St Kitts and Nevis has made some adjustments to its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme including reducing the financial contributions.
The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) announced it had revised the minimum investment for a real estate project from US$400,000 to US$325,000. The minimum investment in a single-family private dwelling home has been lowered from US$800,000 to US$600,000.
The fee for the addition of newborn children has been reduced from $30,000 to $7,500.
CBI applicants with a dependant parent, can also add them to their application once they are 55 years and over.
The CIU’s Technical Committee has been revamped and will comprise of five industry experts across both government and CIU.
The CIU said these changes came after consultations with local and international stakeholders and are expected to make St Kitts and Nevis CBI program stand out from the rest.
“The developments are expected to boost demand in the Federation’s real estate CBI options, which have a proven track record of creating jobs and bringing high levels of investment into St. Kitts and Nevis. The changes are also likely to make the CBI Programme more competitive within the global market,” the CIU said.
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the CIU, Calvin St Juste explained the reasoning behind the changes: “We have been leading the industry by crafting the sustainable model and fulfilling the standards set out by the international community. The modifications in the investment amount have been taken to align with market realities while preserving the premier brand of St Kitts and Nevis and positioning it as the first choice for investors.”
St Juste added that these changes maintain the standards that are set by the St Kitts and Nevis CBI Programme over the past four decades, ensuring that the evolution of the Programme will fulfil the Sustainable Island State Agenda.
