In a webinar organised by Gulf News in association with CS Global Partners, the honourable Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Timothy Harris, and the CEO of its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, Les Khan, shared interesting insights into the advantages of becoming citizens of this Caribbean dual-island nation. Khan also revealed the limited-time offer where families of four can get the nation’s citizenship for an investment of $150,000 (Dh550,875) in the country.
St Kitts and Nevis has the longest-running CBI programme in the world. Over the past 37 years, the programme has allowed the small sovereign state to develop and grow, increasing its attractiveness to investors, said the Prime Minister.
For those wishing to gain citizenship by investment, incentives include not just the passport, but the ability to live in a peaceful country with a strong rule of law, inalienable property rights and peace of mind over amounts invested. St Kitts and Nevis ranks highly on the United Nations’ Quality of Life Index for education, healthcare, and income per capita, which makes it extremely appealing to families.
Life on St Kitts and Nevis could have been negatively impacted by the closure of the nearly 400-year-old sugar industry, said the Prime Minister, but the CBI programme has allowed the nation to retrain its citizens for the tourism and services industry, as well as invest in other sectors.
Prime Minister Dr Harris also spoke of the strong ties St Kitts and Nevis has with the UAE and the wider Middle East. It’s the first Caribbean country to establish a consulate in Abu Dhabi, and he hoped that it’ll become an embassy in the near future.
Special limited-time offer
Elaborating on the limited-time offer that runs until January 15, 2021, Khan said that the investment requirement of $150,000 for a family of four is a reduction in cost from the usual $195,000. The main applicant requires to be over 18 years old and can include a spouse and dependents up to the age of 30. Keeping in mind the early retirement age in the Middle East, an adjustment was made in the age of parents of the main applicant, where parents over the age of 55 can be included. The grandparents may also apply to be included in these family applications.
Khan added that the government was very proud to have been recognised by the CBI Index, a yearly ranking by the Financial Times’ PWM magazine, where St Kitts and Nevis was the only country to receive full scores under the Citizenship Timeline Pillar, as a result of the accelerated and end-to-end automated process of its CBI programme.
Even though the process is quick and easy, Khan said that due diligence is the most important part of any application. Full background checks are carried out to ensure that people applying are acceptable to receive citizenship through the programme.
