Cabinet has approved a motion to repeal the legislation which allows for Cypriot passports to be granted to foreign investors, thus removing the provisions which allowed for the country’s ‘golden passports’ scheme, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday.

He explained that the section of the existing citizenship law which allows cabinet to “grant Cypriot citizenship to entrepreneurs and investors and their family members on the basis of the Cyprus investment programme, which ended in 2020”, will be repealed.

This legislative amendment will have to be passed by parliament, but once passed, any future citizenship by investment scheme would require a fresh act of parliament to be brought to fruition.

Letymbiotis also announced that the government will introduce a 60-day time limit for people whose citizenship is rescinded to be able to appeal the decision to rescind their citizenship at the independent committee.

Additionally, he said, the government will be required to publish a notice in the government gazette regarding any decision to rescind Cypriot citizenship.

He said the recommendations for the changes “emerged after consultation between the legal service and the European Commission”, and that the government’s aim with the two bills is to “restore the reputation of the Republic of Cyprus at the international level”.

Former president Nicos Anastasiades scrapped the citizenship by investment scheme in 2020, with the European Union having launched legal proceedings over claims the scheme had been used to sell passports to dubious individuals.

The matter was also the subject of a documentary published by Al Jazeera in 2020, which saw both the House president of the day Demetris Syllouris and Akel MP Christakis Giovani resign from their posts.

In the documentary, undercover reporters played the role of agents acting on behalf of a fictional Chinese businessman with a criminal record, aiming to secure him Cypriot citizenship.

Syllouris, Giovanis and others were shown offering to help the man in his quest for citizenship despite his criminal record. They remain on trial.

Meanwhile, former transport minister Marios Demetriades is also on trial over “suspicious” naturalisations carried out under the same scheme.

Letymbiotis on Thursday said the government has thus far rescinded the citizenship of 150 people who were naturalised under the scheme – 41 investors and 109 family members.