Saint Lucia: CIP Unit announces new amendments in programme

Saint Lucia: Beginning the New Year with a new decision, the citizenship by an investment unit of Saint Lucia has announced new amendments to the existing regulations of the CIP. The changes include a reduced sum of investment for real estate, a due diligence fee for developers applying under real estate, and many other significant changes, taking effect from January 1 2023, onwards.

The head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Saint Lucia, MC Claude N. Emmanuel, said the unit has taken a comprehensive review of CIP Saint Lucia’s offerings and further to the approval of the Citizenship by Investment Board and the Minister with Responsibility for the Citizenship by Investment Programme. These amendments have been approved by the Minister of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information Ernest Hilaire.

While giving a green flag to the amendments, the minister praised the due diligence procedure of the programme and was quoted saying, “The procedure is multi-layered, strict and robust, which is performed on all applicants by the CIP Unit. Then the application is checked by the banks, following which the international intelligence units go through who also do on-the-ground assessments.” Minister Hilaire also announced that these updates would maintain the country’s rigorous but seamless vetting process.

The amendments to the existing Regulations will take effect from January 1, 2023. The unit will adopt five amendments, which are as follows:

1. The replacement fee for a lost or damaged certificate will be increased from USD 100 to USD 500

2. A fee of USD 7,500 will be applied for the developers, which will include due diligence and background check, applying under the CIP-approved real estate or enterprise project.

3. The investment into the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund will also be increased for an additional dependant who is twelve months or below. The price will be increased from USD 500 to USD 5000.

4. The real-estate option investment will be reduced from USD 300,000 to USD 200,000.

5. The unit has introduced a new ‘Bond Offer’ for investment by the purchase of non-interest-bearing Government Bonds. The bond purchase sum for the applicant and all qualifying dependents of any number will be USD 300,000 for a period of five years. The Administrative fee for the same will be USD 50,000.

As per CEO MC Claude Emmanuel, these amendments are geared towards making the Programme increasingly competitive and ensuring that it will fulfil the mandate of growing demand for investment products for the ultimate benefit of the people of Saint Lucia.

During a recent event, CEO Emmanuel invited global investors to come and invest in the Citizenship by Investment Programme of Saint Lucia. He greeted the gathering through a video message and outlined the benefits offered by alternative citizenship.

He highlighted that despite being the newest CBI Programme in the region, the Programme had witnessed tremendous improvements. The video message of the CEO of the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Saint Lucia further focused on the due-diligence procedure and stated that the unit and the government ensure that each and every application will undergo comprehensive checks, and only reputable people will be able to become the citizen of the island country.

Following this, the head of the CIP unit of Saint Lucia Emmanuel participated in an event in Florida. The event welcomed private wealth and institutional investors and aimed to bring the investment management community to bring peer-driven thought leadership experiences that offer a perfect platform for business development, networking and education. Amid this event, Emmanuel highlighted that Saint Lucia is a perfect choice for wealth managers who are looking for an investment option.

He, furthermore, highlighted that Saint Lucia is certainly one of the best options, providing the best in terms of what it has to offer investors. Emmanuel further acclaimed, “As our currency, the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, is pegged with the United States Dollar, Saint Lucia has the strongest economy. The rate of USD 1 is equivalent to ECD 2.70 and has remained the same for more than 70 years.”

Emmanuel also mentioned that the CBI Programme of Caribbean island country has climbed a spot and has been ranked as third best by the CBI Index, a publication of the PWM Magazine of the Financial Times.

The Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) of Saint Lucia was launched in the year 2016. Since then, it has opened doors to incredible benefits for the applicant, such as global mobility, wealth planning, entrepreneurial diversification portfolio, and citizenship by life. The minimum investment to apply for alternative citizenship starts from USD 100,000.

Saint Lucia citizenship can be attained by applying through four investment options, one of which is the National Economic Fund, which is popularly known as the fund option. This option helps the country in the construction and improvement of infrastructure, including bridges, highways, schools and hospitals.