St Kitts and Nevis is the oldest and platinum standard citizenship-by-investment program in the Caribbean. The concept of citizenship based on investment first originated in the twin island of Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1984, now has grown to become a $3 billion dollar industry.
According to the IMF report the non-tax revenue of the CBI program for 2015, amounted to 16% of GDP (ECD 294.5 million). IMF estimated 11% of GDP for 2016 came from CBI. The CBI revenues hit record high in 2013 and 2014 reaching 18% of GDP.
In 2018 Budget speech, PM Harris said Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme continues to be an important contributor to Non-Tax Revenue and contributes significantly to the buoyancy of construction and allied industries.
The St Kitts economy grew at 3.2% in 2016, compared to 4.9 percent in 2015.
The St Kitts CBI revenues from 2011 to 2017 has reached $2.1 billion dollars in ECD.
The Government did Recalibration and Resuscitation of our Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme that was on the verge of collapse, and elevating it to a platinum standard
During the 2017 Hurricane season, after hit by Hurricane, SKN cut the prices from $250K to $150K (Hurricane fund) under the citizenship scheme. Previously before Q3 2017, investors who pay $250,000 were granted citizenship. More 1200 applications received for Hurricane Relief Fund alone.
In April 2018, the St Kitts Government introduced Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF), foreigners who pay $150,000 to this fund are granted citizenship. Since the introduction of SGF, St Kitts is unlikely to receive contributions to SIDF fund.
The Government also cut real estate investment prices by 50% from USD 400,000 to USD 200,000 to be eligible for citizenship.
The CBI program in St Kitts funded several luxury hotel projects in St Kitts such as Park Hyatt, Six Senses, Marriott and Four seasons resort, Koi resort, Radisson.
Revenues from SIDF funded for Infrastructure Projects in Nevis, through a share of the CBI revenue to finance the cost of the development of a state of the art, 400 meter Mondo Athletic Track; urgent resurfacing of the runway at Vance Amory International Airport; advancement of the Geothermal Project; and establishment of a modern diagnostic wing at Alexandra Hospital.
For the past 3 years, St. Kitts and Nevis has recorded positive economic growth, and as a result of the Government’s prudent fiscal management, the country now boasts the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio among the independent states in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that St. Kitts and Nevis’ debt-to-GDP ratio would fall below the ECCU’s debt to GDP target of 60 percent in 2018, well ahead of other member states.
St. Kitts and Nevis recently announced it is positioning itself best managed small island state in the next ten years, and the strong economic signs are already indicating that the twin island Federation is heading in the right direction.
In March 2018, The St Kitts PM announced, the government is introducing new innovative ways to strengthen the integrity of the CBI program by improving due diligence standards.
“We stand for integrity, rigour and robust due diligence. In fact, we continue to improve our due diligence process and in the near future we will be introducing biometrics, starting with applicants from high risk countries.”
Saint Kitts citizenship program ranked fourth best among countries with CIPs by Henley and Partners. It is also the most popular and first among the CBI programs in the Caribbean.
St Kitts Government has facilitated a number of visa waiver agreements in 2017 with Taiwan, Indonesia, Russia, Moldova, Rwanda, Brazil, Laos and Chile. New Diplomatic Relations established with 14 new countries such as Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Belarus, Bolivia, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Mauritius and Cyprus. After having lost its visa waiver with Canada, the Government is also actively pursuing to restore visa free access to Canada. The visa free countries list using SKN passport is listed here
In 2018, St Kitts and Nevis passport ranks 24th powerful passport in the world with visa free access to 151 countries such as United Kingdom, EU schengen states, Brazil etc.. according to Henley passport index.
