How does the new nationality law support investment for investment?

A draft law submitted by the government came to amend some provisions of Law No. 26 of 1975 regarding the Egyptian nationality, in implementation of the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the text of the second paragraph of Article (6) was unconstitutional, as it included limiting the right to acquire the Egyptian nationality for minor children to the case of the father’s acquisition. The foreigner of this nationality, without the case of acquiring the foreign mother, and also works to enhance the chances of obtaining foreign exchange by facilitating the procedures for granting the Egyptian nationality.

The amendment granted permission to grant Egyptian nationality to a foreigner who buys real estate from the private sector, after completing all the required data and documents from the Naturalization Application Examination Unit, and estimating the fees for obtaining Egyptian nationality in cash if she enters the Arab Republic of Egypt through one of the outlets.

And it came out of the state’s policy towards creating an appropriate and stable atmosphere to encourage foreign investment to support the Egyptian economy by attracting foreign currencies, as there are many countries that grant their nationality to investors or actors in society in return for investing their money, whether as a real estate investment or the establishment of an investment project that provides opportunities work out, or by placing a bank deposit.

Hence, the draft law included deleting the phrase “owned by the state or other public legal persons” mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 4 bis to allow the granting of Egyptian nationality to a foreigner who buys real estate from the private sector without being restricted to the fact that the property is owned by the state or other public legal persons.

The text of Article “4” bis, after the amendment approved by the Council, came as follows: The Prime Minister may, based on the proposal of the Naturalization Application Examination Unit, grant Egyptian nationality to every foreigner who has purchased real estate or established an investment project in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law promulgated by Law No. 72 of 2017 or Depositing an amount of money in foreign currency as direct revenues that devolve into the state’s public treasury or as a deposit in a special account at the Central Bank, all in the manner to be regulated by a decision of the Prime Minister after the approval of the Council of Ministers.