Following Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia is also changing its citizenship by investment program by making some of its popular investment options less costly to compete with other Caribbean countries. However, other opportunities for obtaining citizenship in the country, such as getting citizenship for a newborn child, have increased in price.
Why Saint Lucia?
Although Saint Lucia’s citizenship by investment program is the youngest in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia has the region’s most developed economy and much to offer to wealthy investors. Its CBI program is especially popular with investors from the USA. Here are some advantages of obtaining Saint Lucia’s citizenship:
- Visa-free travel access to 146 countries
- Tax exemptions
- Low cost of living
- High-quality living standards
- Proximity to the USA
- Dual citizenship is allowed
- No physical stay requirements
And just as with any other Caribbean citizenship, the cost of obtaining Saint Lucia’s citizenship is significantly lower than the cost of getting any European citizenship or residency. Also, the process is faster.
Investment options and new prices for the CBI program
Saint Lucia’s citizenship by investment program has several options for investments. Here is the complete list:
- Investing in government bonds
- Investing in real estate
- Investing in enterprise projects
- Investing in Privileged Bonds
- Donating to the National Economic Fund
Now, let’s look at all the recent changes and how they affect the investment opportunities under Saint Lucia’s CBI program. Note that all the program amendments went into effect starting on January 1st, 2023.
How did the minimum investment requirement change?
The minimum requirement for real estate investment is now $200,000 instead of $300,000.
The minimum requirement for investors purchasing non-interest-bearing Government Bonds under the new Bond offer is now $300,000 instead of $500,000, which doesn’t depend on the number of participants.
These changes also coincide with the end of the Covid Relief bond offered at $250,000, which ended on Dec 31st, 2022.
Saint Lucia remains the only Caribbean country offering government bonds as a qualifying investment option for citizenship.
What are the other cost changes?
Developers applying for approved real estate under the CBI Program or enterprise projects now have to pay a $7,500 due diligence and background check fee.
Investors who have been a citizen of Saint Lucia for 12 months or less and are looking to include a newborn dependent through the country’s National Economic Fund will now have to pay a fee of $5000 instead of $500.
The replacement fee for a lost or damaged certificate increased from $100 to $500.
Saint Lucia became even more attractive to investors
Despite being the youngest Caribbean citizenship by investment program (launched in 2016), Saint Lucia’s program is considered one of the most advanced, secure, and transparent. Also, it is one of the most affordable CBI programs in the Caribbean. For example, the minimum non-refundable donation to the National Economic Fund to qualify you for citizenship in Saint Lucia is $100,000 for a single applicant. Meanwhile, in countries like Grenada and Saint Kitts, you would have to invest $150,000 or $125,000, respectively, to qualify for citizenship. Also, with the new changes announced, Saint Lucia now has one of the lowest minimum requirements for real estate investment, alongside Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica. These numbers put Saint Lucia on top of the Caribbean rank if you are interested in purchasing property for rental purposes or living.
And don’t forget to add to the list of benefits the spectacular beaches, splendid waterfalls, and numerous options for luxurious vacation destinations on the island. Saint Lucia offers investors an excellent opportunity to live in a heavenly place, travel around the globe, and obtain citizenship for a cost lower than getting a residence permit in any European country under the Golden Visa program.
