Last week, the St Kitts and Nevis Government announced the introduction of two new mechanisms to the compulsory security procedures under its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. During a recent meet-and-greet event in Dubai, senior Government officials explained that St Kitts and Nevis citizenship hopefuls would need to undergo digital fingerprinting checks as part of the due diligence process. Furthermore, they announced that new legislation pertaining to the Escrow Account Bill would increase transparency of the real estate option under the country’s CBI Programme.
The popularity of the St Kitts and Nevis Programme continues to grow worldwide, and even more so after Prime Minister Timothy Harris introduced a new investment channel – the Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF) – in March last year. It is a successor to the temporary Hurricane Relief Fund option, which was terminated in the spring of 2018. The SGF’s unique selling point is its efficiency due to lack of additional intermediaries or bureaucracy. Specifically, once an applicant is approved in principle, they can make a contribution straight into a government-held account, who can immediately assess receipt of funds and complete the application without delay.
As the Programme becomes more attractive to affluent Middle Eastern investors, Citizenship by Investment Programme specialists CS Global Partners – the international legal advisory mandated by the St Kitts and Nevis Government to promote its CBI Programme – has a few tips to make the application process smoother.
“Your best starting point is the government website – ciu.gov.kn – where you can find more information on the Programme itself, and, more importantly, select your agent from a reliable list, approved by the government,” advises CEO Micha Rose-Emmett. “Your agent will guide you throughout the process until completion, so choose one whom you can trust to provide the correct legal advice.”
The SGF is an important economic pillar for St Kitts and Nevis, as the generated funds aim to support development in education, infrastructure, social wellbeing or indigenous entrepreneurship etc. St Kitts and Nevis remains the country offering world’s longest-serving Citizenship by Investment Programme, running since 1984. It provides two investment pathways: a contribution to a government fund or an investment in pre-approved real estate.
