St Kitts & Nevis has been urged to consider ways to makes its citizenship-by-investment program more competitive, as more countries launch their own versions.
Experts have told the Caribbean nation it may need to look at how it structures its VAT policy in order to get more of the program’s applicants actually living in the country.
At the moment, St Kitts relies on its high end property investment opportunities to keep the world’s ultra high net worth individuals interested in its program.
St Kitts and Nevis CIP requirements
Real estate
Investment of $400,000
Processing fee of $50,047 (main applicant), $25,047 (spouse and/or children)
Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation
Investment of $250,000 (single applicant, increases with family members, see here)
Processing fee of $7,500 (main applicant), $4,000 (per dependent aged over 16)
But if more of those individuals chose to live in the country, the benefits in terms of tax dollar could be substantial.
Each of the Caribbean countries that have CIPs has their own unique selling points.
Antigua & Barbuda can boast visa-free travel to Canada, for example, while Grenada offers the same privilege to those wishing to visit China.
St Kitts citizens lost their right to Canadian visa-free travel over fears reliable background checks were not being conducted for CIP candidates.
Benefits of St Kitts and Nevis CIP
- Visa free travel to Schengen Area
- Visa free travel to Switzerland, UK and Ireland
- No minimum residence requirements
- Simple Procedure with minimal government formalities
- Option to include family members in the application form
- No income or wealth tax
- Option to reside in any of 15 Caribbean countries
- Lifetime citizenship
Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris has since overhauled the program, and is hoping to convince Canada to reinstate the visa-free travel right.
Meanwhile, there have also been calls for countries operating CIPs to cooperate with each other, despite competing for the same group of high net worth individuals.
There is a growing belief that information should be shared, particularly when it comes to due diligence, so that candidates failing one country’s fit and proper person test do not simply move on to the next country offering a similar program.
Further reading