Saint Lucia

New improvements made to Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Program have been announced and confirmed by St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Allen Chastanet. The Press Release was published January 3^rd and states that the new regulations come into force on the 1^st day of January 2017.

The minimum investment amounts for the National Economic Fund have changed as follows:

• Single applicant: US$100,000
        - Previous minimum: US$200,000
• Principal applicant with spouse: US$165,000
        - Previous minimum: US$235,000
• Principal applicant, spouse, and two qualifying dependent children: US$190,000
        - Previous minimum: US$250,000
• Each additional qualifying dependent child: US$25,000 each
        - Same as previous regulations

A non-refundable administration fee for the Government Bond investment option of US$50,000 has been added.

The criteria and minimum investment amounts for other investment options remains the same.

Other changes that have been announced by Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Program attorney, Nicholas John, have not been confirmed by Chastanet. John indicated that an applicant would no longer be required to demonstrate a US$3 million net worth to qualify, as well as that the maximum of 500 applicants per year would be removed. These claims are yet to be verified.

With the aforementioned changes to the National Economic Fund investment requirements, Saint Lucia is now on par with Dominica as the cheapest Citizenship by Investment Program available for a single applicant. However, Saint Lucia now surpasses Dominica as the cheapest program for a family, with or without children. When taking the application processing fees charged by both nations into consideration, Saint Lucia is cheaper than Dominica even for a single applicant.

Saint Lucia is one of the most beautiful and desired destinations in the Caribbean. Although there are no physical residency requirements, Saint Lucian citizenship allows the opportunity to reside on the island if the investor so chooses. A Saint Lucian passport grants its holder visa-free travel to over 100 countries. It is an economically, politically and socially stable country that is part of the Commonwealth and many investors use the island as a tax haven as there are no imposed taxes on worldwide income, as well as no estate or inheritance tax.

The Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Program offers fast track processing, with passports issued in as little as three months. With cheaper investment requirements and a greater number of visa-free countries granted by its passport than Dominica’s, Saint Lucia has just become the best value for Citizenship by Investment you can find.

For more information on Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Program, please click here.

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