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The Egyptian Cabinet issued a decision to amend the financial conditions and procedures for granting Egyptian nationality to foreign investors in exchange for buying property, investing in companies, or depositing sums of money in US dollars.

The decision significantly facilitates these conditions, in an effort to attract more foreign currency.

The Official Gazette in Egypt published the Decision No. 876 of 2023 amending Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s Decision No. 3099 of 2019 related to granting Egyptian nationality for foreigners.

As per the Law, Egyptian nationality was granted to a number of investors and businessmen, most of whom are Syrians and Iraqis, and they are currently residing in Egypt.

As per the new decision, the required amount for eligibility of buying state owned property or other public legal persons has become $300,000 instead of $500,000. The amount is no longer required to be transferred from abroad, it is permissible to be paid from inside Egypt, provided that it had previously entered through a customs port and that it had been proven.

“This amount can be paid in installments within a year, as the buyer will be granted a residence document for tourism for that period, and then will be granted the nationality after paying the full amount,” the decision added.

In another case, the nationality is granted to a foreigner if he/she intends to join/establish an investment project with an amount of not less than $350,000, with the deposit of $100,000 as non-refundable direct revenues.

Previously, the amount required to meet that condition was $400,000 at least to join an investment project with a partnership rate of not less than 40 per cent of the project’s capital.

With regard to the third case, which grants foreigners the Egyptian nationality based on direct depositing, the new decision decreased the required amount from $750,000 to $500,000, to be paid back in EGP after the deposit by three years in according to the Central Bank of Egypt’s rate at the time of redemption, and without interest.

In the fourth case, it facilitates getting the Egyptian nationality in return for depositing $250,000 as foreign funds to the state’s budget. The amount is non-refundable, according to the Law. It can be transferred from abroad or deposited from inside Egypt, provided that it had previously entered through a customs port and that it had been proven.

Earlier in July-2019, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s cabinet approved a draft decision related to Parliament’s Law 190, which would grant foreigners the Egyptian nationality in special cases where they meet certain investment conditions.