St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit launches the Office of the Chairman

The St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) has introduced the Office of the Chairman which works as a centre of excellence within the unit. The office functions with a focus on economic growth, customer service and real-estate matters.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, the CIU said the Office of the Chairman’s launch comes at a time when the unit continues its mission for an ambitious transformation. The CIU is committed to maintaining its reputation.

It oversees the Caribbean island-nation’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, the world’s longest-standing and most revered such initiative. The CIU upholds the principles of integrity, efficiency and transparency while ensuring a seamless process for investors in the CBI programme and projecting its positive image globally.

Office of the Chairman has 3 major aims

Led by the Chairman of the CIU Board of Governors, Calvin St. Juste, the Office of the Chairman will strive to accomplish three broad missions: supporting economic growth, promoting exceptional customer service, and reviewing real estate and development projects.

The board oversees the CIU’s strategic direction and governance.

The office will support sustainable economic growth by ensuring that the projects deliver intrinsic economic benefits to St. Kitts and Nevis, including through the creation of opportunities for the local workforce and enterprises.

The office will manage the review and approval process for all real-estate and development projects approved under the CBI initiative. They will include regulatory compliance across all transactions from minimum investment thresholds to resale criteria in connection to real-estate option.

It will also enlist support of both local and international experts to make the projects successful.

“We are building strategic partnerships with local and international experts, bringing sustainable projects to fruition and championing best practices that meet the highest global standards. Join us as we deliver a transformed CBI programme, cultivate stronger relationships with our stakeholders and build a brighter future for the citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis,” St. Juste said in a video message.

The Office of the Chairman will also promote a high-quality customer service by providing the developers, clients and service providers a single point of contact.

By helping the CIU achieve the global standards in development and boosting the stakeholders’ confidence in how the unit operates, the office will promote St. Kitts and Nevis’s much talked about Sustainable Island State Agenda to drive the federation towards long-term transformation.

Operations under the Office of the Chairman

Damille James, a member of the Board of Governors, will be the executive director for the Office of the Chairman and look after its daily functioning.

With more than two decades of experience in the banking industry and financial expertise, James will guide the Office of the Chairman to centralize real-estate activity into a single unit, helping to streamline the entire process.

James, who has been employed at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for the past decade, said, “We will deepen the unit’s commitment to good governance and transparency, by conducting regular audits on real-estate transactions. We will also foster a culture of continuous quality control, monitoring and review.”

He said the Office of the Chairman will also include the newly established CIU Task Force. The team will provide the bench strength for the unit to focus on its highest-priority projects and initiatives.

About St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment programme

Set up in 1984, the St. Kitts and Nevis CBI programme is the world’s first such programme which was later adopted by other nations as a way towards national development. Under the programme, foreign investors can gain citizenship of the island by making financial contributions to the country, typically through a real-estate investment or a donation to a government fund. Residency is not required under the initiative. The twin-island nation has seen several transformative projects aided by funds received through the CBI programme.