Among Caribbean nations, Saint Lucia’s citizenship-by-investment program is the most recent and promising. Saint Lucia is a lively and appealing destination that retains the region’s exclusivity, authenticity, and charm while providing all the comforts of a tropical vacation.
How to get Saint Lucia citizenship
Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment (CBI) schemes allow foreign nationals to legally enter a country in exchange for financial contributions or purchases of real estate. The Saint Lucia economic citizenship program is one of the latest and most attractive methods to gain a second passport due to the country’s pristine natural beauty, pleasant year-round temperature, and abundance of world-class beaches. Real estate, the National Economic Fund (Saint Lucia donation citizenship), government bonds, and business investments are all acceptable forms of obtaining a Saint Lucian passport via investment.
Let’s take a closer look at them, as well as the cost for Saint Lucia citizenship.
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National Economic Fund
Saint Lucia National Economic Fund (NEF) is a special fund created by the government to take financial donations for financing government-supported initiatives.
CIB via the NEF method requires the following first investment after the application has been approved:
- Single applicant — $100,000
- Applicant and their spouse — $165,000
- Applicant with their spouse and up to two other qualifying dependants — $190,000 (each additional qualifying dependant — $25,000)
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Real estate investment for St. Lucia citizenship
Prospective buyers of real estate in Saint Lucia have a choice between two different paths.
- One option is to put at least $300,000 into upscale hotels and resorts that have already been authorized.
- The second choice is to put at least $300,000 into a high-end home.
The applicant must commit to an investment in an authorized real estate project by signing a legally binding buy and sale agreement. The developer and the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Saint Lucia require that an escrow account be established and funds equivalent to the purchase price be placed into the account.
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Government Bond Investment
An approved candidate and his or her family may choose to purchase Saint Lucia government bonds and hold them for a period of five years to obtain Saint Lucia’s citizenship via investment. Depending on the size of the household, the bond amount will change.
- $500,000 for a single candidate.
- Joint application $535,000 (applicant and spouse).
- $550,000 for families with up to three dependents (spouse and two children).
- Every supplementary individual in your household will cost you an extra $25,000 USD.
There is a US $50,000 application fee for the government bond option.
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Enterprise Project Investment
Applicants of the Saint Lucia citizenship program must spend at least $3.5 million and create at least three new job positions. Two contenders may share the $6 million investment and six employees. Specialty restaurants, cruise ship terminals, agricultural processing facilities, medicines, transportation infrastructure, ports, bridges, highways, and foreign universities are approved types of businesses.
Benefits
Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment program has the potential to facilitate corporate growth and provide tax benefits to its residents. An expert from Immigrant Invest, Zlata Erlach, names other lucrative benefits of St. Lucia citizenship:
- Processing time of less than three months is guaranteed.
- The dependent children under the age of 25 are eligible.
- Children and/or parents who are disabled, whether by mental illness or physical disability, are also eligible.
- Inclusion of applicant’s over-65-year-old parents, who are currently residing with them.
- You don’t need to visit Saint Lucia to apply.
- There is no need to go through a screening process.
- More than a hundred nations, including the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, do not need a visa for entry.
- No local or federal taxes on you worldwide income: https://immigrantinvest.com/blog/taxes-in-saint-lucia-en/.
Another quite valuable benefit is that Saint Lucia dual citizenship is totally allowed, which has a lot of business and financial advantages to it.