Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Officially, Prime Minister Can Grant Egyptian Citizenship Foreigners


Sat 19 Jun 2021 | 04:33 PM
Nawal Sayed

Executive Director of the Egyptian Citizenship Applicants Reception Office Sameh Sedky stated on Saturday that Law No. 140 of 2019 has been issued allowing the Prime Minister to grant the Egyptian citizenship to every foreigner, who purchased a state-owned property or a property owned by other public legal persons.

Thus, foreigners could be granted the Egyptian citizenship by establishing an investment project subject to the provisions of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017, or by depositing a sum of money in foreign currency as direct revenues that go to the State’s public treasury or as an interest-free cash deposit in an account in the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

The Prime Minister’s Decree No. 3099 of 2019 and Decree No. 647 of 2020 were also issued on the formation of a unit in the Cabinet headed by Eng. Randa Al-Minshawi - First Assistant to the Prime Minister - to follow-up and assess citizenship applications, procedures and rules of submitting and deciding on the applications, and the required data and documents.

He also indicated several investment programs, among which a foreign investor can choose to obtain the Egyptian citizenship. The first program is to deposit an amount of USD 250,000 (EGP 3.9 million) as non-refundable direct revenues that go to the State's public treasury. The  second program is to establish an investment project with a minimum of USD 400,000 (EGP 6.25 million), provided that the share of the citizenship applicant in the project’s capital is not less than 40%. The foreign investor can also choose the  third program, where he/she can purchase a state-owned property or a property owned by other public legal persons with a minimum of USD 500,000 (EGP 7.8 million), or  the fourth program, which is to deposit an amount of USD 750,000 (EGP

11.7 million) for five years and it will be refunded in the Egyptian currency without interest. The fifth program is to deposit an amount of USD 1 million (EGP 15.6 million) for 3 years, and it will be refunded in the Egyptian currency without interest. Any of the mentioned amounts must be transferred in foreign currency from abroad as new resources to Egypt.

In this regard, Sedky assured that an office has been equipped to welcome foreigners seeking to obtain the Egyptian Citizenship at the head office of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in order  to: provide services to investors at the highest level of efficiency, speed and professionalism, assist them to choose the real estate property available for sale or establish the investment project according to their preferred program, help them to settle in the Arab Republic of Egypt after obtaining the Egyptian Citizenship and to provide all the consultations they may need.

The procedures begin with the investor filling in an application to obtain the Egyptian Citizenship and submitting photocopies of passports and some other documents in addition to paying a non-refundable fee of ten thousand US dollars (USD 10000) or its

equivalent in foreign currencies to be paid by a bank transfer from abroad to a special account in the CBE. The Unit then assess the application and take a preliminary decision regarding it within maximum three months from the date of its completion, in light of national security considerations and after consulting the concerned security authorities.

In case of the preliminary approval of the Prime Minister, the citizenship applicant is granted a temporary residence in Egypt for a period of six months, in order to complete the documents and submit an official  evidence  on the  purchase of the real estate property, approval on the applicant's investment project and payment of the liabilities required from such applicant, or depositing the money in the CBE.

The Unit completes the assessment of the application and submits its final recommendation to the Prime Minister to issue the final decision, within a maximum period of three months from the date of completing the necessary data and documents.

It  is  possible for the foreigner and his/her  minor  children to obtain  the Egyptian Citizenship within a period ranging from six months to a year, and the applicant may express his/her desire to maintain the confidentiality of his/her application and the relevant decisions.

Applications for citizenship should be submitted to Egyptian Citizenship Applicants

Reception Office located in GAFI, 3 Salah Salem St., Nasr City, Cairo Tel: 01223572663

– 22649139, Hotline: 15349, e-mail: [email protected]. For more information about the unit, visit the unit's official website: https://egyptcitizenship.gov.eg