According to agents from One Visa Singapore in Cyprus, the country has made it easy both for investors and nationals from developing countries, who provide affordable labour, to settle in Cyprus. Spain has also not been left behind as it is closely setting an equal pace with its eyes on the same target. In this publication, we will see how these countries are battling for investors from various parts of the region.
Permits
According to Jaime Garcia-Legaz, who is the minister of trade in Spain, the country, in collaboration with all relevant ministries, will give a permit to any person who buys a home worth 160,000 pounds or more. Further, Spain has plans to give visas that are valid for 90 days to third-world citizens on a temporary basis. If one gets the temporary visa and buys a home as stipulated above, then the visa extends automatically. All this is in an effort to get more investors in the country.
On the other hand, Cyprus seems to be following suit with a similar scheme to attract residents from developing countries. However, their minimum expenditure on a house runs almost twice that of Spain with a minimum purchase being 300,000 pounds. According to a senior official from the immigration department, their goal is to target rich investors from China and Russia.
Past Records
Both Spain and Cyprus have a history of efforts in the past related to the battle for foreign investors. Since both seem to face a similar problem in real estate and the property market, they both need investors to buy the property and boost the sector. It is no wonder that both seem to have almost similar efforts to address the issue. As much as the beginning of the millennium saw a boom in the sector for both countries, there was a big collapse in 2008 for both.
However, more recent years have seen the countries make an extra round of efforts. In 2011, Spain had a 6 percent increase in property sales from foreign investors over 2010. Further reports indicated that Russians invested more in Spain than all other foreign buyers. Russians accounted for about 30 percent of foreign real estate purchases in Spain. China also made efforts and accounted for about 4 percent of foreign real estate investments. The magic was targeting foreign investors and making the conditions attractive through affordable rates and enticing permit conditions.
What of Cyprus? Following suit with almost similar conditions saw Cyprus enjoy the same benefits. The year 2011 was better than 2010 according to their foreign affairs department’s reports. Just like Spain, their main buyers came from non-EU countries. Russia and China were and still are their main source of investors.
Final Word
It is evident that both Spain and Cyprus are making efforts to woo foreign investors in their countries. All their efforts are making improvements year after year in a proportional way. Who knows where both countries will be a few years from now. We can only wait and see the progress.
Artmotion Spain
