BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has topped CNN’s news today (Jun. 28) in an article headlined “World’s overlooked countries to buy second citizenship, residency” and sub-headlined “For sale: new passports and residence”.
The author of the article, Ramy Inocencio, named seven countries in which an individual could become a citizen for a certain amount of cash, and the Federation has topped the list.
In addition to St. Kitts and Nevis, those countries are Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Hong Kong, Singapore and Austria.
The article reads: “Are you jaded with your home country, want to pay lower taxes, enjoy the freedom to travel and strive for a higher quality of life? Well, if you have as little as $100,000 then you could buy citizenship to a tiny, tropical Caribbean nation that ticks all of those boxes. Bump an investment up to $5 million and your quality of life could rocket as you go Down Under; double that and Viennese coffee could start your morning routine -- with prized access through nearly all of Europe.”
The author also mentioned that countries with similar investor programmes and pathways to citizenship include the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The author of the article stated that cash for citizenship is an easy concept to understand, noting that it best applies to just two countries in the world – both of which are in the Caribbean – and is 100 percent legal and could happen in as little as a few months.
“The smallest nation in all of the Americas, the island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, tempts would-be citizens with more than just tropical breezes, swaying palm trees and white sand beaches. It also touts no personal income tax, the allowance for multiple citizenship and visa-free access to nearly 130 countries and territories,” the article said.
Quoting Henley and Partners, a Zurich-based consultancy specialising in global residence and citizenship planning for the past 15 years, the article states, “Overall, St. Kitts and Nevis clearly offers the most attractive citizenship-by-investment program available today.”
Established in 1984, St. Kitts and Nevis’ citizenship-by-investment scheme is the longest-running programme in the world and it offers two avenues to a new passport.
According to Inocencio, the cheaper option requires a US$250 000 contribution to the Federation’s Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation, which started in 2006 with the aim of shifting the country from a sugar-dependent to a service-oriented economy.
He noted that real estate investment (a higher US$400 000 investment) is the second route to citizenship.
“A government website conveniently lists nearly 60 approved developments - with alluring names like Sundance Ridge, Calypso Bay and Windswept Residence,” he added.
Inocencio also noted that anyone in the world could apply for citizenship, save one country: Iran. A country whose nationals were eligible until late 2011 when the Prime Minister’s Office suspended the programme after Iranians stormed the British Embassy in Tehran.
He stated that when contacted by CNN, a St. Kitts and Nevis spokeswoman said the number of applicants accepted under the citizenship-by-investment programme “is confidential information that the CIU does not provide to the public”.
And that Henley and Partners noted “few passports have been issued”.
