The appeal of a Chinese holder of a ‘golden passport’, who objected against the cabinet’s decision to revoke his acquired Cypriot citizenship, has been rejected, the administrative court announced on Wednesday.
“The cabinet’s decision was based on the fact that the applicant is wanted internationally by Interpol for committing serious criminal offences”, the court said.
According to a statement by the legal services, the Beijing authorities had informed local police that the man had been involved in a bribery case which carried a prison sentence of a minimum of five years in his country of origin.
The legislation regarding newly-naturalised people requires that no criminal offence can be committed within ten years of the naturalisation, therefore marking the alleged involvement in the bribery a clear offence.
The court examined whether the conditions – namely “manifested illegality and/or irreparable damage” – for the execution of the cabinet’s decision, were fulfilled.
It was determined that “manifested illegality” could only occur in cases where it was obvious and immediately identifiable, without the need to investigate facts or contradictory data.
Furthermore, the applicant’s claim that he would suffer irreparable harm if the decision to revoke his Cypriot citizenship was enforced was not substantiated, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.
The man, who had obtained the citizenship through the Cyprus investment programme, appealed to the court claiming that he had not received the necessary information about the process in time.
As a result, he said, he had been deprived of his right to appeal to the independent commission to overturn the decision.
According to the authorities, the court ruling had been issued on July 16, however it was made public a week later.
In May 2025, the government revealed that a total of 304 individuals had been stripped of their citizenships, following a review of the ‘golden passport’ scheme which had been in place from 2013 to 2020.
Cypriot nationality was granted to all those individuals through investment, with many of them said to have gained citizenship by submitting false declarations or withholding crucial personal details.
The group consists of 88 individuals who are registered as investors and 216 of their family members. To date, formal revocation orders have been issued for 112 people – 33 investors and 79 relatives.
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