Apparently, a fun and out of the box brainstorm session at the cabinet resulted in a brilliant idea: a new law regulating the residency of foreigners, upon which investors can acquire temporary residence permits, according to Al Ahram Newspaper. We don't wanna say we're now bribing the foreign investors who refuse to risk their money in Egypt but we're sure tempting them.
The draft law is currently being legally reviewed through the State Council, and will then be taken to the parliament for final ratification as well as approval.
Interestingly enough, investors would then need to deposit a certain – unspecified – amount in foreign currency into Egyptian banks (yay for dollars), which would then enable them to acquire five-year residence permits, according to the cabinet who announced it in a statement on Tuesday.
Cabinet spokesperson, Hossam Gawish, explained that it would be a new type of residency that would make it easier for investors to stay in the country for business-related purposes.
Gawish added that after the five-year stay in Egypt, investors can also apply for Egyptian citizenship. The latter addition has been stirring a lot of heat within the parliament, with several MPs objecting, ''Egyptian citizenship is not up for sale.'' While another proposal made by MP Moataz Mahmoud, suggested granting Egyptian nationality to only "Arab investors," according to Daily News Egypt.
Main image courtesy of Al Ahram.
