{"id":6883,"date":"2016-05-20T16:41:08","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T16:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/?p=6883"},"modified":"2019-02-12T13:50:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T18:50:45","slug":"citizenship-investment-crucial-us-tells-caribbean-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/citizenship-investment-crucial-us-tells-caribbean-nations\/","title":{"rendered":"Due Diligence on Citizenship-by Investment Crucial, US tells Caribbean Nations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US has told Caribbean nations with citizenship-by-investment programs to make sure each individual application is given the correct level of due diligence.<\/p>\n

\"TheAntigua & Barbuda<\/a>, Dominica<\/a>, St Kitts & Nevis<\/a> and St Lucia<\/a> all offer programs which grant passports to candidates in return for specified levels of investment.<\/p>\n

Now the US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, has issued a statement warning these nations to make sure they are not granting citizenship to undesirables, such as those with ties to criminal or terrorist organisations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States strongly believes that all countries have an inherent responsibility to their citizens and the international community to review fully all applicants who seek a nation\u2019s citizenship,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

St Kitts Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris said recently that his country\u2019s program now had the best due diligence<\/a> of any in the world.<\/p>\n

This comes following an overhaul of the system in response to a decision by Canada to impose a visa restriction on St Kitts passport holders over concerns about the type of candidates being granted citizenship.<\/p>\n

The US also specified its concerned the program was being used to bypass sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that we have now one of the strongest due diligence mechanisms,\u201d the Prime Minister said.<\/p>\n

The US statement added that it respected the right of any nation to generate revenue using investment immigration, provided the right checks were being made.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States does not approve or disapprove individual aspects of citizenship by investment programmes,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the United States Government is willing to consult with governments on their citizenship investment programmes, the ultimate decisions to offer and how to operate such a programme, including the issuance of citizenship and related identifying documents, such as passports to applicants, lie with each individual government and not with the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US offers its own permanent residency-through-investment program<\/a>, the EB-5, which can lead to citizenship in the long term.<\/p>\n

General Information:<\/b> Contact us<\/a> to receive more information about this article.<\/p>\n

Further reading<\/b><\/p>\n