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Egypt parliament approves granting citizenship in exchange for financial deposit

July 16, 2018 at 1:07 pm

Egyptian parliament in session, 29 November 2016 [Anadolu Agency]

The Egyptian parliament has approved a controversial draft bill which allows granting Egyptian citizenship to foreigners in return for a financial deposit.

The bill, introduced by the Egyptian government, allows foreigners residing in Egypt to obtain Egyptian citizenship in exchange for a deposit of at least EGP 7 million ($391,000) or its equivalent in another foreign currency over five years.

Last year the Egyptian government introduced a draft bill which gave the interior minister absolute power to determine the amount of money to be deposited as well as conditions for applying for the Egyptian citizenship in violation of Article 6 of the Constitution, which stipulates that citizenship is the birth right of anyone born to an Egyptian man or woman.

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