Egypt allows citizenship for foreigners in return for US dollars

The Egyptian government announced on Wednesday it would allow foreigners to acquire citizenship provided that the person buys a real estate property valued at US$300,000 or deposits US$500,000 in an Egyptian bank.

The prospective Egyptian citizen must withdraw the deposited money three years later in Egyptian pounds with no interest added, local media outlets reported, citing the official gazette.

In the case of buying real estate, the person must add a total of $US100,000 as a non-refundable deposit, the reports added.

It remains unclear what economic benefits a foreigner would obtain by acquiring an Egyptian passport.

Egypt's economy has been undergoing a shortage of US dollars in recent months.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has imposed three devaluations of the Egyptian pound before the US dollar, making the local currency almost 50 per cent weaker over the past year.

However, Egypt has not yet reached the short-term balance required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which entered into a loan agreement with Egypt in 2020.

In October 2022, the CBE imposed an exchange rate flexibility, allowing the value of the Egyptian pound to be regulated by market forces to save an already ailing economy after securing a $US3 billion loan from the IMF. 

Earlier last month, three international banks, including the French Societe General, said a new floating of the Egyptian currency is expected later this month.

In January last year, Egypt's annual urban inflation rate climbed for the seventh straight month to 25.8 per cent, compared to 21.3 a month earlier.

The economic crisis has forced the Egyptian government to look for new sources of foreign currency, including touting the sale of state assets to wealthy Gulf nations.