The Egyptian authorities have reduced the amount of investment required to obtain Egyptian citizenship. Read more about the new opportunities for foreigners and the experts' thoughts on this matter below.

Egypt has relaxed the conditions for obtaining its citizenship for foreigners, or rather, reduced the amount of investment required of foreigners. The new decree on Tuesday, March 7, was issued by the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly.

New possibilities for obtaining Egyptian citizenship 

  1. Foreigners can now obtain citizenship by investing $300,000 to buy real estate, including land and buildings owned by the government or Egyptians. Previously, this amount was $500,000 (according to the 2019 decree).
  2. You can invest $350,000 to create or make a capital contribution to investment projects, which used to require $400,000. 
  3. Or you can put $500,000 in a local bank (instead of the former $750,000). Under the new ordinance, this money can be paid back after three years, but without interest.

Reasons for relaxed conditions 

Initially, Egypt's economy was negatively affected by the pandemic, and the difficult situation in Ukraine only exacerbated the crisis: during the first months after the outbreak of hostilities, Egypt missed the $20 billion it had previously hoped for. It also affected the country's tourism industry since, in peak years, a third of Egypt's tourist visits were made by Ukrainians and Russians.

Another reason is a sharp rise in food prices, especially for cereals. The fact is that Egypt imports almost half of its wheat needs and is the largest importer of cereals in the world. And now the country has to pay much more for these imports.

So, with the new decree, Egypt is trying to contain the devastating effects of all these factors on its economy.

Opinions of critics and supporters of the new decree

Critics of the measures taken point to their inadequacy to resolve Egypt's crushing economic crisis. They say the government should do more to attract the investment needed to pay for imports and debt.

Supporters of the new citizenship decree, however, say it meets the needs of Egypt's growing foreign business community. Egypt welcomes millions of foreigners, including Syrians, Iraqis, Libyans, and Yemenis, who have fled war and violence at home, settled in Egypt, and started their own investment projects.

Egyptian lawmakers say the amendments will encourage even more foreign businessmen to obtain citizenship, thereby increasing the number of U.S. dollars available at the Central Bank of Egypt.