Pam Golding Properties say while Portugal remains a highly sought-after destination for international property buyers – including South Africans – the new “kid on the block” is Cyprus.
BusinessTech quotes Chris Immelman, MD of Pam Golding International, who says “for the bulk of South African residential property buyers in these countries, their primary aim is to acquire European Union residency for their families – mainly with a view to enabling their adult children gain ease of access to study and work abroad, and to travel freely in Europe.
“Having recently hosted investor roadshows in major centres around the country, it’s evident that many affluent SA residents are seeking to create international opportunities for their children,”
Pam Golding noted that an offshore investment in a stable country is an ideal way to diversify a property portfolio with Cyprus in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea offering considerable opportunities to accomplish this.
“For an investment of EUR2 million, you can acquire full European citizenship for life in just 4-6 months for you and your entire family up to the age of 28 years, with the opportunity to disinvest after three years by selling your property, but with the requirement that you reinvest EUR500,000,” Immelman said.
Property there has a sound underlying investment value, he said.
For investors in Cyprus, a key advantage is that citizenship can be passed on to future generations by descent, while a Cypriot passport also allows visa-free travel to 159 countries including Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK.
Cyprus is about four times the size of Mauritius, with some 700,000 inhabitants.
