An annual report conducted by researcher, James McKay, and published by the Financial Times’ Professional Wealth Management magazine, has ranked the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme [https://www.ciu.gov.kn/] as the world’s best. The report, known as the CBI Index [https://cbiindex.com/], is one of the industry’s most comprehensive and reliable tools for comparing CBI programmes on the market.
For the first time since the report’s inception in 2017, St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme has topped the rankings after scoring full marks in five pillars reflecting investor priorities, including Mandatory Travel or Residence, Citizenship Timeline, Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, and Family. St Kitts and Nevis maintained a top score in the Mandatory Travel or Residence pillar as it does not require applicants to fulfil travel or residence requirements before or after applying to become citizens of the nation. It also received the highest score of all CBI jurisdictions for Citizenship Timeline as it is the only country with a guaranteed fast-track process.
The report highlighted: “St Kitts and Nevis once again leads the Citizenship Timeline pillar by virtue of its Accelerated Application Process, which offers citizenship to qualifying applicants within a maximum of 60 days and, under certain circumstances, as little as 45 days. For applicants who do not want to pay a premium, St Kitts and Nevis’ standard route has an average processing time of three months.”
The nation was also awarded perfect scores in the Ease of Processing and Due Diligence pillars. St Kitts and Nevis has achieved maximum points for its due diligence procedures for five consecutive years. Lastly, St Kitts and Nevis obtained full marks in the Family pillar, introduced in last year’s edition. The increase came after the nation widened its definition of ‘dependant’ to include siblings aged 30 and under who are unmarried, childless, and financially dependent on the main applicant.
Prime Minister Timothy Harris commended the achievement, “As pioneers of the citizenship by investment programme, St Kitts and Nevis has long since been an industry leader within the CBI realm, we’re extremely pleased that this is being reflected in a report of such stature.”
“St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme is one of the oldest options on the market and has stood the test of time, evolving to meet the changing needs of investors – particularly over the last year,” said Les Khan, CEO of the CBI Unit. “The report’s ranking of the programme is a reaffirmation of why investors continue to choose our nation.”
The 2021 CBI Index also noted that St Kitts and Nevis is the Caribbean CBI country with the most extensive visa-free and visa-on-arrival offering. Those who become citizens gain increased travel freedom to nearly 160 destinations across the globe, a number that continues to expand due to the efforts of Foreign Minister Mark Brantley.
Investors can also take advantage of a limited-time offer announced last year and extended to 31 December 2021 due to vast popularity. Under the offer, families of up to four can obtain citizenship by contributing US$150,000 to the Programme’s Sustainable Growth Fund, instead of the US$195,000 contribution that previously applied to a typical family of four.
