The St Lucia Citizenship by Investment program has become the fastest CIP in the Caribbean with the average processing times cut to just 58 days (previously 80 days) as of 2020.
This exciting news was announced by the the Chief of St Lucia Citizenship Unit.
We are proud to state that our average processing time from receipt of an application to the grant of citizenship is an average of 56 days.
– Nestor Alfred, CEO of Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Unit
St Lucia launched CIP in 2015, in just five years, it has become a very efficient, and very well managed programs in the caribbean with streamlined application process from application to issue of passport.. CIP excels at transparency and good governance and solid legal foundation.
In 2019, the processing times were averaging 90 to 120 days. Saint Lucia is constantly improving processing times taking huge leaps, to attract more investors, ultimately aims to become the Best CIP in the world.
St Lucia overtakes St Kitts and Nevis which has 60 days under Accelerated application process which is subjected to additional costs. On the contrary,. St Lucia does not have accelerated process. All applications must be filed online under normal process takes on average 58 days (less than two months), if all the documents in order.
All other CBI programs in the Caribbean takes 90 days of processing besides these two countries. This makes Saint Lucia the fastest CIP in the Caribbean, but does not beat Vanuatu where the processing times are under 30 days.
What makes St Lucia CIP fastest?
Application forms – Application forms are free to download. This makes it easy for applicants to familiarize with the application checklist
Online filing – Authorized Agents can upload applications online through CBI platform instead of paper copies, which makes it much faster and easy to file
E-payment platform – Due to Covid-19 imposed international lockdown, arranging for bank wire transfer could either add weeks to the timeframe causing delays. It is now easy to make payments online to government. Go to https://pay.cipsaintlucia.com/
Background checks – All applicants are screened for their background including any family members. Over 95% of the time spent in scrutinizing applications by the authorities. Third party Due diligence service providers are required to provide a report to the CIU before. The whole process takes upto 90 days to complete. If the applicant fails these checks, citizenship is refused.
Passport issue – The Citizenship Unit of Saint Lucia only process citizenship by investment applications and issues certificate of citizenship. The SLCIU does not issue passports (issued by immigration office). This typically takes 2-3 weeks after citizenship certificate is issued. You must present original birth certificate and citizenship certificate for the passport to be issued (handled by authorized agents)
St Lucia sets itself apart from other CIPs due to unwavering commitment to the highest standards of good governance along with dedication to ensure rigorous due diligence and will continue to attract high net worth individuals . Citizenship by Investment has a been a significant contribution to GDP for several Caribbean countries., at a time when industries such as tourism have taken a huge hit with recovery not expected for another 18-24 months.
CIP is poised to capitalize on high demand for investments via its Citizenship by investment programme. St Lucia is well positioned to thrive in the post-Covid era thanks to CIP revenues. The revenues generated from the CIP programme is managed by a National Economic Fund independent of the CIP Board within a very clear charter and legislation.
“What really sets us apart from other offerings in the region is our uncompromising commitment to the highest standards of good governance along with our dedication to ensuring rigorous due diligence.”
– Nestor Alfred (CEO, CIP Saint Lucia)
