Launched in 2015, the St Lucia investor passport program is one of the youngest CIPs in the world. Regulated under the Citizenship by Investment Bill of 2015, the program offers foreign nationals the ability to obtain St Lucian citizenship by making an eligible investment or a government donation. Designed to stimulate economic growth and aid in job creation the program seeks to attract high net worth individuals and families from across the globe.

By as early as 2019, over 630 economic passports were issued to new St Lucian citizens under the program, raising approximately $40 million in revenues for the St Lucian government.

Key program benefits include the ability to travel visa-free to over 140+ countries worldwide, including the UK, Singapore and the EU Schengen area. The entire process, including the citizenship ceremony and passport issuance, can be completed in as little as 3 months (but typically takes 4 months).

There are no requirements for language proficiency, cultural knowledge, minimum stays or physical residency, and the application process can be completed remotely. In addition, the country’s friendly taxation regime appeals to individuals seeking to optimize their tax obligations. With a view to remain competitive against other Caribbean CBIs, the program recently dropped its high net worth requirement with a view to make the program more accessible to an upper middle-class clientele.

While the program has proven to be very popular among wealthy Chinese, investors, the program is also in high demand among investors from Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and the United States.

Pricing wise, the program ties with Dominica as the lowest program cost for a single applicant via the donation route, with the added benefit of a stronger passport. The pricing for a couple comes in at approximately $165,000, but for a single applicant, this program does offer excellent value relative to price.

While the programme offers four possible routes to acquire citizenship, the $100,000 donation based route tends to appeal to the lion’s share of applicants, giving the exceptionally low capital layout and overall cost of application.

COMPETITIVE PRICING: The St Lucia CIP is frequently the preferred option for single applicants, given its favourable price point. The program cost ties with that of Dominica, but its passport offers more visa-free travel destinations. For families of 4, the Grenada and Vanuatu may be viable options too, given their pricing. The Vanuatu passport program requires and investment of $205,000 for a family of 4, while the Grenada program comes in at circa $200,000 as well, with the added advantage of offering long term access to the USA.

VISA-FREE TRAVEL: As a travel document, the St Lucia passport is an excellent all-rounder. While you can’t visit Russia and China visa-free, you will have access to the EU, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Ireland, Montenegro, as well as most of south and central America.

 FAST APPLICATION PROCESS: Citizenship approvals and passport issuance is typically completed in as little as 3 months, though 4 months is considered the average period required. The St Lucia CIP is a direct economic citizenship program, so there is no need to obtain residency status as a precursor to your second citizenship application.

FAMILY ELIGIBILITY: Include your dependent children under 26, as well as your parents and grandparents over the age of 65 years. In addition, St Lucian citizenship is for life, and can be transferred to future generations as well.  

EXCELLENT SECOND HOME DESTINATION: St Lucia is internationally sought after as an upmarket holiday destination. The island nation boasts world class beaches, an abundant biodiversity and spectacular natural vistas. Rodney Bay, in particular, is exceedingly popular as a honeymoon destination and a playground for the global jet-set.

MOST NATIONALITIES WELCOME: No nationality is expressly barred from obtaining St Lucian citizenship, hence citizens of countries such as Libya, Iran, Iraq, Congo DRC, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the GCE countries are welcome to apply.

GLOBAL CONSULAR REPRESENTATION: St Lucia has high commissions and embassies across the world, including stations in Washington, New York, London, Toronto, Stockholm, Limassol, Frankfurt, Lebanon and Monaco, to name just a key locations.

MINIMAL REQUIRMENTS: In addition to a simple, efficient due diligence process, there are no requirements for language proficiency, cultural knowledge testing or minimum in-country stays. In fact, you never need to visit St Lucia to become a citizen of the country, although a visit to the country is highly recommended. By as early as 2018, over 1.2 million international travellers visited this island paradise. It is also gaining in popularity as a global golfing destination.

During 2019, a number of legislative changes were enacted with a view to streamline the program and make it more accessible to foreign investors:

• Newborn children can now easily be added as dependents, post-application, for a period of 5 years.

• Similarly, new spouses of the primary applicant can obtain second citizenship as a dependent for a period of 5 years after the primary applicant had become a St Lucian citizen.

• The average processing time was reduced to only 80 days.

• All agents promoting the St Lucia program had to undergo due diligence vetting and meeting stringent government approval requirements.

• Applicants suffering from delays of longer than 90 days in terms of paying can apply for an extension from the Citizenship Board of St Lucia.

• For real estate investments, government processing fees was reduced from $50,000 to $30,000.

As of May 2020, bearers of the St Lucia passport enjoy visa-free travel, or visa-upon-arrival, for the following countries: 

• AFRICA: Botswana, Cape Verde, Comores, Egypt, Swaziland, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Reunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, St. Helena, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• AMERICAS: Argentina, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

• ASIA: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos , Macao, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Timor-Leste.

• CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, the French West Indies, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Turks and Caicos Islands.

• EUROPE: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,  Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the Vatican City.

• MIDDLE EAST: Armenia, Iran, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territory.

• OCEANIA: Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.