St Kitts passport spree

St Kitts and Nevis has become the most sought after country in the Caribbean for those wanting to gain a second passport under its Citizen By Investment programme. The decision to grant citizenship in some cases is being granted in as little as 10 weeks.

The applications are filed under the Sustainable Island State Contribution also known as the Fund Option. St Kitts and Nevis made a major overhaul of the CBI Programme in 2023 because neighbouring islands were cheaper to gain their CBI visas.

For its Sustainable Island State Contribution, St Kitts now charges a minimum donation of US$250,000 (down from $350,000) for a single applicant or a family of up to four people. For each additional dependent under 18, the contribution is US$25,000, and for each additional dependent aged 18 or older, it is US$50,000. Neighbouring islands are about half that.

For real estate, St Kitts, population of only 49,000, charges a minimum investment of       US$400,000 in government-approved property projects. This can be a share in a resort or hotel, or a title condo or private home. This scheme has attracted rich clients from Asia, Africa and Arab countries wanting to travel more freely around Europe and America.

Nevertheless, the European Union is concerned over CBI programmes in the Caribbean and has proposed changes that will make it easier to suspend the visas of people who bought passports from countries that sell citizenship to foreigners. The EU fears too many criminals, fraudsters and scammers will be able to slip through the net.

The EU issued a report a year ago which for the first time gave a glimpse of the magnitude of the CBI programmes in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia. By last October, 88,000 passports have been sold by these five countries with Dominica selling 34,500 which, according to reports, was four times more than what the government of Dominica has reported.

The EU’s announcement to overhaul the regulations concerning visa-free travel to its borders followed the publication of an investigation done by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and a number of international media houses which scrutinised Dominica’s CBI programme.

Experts say those willing to pay a premium investment amount for St Kitts passport  is because of the reputation it holds across the globe, allowing travellers to pass through countries far easier.

According to the CBI Index 2023: “Benefits of citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis include visa-free travel to a growing number of worldwide destinations -- the highest of any CBI country in the Caribbean and the ability to hold multiple nationalities. Due diligence procedures remain among the industry’s most robust. There is no language, education, or business requirement applicable to any of the options chosen.”