past told InBusinessNews that the legislation was proposed after it became apparent that skilled workers were both needed in Cyprus and were interested in coming here. They are, however, often put off by the lengthy and complicated process involved in their getting permission to live and work here and be awarded citizenship. He underlined that citizenship privileges would not be linked to financial investment as in the past, but in the highly-valued professional skills they would be able to bring to Cyprus.

Stakeholders concerned by “shelving” of highly-skilled workers bill

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