PR91211

BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis /August 18, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

An annual report conducted by researcher, James McKay, and published by the

Financial Times’ Professional Wealth Management magazine, has ranked the

Federation of St Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme

[https://www.ciu.gov.kn/] as the world’s best. The report, known as the CBI

Index [https://cbiindex.com/], is one of the industry’s most comprehensive and

reliable tools for comparing CBI programmes on the market.

For the first time since the report’s inception in 2017, St Kitts and Nevis’

CBI Programme has topped the rankings after scoring full marks in five pillars

reflecting investor priorities, including Mandatory Travel or Residence,

Citizenship Timeline, Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, and Family. St Kitts

and Nevis maintained a top score in the Mandatory Travel or Residence pillar as

it does not require applicants to fulfil travel or residence requirements

before or after applying to become citizens of the nation. It also received the

highest score of all CBI jurisdictions for Citizenship Timeline as it is the

only country with a guaranteed fast-track process.

The report highlighted: “St Kitts and Nevis once again leads the Citizenship

Timeline pillar by virtue of its Accelerated Application Process, which offers

citizenship to qualifying applicants within a maximum of 60 days and, under

certain circumstances, as little as 45 days. For applicants who do not want to

pay a premium, St Kitts and Nevis’ standard route has an average processing

time of three months.”

The nation was also awarded perfect scores in the Ease of Processing and Due

Diligence pillars. St Kitts and Nevis has achieved maximum points for its due

diligence procedures for five consecutive years. Lastly, St Kitts and Nevis

obtained full marks in the Family pillar, introduced in last year’s edition.

The increase came after the nation widened its definition of ‘dependant’ to

include siblings aged 30 and under who are unmarried, childless, and

financially dependent on the main applicant.

Prime Minister Timothy Harris commended the achievement, “As pioneers of the

citizenship by investment programme, St Kitts and Nevis has long since been an

industry leader within the CBI realm, we’re extremely pleased that this is

being reflected in a report of such stature.”

“St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme is one of the oldest options on the market

and has stood the test of time, evolving to meet the changing needs of

investors – particularly over the last year,” said Les Khan, CEO of the CBI

Unit. “The report’s ranking of the programme is a reaffirmation of why

investors continue to choose our nation.”

The 2021 CBI Index also noted that St Kitts and Nevis is the Caribbean CBI

country with the most extensive visa-free and visa-on-arrival offering. Those

who become citizens gain increased travel freedom to nearly 160 destinations

across the globe, a number that continues to expand due to the efforts of

Foreign Minister Mark Brantley.

Investors can also take advantage of a limited-time offer announced last year

and extended to 31 December 2021 due to vast popularity. Under the offer,

families of up to four can obtain citizenship  by contributing US$150,000 to

the Programme’s Sustainable Growth Fund, instead of the US$195,000 contribution

that previously applied to a typical family of four.

ciuunitskn@gmail.com, www.ciu.gov.kn

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1597315/CS_Global_St_Kitts.jpg

Source: The Government of St Kitts and Nevis