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ASSET PROTECTION: Concepts & Strategies for
Protecting Your Wealth,
by Jay D. Adkisson and Christopher M. Riser
(McGraw-Hill, 2004)
ORDER NOW |
St. Kitts & Nevis Economic Citizenship
Program
("Citizenship by Investment Programme")
St. Kitts & Nevis is one of only two countries which offer immediate
citizenship to persons who make certain approved investments in those
particular countries. Dominica is the other such country. Our firm
is very familiar with these programs and has extensive experience with
the program of St. Kitts & Nevis.
St. Kitts & Nevis (officially, "The Federation of Saint Christopher and
Nevis") is a small, beautiful Caribbean island nation located about
1,250 miles southeast of Miami, consisting of the larger, more densely
populated island of St. Kitts and the smaller less densely populated
island of Nevis, 3 miles away. The total population of St. Kitts & Nevis
is about 39,000, with about three-fourths of the population living on
St. Kitts. St. Kitts and Nevis gained independence from Great Britain in
1983.
Although sugar cane farming continues
to be a major source of revenue, tourism, manufacturing and offshore
financial services have assumed larger roles in the economy of St. Kitts
& Nevis. Tens of thousands of tourist visit the country annually. There
are several resort hotels on the islands, including a luxurious Four
Seasons resort on Nevis. St. Kitts has a modern airport with regular
non-stop passenger service from several major U.S. airports, including
Miami, Philadelphia and Charlotte. Communications are excellent with
fiber optic cable linking the islands of the eastern Caribbean, and an
enhanced wireless communications infrastructure.
The “Citizenship by Investment Programme”, the economic citizenship
program of St. Kitts & Nevis was established in 1984 under Sections
90-95 of the Constitution. The program requires investment of US$350,000
or more in an approved investment project. The only approved investment
projects to date have been real estate projects, i.e., houses and
condominiums. Our firm has extensive knowledge about the location, cost
and quality of available approved investment projects.
In addition to the investment, the program requires the payment of
government registration fees. If economic citizenship is desired for one
person, the fee is $35,000. If citizenship is desired for a family, the
fee is $35,000 for the head of the household, $15,000 for the spouse,
$15,000 for each dependent child under age 18, and $35,000 for each
dependent age 18 and over. Additional costs include a background
investigation fee of approximately $4,000 and legal fees of $10,000 to
$20,000.
Alternatively, an applicant for
economic citizenship may make a contribution of $200,000 (for one
applicant) to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation, a public
charity. For the applicant and up to three dependents (e.g., a
spouse and two children), five dependents, or six or more dependents,
the required contributions are $250,000, $300,000 and $400,000,
respectively. These amounts includes all government fees.
The St. Kitts & Nevis Ministry of National Security generally takes two
to four months to process the application. The slow processing time is
the result of the required wait for the Interpol background report
required of each applicant. After receiving approval, an applicant may
apply for and receive a St. Kitts and Nevis passport. A St. Kitts &
Nevis passport holder may reside permanently in St. Kitts & Nevis, and
has the ability to establish a business and reside permanently in other
CARICOM countries (including the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada,
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and several other Caribbean countries).
Additionally a St. Kitts & Nevis passport holder may travel without visas to a number of other
countries, including, notably, Canada, the U.K., most other Caribbean
countries, many Central and South American countries, many African
countries, Denmark, Switzerland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, and
Singapore.
For further information, please contact Chris Riser at criser (at) riserlaw.com or call 706-552-4800 to schedule an initial telephone consultation.
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