LONDON, Aug. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis have been attracting foreign investors seeking second citizenship for 35 years in exchange for their contribution. This gave the country considerable funds to develop the islands and sustain a fifth of its GDP. During a recent radio interview, the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis announced that the Federal Government has invested, amongst other areas, EC$2 million (≈US$740,000) to upgrade the runway at Nevis’ Vance W. Amory International Airport, which helps further the island’s connectivity. The funds come from St Kitts and Nevis’ successful Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme.
PM Harris gave more details on how the CBI Programme is supporting exciting projects on the islands. Introduced in 1984, the initiative enables foreign investors and their families to acquire second citizenship after making an economic contribution and passing all due diligence checks. As the oldest CBI programme in existence, it is known in the investor immigration industry as the ‘Platinum Standard’ brand.
In 2018, Premier Harris introduced a new channel under the programme – the Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF) – which focuses on raising foreign capital for the socio-economic advancement of the country. From an applicant’s perspective, the SGF is praised for its efficiency and straightforward processes, with financial appeal for typically larger Middle Eastern families. Moreover, St Kitts and Nevis’ visa waiver agreements with over 150 countries and territories worldwide makes it an attractive investment for those requiring better international mobility.
Born in the Caribbean, citizenship by investment has made a significant difference to the region’s development. “Across our region, we see the positive impacts our citizenship by investment programmes make on construction, job creation, hotel stock, housing stock, social safety nets, etc.,” said PM Harris during his keynote address at the Caribbean Investment Summit hosted in St Kitts and Nevis in June.
The SGF was designed to enhance the lives of the islands’ native population and its new ‘economic citizens’. St Kitts and Nevis is the only CBI jurisdiction that offers the Accelerated Application Process (AAP) feature, which guarantees eligible applicants full processing within 60 days or less. In efforts to continue strengthening the programme’s security checks, the government recently announced the introduction of biometric fingerprinting as part of its compulsory due diligence procedures.
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SOURCE CS Global Partners
Second Citizenship Photo credit: Mary on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA
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