Becoming a citizen in a foreign country is not something you can do in a day. There are so many conditions you need to accomplish before you apply for citizenship. Nowadays, many countries around the world give some easing when it comes to those who want to invest or contribute to economic growth.
Some countries in the world are not at all open to granting citizenship to foreigners and that is understandable – because they have decided so themselves and it is a law for them. But there are those where this procedure is really quite easy, and the immigrant gets numerous benefits.
To obtain citizenship in St Kitts and Nevis, you must meet a number of state requirements. Nevertheless, this country is considered one of those where it is easiest (and cheapest) to obtain new documents and resident status.
Why St Kitts and Nevis citizenship? What do you get?
Before we get to the main point, let’s look at what we would actually get with this citizenship. Above all, you can travel to the UK and Schengen countries without a visa. These include Singapore and Hong Kong. In fact, this passport is more powerful than any other Caribbean country. You can also get a higher US visa category, especially if you need medical treatment.
What is especially important for foreigners is that St Kitts has a strong investment program and thus you can easily become a citizen. It’s enough to have a good business plan and an initial investment.
Of course, the tax exemption on many grounds is also an advantage. You need to be really informed about this because it can be a great choice for those who do not want to pay large taxes on capital gains. For more reasons why to choose this exceptional place as your new residence, you can check here https://imperiallegal.com/st-kitts-nevis-citizenship/.
What options do you have?
If you want to join the Citizenship by Investment program, you need to have an exceptional plan on how to contribute to economic growth. If you have a good business plan, or you invest in real estate, you have a few options available.
Let’s see how you can join the SGF (Sustainable Growth Fund) plan.
You need to provide an application and donate a non-refundable contribution, which will grant you the right to get St Kitts and Nevis’s passports.
As a single applicant, you need to provide $150,000 to the SGF. If you bring up to three dependent family members, you need to contribute $195,000. If some family member wants to join later, you need to pay $25,000 for a spouse, $20,000 for a sibling, or $10,000 for each additional family member (not a sibling).
The other option is a real estate investment.
That means, you are obligated to buy a property, which is a direct investment in the St Kitts economy. But, there are some additional conditions you need to meet.
For a seven-year hold period, the minimum investment shouldn’t be less than $200,000 for a property. That means you need to stay there for seven years until you have a right to sell the property. Most of the time, applicants invest in tourism-related projects.
The other option is for a five-year hold period, but the investment is much bigger. You need to buy a property (hotel or resort) that costs at least $400,000. After a minimum period of five years, you can sell the property.
Additionally, the main applicant should pay $35,050, and $20,050 more for their spouse. Any other dependent will cost about $10,050.
If you thought that’s all you have to spend, we need to tell you that there are additional passport fees. For the main applicant, it costs $7,500, and for every other dependent older than 16 years, the fee costs $4,000. Also, you need to add up the application fee, which is $350.
Now, when you have all the numbers available, you can do the math, based on which plan you prefer, and how many people will come with you, to live in St Kitts.
Other important things you need to be aware of
St Kitts and Nevis’s passport is valid for five years, and you need to renew it after that. Even if you don’t move permanently there, you can renew the documents online.
This country is a tax haven for many. Sure, you need to pay for the basic taxable events and earnings, but most of the time, it’s completely covered with your investment.
You only have to be pretty patient, because the regular procedure to complete the citizenship by investment application can take up to three months. Also, you have an option to pay some fee and get the things done faster, but it takes about two months, so we think it’s not worth spending the money for just a month difference.
If you have difficulties processing this, you always have an option to hire an immigration agent and get things done even faster.
Make sure you have all the documents prepared on time because you don’t want to lose time and money on that.
By doing these things, once you become a citizen, you won’t have to pay personal income taxes, and you can join great wealth management programs. You can travel to more than 150 countries worldwide, owning just a passport. You have a right to keep your original citizenship. You can move there, or you can never come until the conditions are completely fulfilled.
Conclusion
As you can see, this is a fairly expensive process. But we can confirm with certainty that it is worth every dollar invested. As soon as you get your passport, you can feel the benefits of being a resident of St Kitts and Nevis.
And the fact that you are on an island and surrounded by the most beautiful beaches in the world – and all this while enjoying a beautiful tax haven on earth is enough. Well, here’s a really interesting challenge for you. Just be sure that you are really ready for such a step.