A HIGH-RANKING Cypriot commerce and tourism delegation returned from Iran in jubilant mood this month. It trumpeted the Islamic Republic as a rich new market that would jet in the tourists and property-buyers we desperately need now that interest is plummeting from cash-strapped Britain, our no longer quite so dependable cash cow.
It was dismissed as pure hype by some newspapers, recalling how the previous government boasted in vain that it would seduce countless Chinese holidaymakers to bask on our distant shores.
But experts are not so sceptical. Falling oil prices and economic mismanagement have battered Iran’s economy, but it remains a resource-rich country with a moneyed class that is sizeable, sophisticated, multi-lingual and well-travelled. Dubai was long their favoured offshore haven, but property prices there have plunged and residency permits have become problematic.
So there is an opening for Cyprus where property prices have bucked the global downturn but are more affordable than in the upmarket, westernised suburbs of northern Tehran, analysts in Tehran and Nicosia say. Well-off Iranians also like investing in property – and regard owning a home abroad as prestigious.
“Iranians today are looking for new places, and Cyprus is a good fit,” said Yiorgos Georgiou, the sales director of Cybarco who recently attended an international property fair in Tehran.
As a result of the fair, 20 Iranians visited Cyprus to look at property, attracted by the prospect of an EU member on the doorstep of the Middle East, where property prices have remained stable compared to the rest of the EU. Most Iranians are “interested in properties going for €500,000 and over”, he said. “We expect our first sales to be closed within the next month.”
Cyprus is already home to a small but growing Iranian community of 100 families with permanent residence. Some have dual Cypriot nationality and their children speak Greek.
Around 200 Iranians also have bought properties here in the past two years, says Iran’s embassy in Nicosia. Given that our economy is so small, it would take just 10 very rich Iranians to buy in Cyprus to buoy the market, economists.
Little wonder that there was such an enthusiastic welcome for the 1,000 or so Iranian tourists who flew in on direct charter flights to spend their long Nowruz (New Year) holidays in Cyprus. Many took the opportunity to look at properties, whether for holiday homes, investment or a future abode for their children if they attend one of our now many universities and colleges.
Some 6,000 Iranians holiday annually in Cyprus: there is clearly room for growth. Officials at Iran’s embassy in Nicosia believe that number could easily be quadrupled if visa procedures are simplified and there are more direct flights. Iran Air stopped the only direct link in 2004 when Cyprus joined the European Union, making tourist visas mandatory for Iranians and other non-EU members. Such visas are usually processed within a week, Cyprus’ embassy in Tehran says. More consular staff could make that speedier, Iranian officials say.
At a press conference that received much fanfare, Antonis Paschalides, the minister of commerce, industry and tourism, portrayed the Iranian Nowruz arrivals this month as a precedent. Fair enough, he’s a politician.
In fact, private Iranian travel agencies have been arranging direct New Year flights to Cyprus for several years, in addition to further flights during the summer holiday period. Other Iranian tourists and businessmen come indirectly through Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Doha, Damascus and even Moscow.
As an EU member located fewer than 160 km from Syria and Lebanon, Cyprus is promoting itself to Iran as a bridge between the Middle East and Europe. When Paschalides visited Tehran earlier this month, he was accompanied by six other officials and 23 Cypriot businessmen. The minister signed a mutual agreement promoting and protecting investments. He also declared that the Cypriot authorities would be willing to facilitate visas for Iranians to stay in Cyprus, provided that the “value of the property purchased exceeds a certain amount and that the person’s income originates abroad”.
The National, an authoritative English language paper in the United Arab Emirates, quoted a “well-placed Cypriot source” as saying that a draft law, to be voted on soon, will guarantee a residency permit to anyone who buys a property for €500,000 or more and can prove an annual income from abroad of €15,000.
Although visa procedures might be facilitated, George Lycourgos, Cyprus’ ambassador in Tehran, said that “acquiring a property in Cyprus does not automatically get you permanent residence” – unless you are an EU national. But “if someone is setting up a business and establishing a company, it’s much easier to get a residence permit”, he said. Moreover, he added, a visitor’s visa already gives someone the right to stay in Cyprus for 90 days every six months, “so you can stay in Cyprus for six months” a year.
Ali Reza Bikdeli, Iran’s ambassador in Nicosia, said Iranians buying abroad cared very much about being able to feel at home. “Respect is a very critical element,” he said. “Culturally, Iranians are close to Cypriots… who know and respect Middle Eastern cultures. They have similar value systems.
