Mass migration to the island and transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars: the Lebanese and the “dream of Cyprus”!

During the civil war and the wars that struck it, Cyprus has always been a haven for many Lebanese. However, the current “attack” on the Mediterranean neighbor seems this time completely different from all the previous ones. In the past, the island was a transit bridge for thousands of Lebanese to other countries and an investment destination for the wealthy who aspire to European citizenship or residency. After October 17, 2019 and its aftermath, and especially the port explosion, it became the “ideal option” for many Lebanese families, which brought them millions of dollars and huge investments in various sectors. However, unlike previous years, which witnessed a remarkable growth of Lebanese investments in the island, the search for citizenship (finally the nationality system was abolished) and the obtaining of European residence (work still standing) for the whole family of those who invest in the amount of 100,000 euros or more, the current immigration is the immigration of owners. Money, not just capital …

The director of the Lebanese Cypriot Business Council, George Shahwan, describes the current immigration to Cyprus as “massive immigration that has not been recorded before”, which is evidenced by several indicators, notably the “overcrowding of Cypriot schools with Lebanese students whose families have left Lebanon forever in recent months. ” Shahwan estimates that the number of families that have settled in Cyprus recently is in the “hundreds”. As for enrollment in Cypriot schools of this size, “it is considered a phenomenon in every sense of the word.”
The massive attack on Cyprus prompted the Cypriot authorities to facilitate the entry of Lebanese to the island and ease the restrictions they imposed due to the outbreak of the Corona virus in Lebanon, following the tireless efforts of the Lebanese Cypriot Business Council. According to the epidemiological criteria of the country, Lebanon was transferred from category “B” to category “C” since last July 6 and, consequently, Lebanese were prevented from entering Cyprus except for holders of their nationality and residence permits and number of entry visas. Shahwan reveals that after his meeting with the Cypriot Interior Minister, accompanied by the Cypriot Maronite deputy, and he contradicts Musa, it was decided “to allow entry to any Lebanese citizen who owns an apartment in Cyprus or has concluded a contract to buy an apartment or an investor or a person who wants to invest in it by obtaining a special permit to enter “.
The “quality” of the people that the decision of the Cypriot Interior Minister allowed to exclude from the proceedings clearly shows the importance of this category for the island’s economy, which seeks to attract as much of the Lebanese investments that have been placed on it as possible. flowing for more than a year in an unprecedented way, especially in the tourist and industrial fields, where purchasing operations are active. The Lebanese have hotels, restaurants and factories.
The wave of investment and property in Cyprus began a few months before October 17, and was led by some of those who foresaw the crisis before it happened and fled with their money to the island. With the collapse of the collapse state and the imposition of illegal restrictions on withdrawals and transfers by Lebanese banks, thousands of Lebanese attempted to smuggle as much withheld money as they could by purchasing real estate in Cyprus through bank checks, “until the demand exceeded supply and available apartments, ”according to Shahwan. In an indication of the extent of Lebanese anxiety about their future and their anticipation of the possibility of leaving Lebanon urgently, Shahwan notes that “many expatriates in Africa and the Gulf bought real estate in Cyprus in case they were forced to to transfer their families there from Lebanon.

Cypriot schools are packed with hundreds of Lebanese students whose families have come to the island.

The misfortunes of the Lebanese banking sector reap huge benefits for its Cypriot counterpart. Shahwan reveals that “a large number of Lebanese have opened bank accounts in Cypriot banks and that many Lebanese expatriates prefer to transfer money to their relatives through accounts in Cyprus.” In this context, it is active in this context that account holders travel from Lebanon to Cyprus to withdraw dollars and return them to the country of Cedars. Unofficial estimates indicate that the volume of sums deposited in Cypriot banks by Lebanese residents and those transferred by Lebanese expatriates, in addition to what they invested in and purchased real estate, is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. It is noteworthy that the Lebanese have learned the lesson that the banks have taught them and now prefer security to quick profits through high interest rates, as “interest in Cyprus ranged from 0.1% to 0.3% % only “.
The paradox is that none of the Lebanese bank branches in Cyprus have benefited even a dollar from these transfers and deposits, first due to the loss of depositors’ confidence in them, and second because “the bank branches Lebanese in Cyprus could not open any new accounts, in addition to being obliged by the Cypriot authorities to establish a deposit of 100,000 euros in the Central Bank of Cyprus as collateral for each deposit, regardless of the nationality of the holder of the deposit, ”according to Shahwan.

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