Reliable Citizenship by Investment: St Kitts and Nevis

Reliable Citizenship by Investment programmes are imperative to the Investment Migration Industry (IMI). The St Kitts and Nevis CBI programme allows those who contribute to the economy of the nation to live a life of greater mobility and freedom. The Programme also has some of the world’s strongest security in place to make sure new citizens have a positive impact on the Federation.

Also Read: How to become a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis in 60 days

More about the St Kitts and Nevis CBI Programme

For nearly 40 years, St Kitts and Nevis has been the pioneer of the global IMI. It remains one of the most sought-after economic citizenship programmes in the world.

Thanks to its role in the economy, the St Kitts and Nevis CBI Programme is in a unique position to convey the attractiveness of the island’s economy to foreign investors. The programme has a reputation as a well-regulated investment migration programme. It provides the right solutions for investors where they can successfully diversify their wealth.

Strong selling points of St Kitts and Nevis include:

• pro-business policies
• well-developed financial sectors
• well-developed manufacturing sectors
• strong tourism sectors

Also Read: St Kitts and Nevis one of the safest islands in the Caribbean!

How are applicants accepted to become economic citizens of St Kitts and Nevis?

The St Kitts and Nevis CBI Programme has a thorough system of vetting in place so that only the world’s most successful and morally sound applicants need apply. Often referred to as ‘due diligence’, the vetting and security processes are handled by a number of professionals along the way in a discrete, efficient and streamlined way.

Also Read: Due diligence tops the list in maintaining CBI integrity

An award-winning approach

The multi-layered and ongoing approach to due diligence is a key feature of the St Kitts and Nevis Programme. Subsequently, it’s one of many reasons it has such a strong reputation of quality and good standing in the industry. Widely considered the ‘Platinum Standard’, this title is enjoyed by St Kitts and Nevis because of the level of sophistication the CBI Programme offers.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised the strengthening of St Kitts and Nevis due diligence “with dedicated resources and global collaboration,”. Additionally, the Financial Times’ CBI Index has credited St Kitts and Nevis as having developed the world’s best due diligence processes.

Also Read: 2023 Updates to St Kitts and Nevis CBI Regulations

The role of the Authorised Agent

Another policy put in place to enhance the screening process is the role of the Authorised Agent. When an applicant decides to invest in second citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis, they will start the process with an Authorised Agent to the programme. The Authorised Agent advises the applicant and ensures their application fulfils all government requirements before it is formally submitted.

Further, the authorised representative of the applicant is also required to submit proof of their own due diligence check. This includes police clearance checks from the past 10 years.

This policy is just one example of how St Kitts and Nevis continues to forge ahead in its approach to due diligence. Understandably, in the past, other nations worldwide have followed St Kitts and Nevis’ lead in policy relating to due diligence and the processing of applications.

Also Read: What is a sub agent? 

St Kitts and Nevis CIU

Once the application is formally submitted by the Authorised Agent, the Government department in St Kitts and Nevis responsible for the application processing (the Citizenship by Investment Unit, or the Unit) carries out their own due diligence processes.

The Unit is led by risk management experts previously of IPSA International and has several members of staff with high-level expertise in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) preventative measures.

A 24/7 case management system allows applications to be monitored around-the-clock. The team reviews all submissions and relevant supporting documents to make sure they are valid and authentic. Then the application is checked again by third-party due diligence companies.

External checks on the applicant

The Unit appoints professional firms who review all aspects of a candidate’s life. This ranges from family relations to source of funds. Only firms with the highest quality standards and reputation are used. They will also typically hold expertise in obtaining information from specific countries and regions, depending on the origin of the application.

These due diligence and risk management firms perform on-the-ground checks to verify that every piece of information submitted by the applicant. This ranges from educational achievements right through to family ties. They check whether the information received is in fact truthful. Where required, other international partners may also be utilised.

Where to from there?

Economic citizenship will only be granted once all parties are confident that the applicant is of good repute. This is an ongoing process. Accordingly, once citizenship is granted, the citizen will still be held to the same high level of scrutiny should there be suspicion of criminal behaviour.

Citizenship can and has been revoked where an individual has offended after their application has been processed and approved.

Any candidate found to:

• have provided false information,
• has a criminal record,
• or is the subject of a criminal investigation,
• has the potential to be a national security risk to St Kitts and Nevis or any other country,
• is involved in any activity likely to cause disrepute to the Federation,
• or has been denied an entry visa by any country with which St Kitts and Nevis holds a visa-free agreement,
  will be denied economic citizenship.

Apply today!

The CIU has created a Limited Time Offer (LTO) for a period of six months. It runs from 1 January to 30 June 2023. Contact us if you would like more information on this offer.