How can real estate investment earn you Egyptian nationality? How can Egyptian nationality facilitate the challenges that face foreign investors? With the scale of Saudi investments in Egypt, granting Saudi investors the Egyptian nationality gives them more privileges which makes room for more investments in different fields.
Earning the Egyptian Nationality
Earning the Egyptian nationality might be one of the goals of many Arab citizens since Egypt enjoys economic and political stability and is on the rise of economic growth. Its strategic geographical location enables it to get through any potential economic crisis.
According to the latest indications, Egypt has scored a 9.8% increase in its overall economic performance in the first quarter in 2021/22, which is considered the highest score it has achieved for 20 years.
Law No.26/1975 states the requirements and conditions which foreigners can earn Egyptian nationality through, and it includes:
- The child is born to an Egyptian mother and/or to a father whose nationality is unidentified or in case the mother could not legally prove the father’s parenthood to the child
- Children with unidentified parents
- If a person has Egyptian roots and can prove it, they can apply for Egyptian nationality after a 5-year residency in Egypt
- The husband or the wife can grant Egyptian nationality to their spouses after 2 years of ending their marriage
- One can also earn Egyptian nationality if they stayed for 10 consecutive years in Egypt
- Foreigners can also earn Egyptian nationality based on the recent amendment of “Foreigners with Trust Residency”; which grants foreigners Egyptian nationality when they open a trust worth EGP 7 million or its equivalent of foreign currency and after a 5-year residency.
Egyptian Nationalities for Saudis in 2021
According to the latest decision made by the ministries’ cabinet on granting Egyptian nationality to foreigners in March 2020 to boost investments, Saudis are allowed to earn nationality in case they:
- Deposited a non-refundable $250,000 to the Central Bank of Egypt
- Depositing $1 million as a trust in the Central Bank of Egypt (transferred from abroad) and it is refundable after 3 years in Egyptian pounds and without interest
- Investing in a project with a $400,000 capital or partnering in a project with 40% share. In case of the project has ended before 5 years of its start, the investor has to deposit a non-refundable $250,000 to the Central Bank of Egypt
- Buying a state-owned real estate property which could be a land, a factory, an apartment, or a building; worth no less than $500,000 transferred from abroad. In case the property is sold before 5 years of the date of contract, the foreigner’s nationality application is in danger and they are required to transfer a non-refundable $250,000 to the Central Bank of Egypt
- Depositing $750,000 as a trust in the Central Bank of Egypt and it can be refunded after 5 years in Egyptian pound with no interest
Required Documents and Paper for Applying for Egyptian Nationality
The process of applying for Egyptian nationality also includes submitting required documents and papers through personally or by mail to:
Reception Office for Foreigners Seeking Egyptian Citizenship, Naturalization Applications Examination Unit, General Authority for Investment and Free Zones Building – First Floor, 3 Salah Salem Street – Nasr City – 11562 Cairo
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- An original copy of your application to the Egyptian nationality
- A copy of the receipt of transferring the administrative fees of applying for the nationality, which is $10,000 transferred to the Central Bank of Egypt that is then sent to the Ministries’ Cabinet and a unit that is specialized in processing the applications
- A copy of the applicant’s passport of their original nationality
- A declaration from the applicant of any other nationalities that they currently have
- A copy of each passport of each nationality in case the applicant has more than one other nationality (For example: an American applicant who also carries the French nationality has to submit a copy of their American and French passport to apply for the Egyptian nationality)
- Official birth certificate
- 4 new personal pictures of the applicant
- An official record from the Ministry of Interior to state their criminal record
- An official document from the country of origin that proves that there the applicant is not convicted by any criminal penalty, any freedom-restricting penalty, and/or any crime of honor; and the certificate has to be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Original copy of the certificate that states all the movements of the applicant from the country of origin
- Official certificate that states all the movements of the applicants from the country of residence (where they have lived in permanently and/or have at least spent 5 years in prior to the date of application)
- The original official certificate of the medical checkup that is signed by the applicant during his time of residency
- In case of investment and/or ownership of properties: the applicant has to submit a copy of the commercial registration and a copy of the taxation ID; in case the applicant owns a company, stocks in a company, a copy of any contract of property ownership in Egypt, and a copy of the driving license of any vehicles the applicant owns in Egypt
- The original document that proves the fulfillment of the investment track chosen by the applicant and it is to be submitted during the time of residency
Real Estate Investment
The Egyptian constitution stipulates in Law No. 27/2017 that there are 5 different tracks with their own conditions for anyone to pursue in order to obtain Egyptian nationality in exchange for investment.
There are number of reasons why investing is the best way to obtain Egyptian nationality, some of them include:
- As previously mentioned, you can deposit certai amount of money that can be refundable with no interest
- The Egyptian real estate market is one of the best real estate markets in the Arab region
- Egypt has a strategic plan to expand its urban block, which has already started to show in cities such as the 6th of October, Sheikh Zayed, New Cairo, the New Administrative Capital, New Toshka, and New Alamein
- Real estate investment in Egypt is promising because of the existing developers in the market that have extensive expertise in urban expansion and strategic utilization of space
- Real estate investment in Egypt also enjoys a wide array of sub-investments that vary between residential, commercial, and medical investments
- The Egyptian government shows a remarkable support to real estate investors which facilitates many procedures for investors
- It has low risk and high return rate
- The continuing increase of Egypt’s population is a big indicator to how this investment is constantly in demand
You can check thousands of real estate projects and compounds on Aqarmap’s Compound Guide and evaluate it based on its location, prices, and finishing of units.