The Economic Citizenship Program in Nevis
St Kitts and Nevis is an island federation in the Caribbean which offers a citizenship program which is highly rated. The St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship program began immediately after the countries gained independence from Great Britain in 1983. The St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship act was passed in 1984 and the St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Program is managed by the Government of the offshore jurisdiction of Nevis and St Kitts.
The St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program gives persons who desire to become citizens of the federation to different options for applying to the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program: The Sugar Industry diversification Foundation option and the Real estate option. Both options involve the applicants to the citizenship program going through strict ad rigorous screening by the government of St Kitts and Nevis. A background check or due diligence is obligatory for all applicants to the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program. Working adults must submit bank statements as well as a business background d check. Birth Certificates, marriage or Divorce certificates, Criminal records or police records, certified copies of passport pages or other types of identification along with medical certificates must be provided by the applicants to the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program.
Applying for St Kitts and Nevis citizenship through the Real Estate option means making a significant contribution towards the development of an ongoing real estate project or a new real estate project which has designated by the St Kitts and Nevis Government for the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program. The contributions for the real estate option of the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship programs starts at US$350,000. In addition to the investment various fees has to be paid by the applicant including a government fee of US$35,000, application fees of US$3500 per person for due diligence fees for adults applying through this option. Any real estate properties acquired through the citizenship program of St Kitts and Nevis must be held by the owners for a period of no less than five (5) years before it can be sold. The sale of this property does not qualify the new owners for citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis through the St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship program.
The other option which is the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) involves making a monetary contribution towards a diversification program which is aimed at providing alternative industries to the now defunct sugar industry on the islands and provides employment for former sugar industry workers. Four different monetary contributions can be made; US$200,000 will qualify a single applicant for St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship, a contribution of US$250,000 qualifies one applicant and no more than three (3) dependants, US$300,000 will qualify an applicant and five (5) dependents and US$400,000 will qualify an applicant and six or more dependents. Dependents refer to spouse and children under the age of eighteen (18) years. Contributions made for citizenship through the SIDF already include government fees and due diligence fees. Processing fees are not included and is dependent on the outcome of each case.
The St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship program is well supervised and applicants wishing to gain citizenship must use the services of a Registered Agent who is a person or business office which is recognized and licensed by the government of St Kitts and Nevis to provide such services.