The International Monetary Fund has urged Saint Lucia immigration to continue efficient management of its citizenship-by-investment program.
The world financial giant believes the program can provide a key boost to the Caribbean nation’s economy if administered correctly.
Poor management could damage the reputation of the country and harm the integrity of financial transactions, the IMF said.
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Saint Lucia Slashes Cost Of Citizenship-by-Investment Program
Saint Lucia offers myriad of investment options, including a threshold of $100,000 in the national economic fund, $300,000 for real estate and $500,000 for government bonds. These amounts are for individual investors – thresholds rise as family members are added.
“The recent changes to the CIP could provide a welcome boost to fiscal revenues,” the IMF statement said.
“These revenues, however, are very volatile and the authorities’ decision to collect these funds in a sovereign wealth fund reduces the risk of fiscal dependence.
“As in other countries, the CIP entails significant reputational and financial integrity risks, which could be minimized by strict adherence to the highest standards for due diligence, governance, and transparency.”
Saint Lucia Immigration: Investment Requirements
Saint Lucia National Economic Fund
| Sole Applicant | $100,000 |
| Applicant with spouse | $165,000 |
| Applicant with spouse and up to two other qualifying dependents | $190,000 |
| Each additional qualifying dependent | $25,000 |
Real Estate Project
| Applicant | $300,000 |
| Qualifying dependent aged 18 years or above- Administrative and processing fee | $35,000 per dependent |
| Qualifying dependent aged less than 18 years- Administrative and processing fee | $25,000 per dependent |
Government Bonds
| Sole Applicant | $500,000 |
| Applicant with spouse | $535,000 |
| Applicant with spouse and up to two other qualifying dependents | $550,000 |
| Each additional qualifying dependent | $25,000 |
Enterprise Project
| Sole Applicant | |
| Minimum investment | $3.5 million |
| Minimum Job Creation | 3 permanent jobs |
| Multiple Applicants | |
| Minimum investment | $6 million |
| Minimum investments by each applicants | $1 million |
| Minimum Job Creation | 6 permanent jobs |
| Qualifying dependent aged 18 years or above- Administrative and processing fee | $35,000 per dependent |
| Qualifying dependent aged less than 18 years- Administrative and processing fee | $25,000 per dependent |
Saint Lucia made its citizenship-by-investment program significantly more accessible by slashing investment thresholds in February 2017, abandoning a minimum wealth requirement and ending a cap on the number of applications.
Individual investors in the Economic Fund stream are now required to contribute just $100,000, down from the previous threshold of $200,000.
This puts the program on a par with Dominica, although subsequent fees make the Dominican program slightly less expensive.
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