The Caribbean nation of Suriname is considering an economic citizenship program to revive its economy, real estate and labour workforce. The new CIP program if approved, Suriname will join other neighbouring five OECS nations in the region.
According to latest media reports, President Chan Santokhi gave the country of close to 600,000 a sample of the thinking of his cabinet, by announcing that a special committee had been established to study the feasibility of the scheme. The Cabinet may grant special permission for foreign companies to bring necessary workforce into the country.
Suriname is considered a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is the only sovereign nation outside of Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education. The Dutch is spoken by 60% of the population. Going back in history, the British colony of Suriname was ceded to the Dutch in 1667 in exchange for New Amsterdam. Suriname was a Dutch colony from 1667 and was finally granted independence in 1975 from the Netherlands.
Suriname nationality laws permit to apply for naturalization under states interest. Under this foreigners are exempt from application fees and residency requirements. They have ties to Suriname which are beneficial to the nation and are required to demonstrate Naturalization is typically granted by legislative Act; however, in some instances applicants in this category can be approved by presidential decree. Applicants must pay fees to naturalize and must produce evidence that if naturalization produced dual nationality that it is not prohibited by the other affiliation. The Department of Alien Affairs (Dutch: Vreemdelingenzake) processes applications of naturalization.
The Passport of Suriname passport is a Caricom passport as Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community. It may not be the powerful travel documents but citizens can benefit from visa-free or visa on arrival access to 78 countries. These include Russia, China, Japan, Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Malaysia, Serbia, Singapore etc. The country is yet to conclude visa waiver deals with EU schengen area, UK, USA and Canada.
