Published 23 February 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
ST.KITTS-NEVIS CBI PROGRAMME IS #1 IN THE CARIBBEAN
by: Times Caribbean
St. Kitts & Nevis is ranking first in the region for its Citizenship By Investment (CBI) programme, in the 2018 Passport Index, released by leading international CBI firm, Henley & Partners.
Along with Europe, the Caribbean is one region that has shown the greatest historical improvement on the Henley & Partners Passport Index. St. Kitts & Nevis surpassed other CBI territories in the region.
This accomplishment is especially beneficial to St. Kitts & Nevis as the small island state recently signed a historic Visa Waiver Agreement with Russia. The small island state was also the only Caribbean island recognised in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s travel list for 2018, positioning the island as a more attractive destination for CBI programmes. Currently St. Kitts & Nevis residents enjoy visa free/entry permits to over 140 countries/territories including Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, while citizens also enjoy “short stay” visa waivers to France. This achievement is extremely valuable to St. Kitts & Nevis’s CBI programme-It means that its strategies are effective and that the government should continue to develop its CBI brand. The programme should maintain its high standards of conducting business and continue to explore more opportunities so that it remains a first-class brand. The St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship By Investment Unit/CIU is encouraged that the programme can now anticipate greater investments, which in turn will benefit its citizens.
“The results of the recent index supports the efforts that the CIU has made, and the government of St. Kitts & Nevis have put into ensuring that St. Kitts and Nevis is the best programme in the world. We are top in due diligence, we are accelerating our files and are able to turn around our applications in the most efficient manner.”
“As the oldest programm in the world, we have ensured our integrity of our progress, our system, due diligence and of our ability for clients to invest in a solid programme. We have also ensured that our clients can visit more countries visa free and visa upon entry of ports, than any other country in the Caribbean,” expressed Chief Executive Officer of St. Kitts & Nevis CIU, Les Khan
Investors of the CBI programme are given the option to invest in real estate or make a contribution to the island’s Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) which directly benefits residents through grants, loans, budget support, debt forgiveness or assistance of any kind to the Government or to persons or institutions that qualify for such assistance under its policies.
To date, the Foundation has invested over US$ 55,000,000.00 (fifty five million) in the development of St. Kitts & Nevis by way of grants, loans and shareholdings. Capisterre Farm is one example of a project that received funding, and the St. Christopher National Trust was the beneficiary of a grant. Money was provided to the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis to establish several funds including the Agricultural Fund, the Small Hotel and Restaurant Modernization Fund (SHARM) and the Fund for the Realization of Economic Empowerment through Subsidized Housing (FREESH). The SIDF has also invested in Kittitian Hill- a five-star luxury resort under construction, and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority has received financing for the airlift support program. In an effort to continue to attract clients and agents, the unit has worked very hard on the programme over the past year.
” This award recognises and attest to the efforts of the CIU and the CBI programme as a whole. The country of St. Kitts & Nevis has been working diligently to ensure that we have maintained and up kept the brand recognition that we have had through our platinum status. With this award, it is a confirmation that our clients, service providers and agents are supportive of the efforts that we have made.”
“We believe that Henley & Partners is an important part of our distribution channels. We have worked very closely with Henley and other international agents to ensure that we bring the best clients to St. Kitts & Nevis,” continued Khan.
St. Kitts and Nevis began its CBI programme in 1984 making it one of the oldest existing CBI programmes in the world. Since then, the programme has positioned itself as a premium brand, having been recognized as the world’s most innovative investment migration programme in the 2017 Russian Global Citizen Awards, and ranked second among CBI countries in the Caribbean in the 2017 Henley & Partners Quality of Nationality Index (QNI).
Henley and Partners is content that the St. Kitts CBI programme continues to excel and therefore it is very attractive to potential investors.
” The St. Kitts & Nevis CBI programme is perceived globally as a very highly sought after CBI programme. The programme is the oldest in the world and many changes have been made to increase its strength and structure.”
” The recent index results serve as a very big boost and a testament to the work that Henley & Partners has been consistently doing in the region,” explains Henley and Partners Managing Partner to St. Kitts & Nevis, Chanee Isaac
Henley & Partners is renowned for its development and advisory on CBI/CIP programmes globally- it is the foremost authority on international CBI programmes. Currently the firm handles CBI brands in St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda and Grenada. Henley & Partners is also the pioneers of the highly respected and anticipated CBI indexes and reports, which are produced on an annual basis. The reports include the Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index, theGlobal Residence and Citizenship and the Visa Restriction Index. All of which, St. Kitts and Nevis has scored high and continues to climb.
The global CBI firm is appointed by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and is officially authorised to handle applications under its Citizenship-by-Investment program. In previous years the firm acted in the capacity of an advisory to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to ensure that both St. Kitts & Nevis and the Investor benefit mutually from the CBI programme.
” Henley & Partners’ commitment to the St. Kitts CBI programme is characterised by the words long standing and sterling. We are proud to work with the St. Kitts government and will continue to do so to make strong strides,” expresses Isaac
St. Kitts & Nevis is also ranking high in the Global CBI platform, as its programme was the highest climber from the CBI region in the international rankings. The island continues to strengthen its premium brand by forging and engaging new diplomatic alliances internationally.
