The National Economic Fund was enacted on July 2, 2019, under Saint Lucia Act No.18 of 2019 for purpose of a citizenship by donation investment. Before the establishment of the National Economic Fund, the Citizenship by Investment Unit remitted cash disbursements to the Government of Saint Lucia through the Consolidated Fund. An independent Board has been established to manage those funds ensuring accountability and transparency in line with legislation with no more than seven members appointed by cabinet.
The established functions of the National Economic Fund (NEF) are:
- To advance loans for government-approved projects
- To provide investment for Government approved capital projects
- To reduce government debt; and
- To purchase government bonds;
The National economic fund (NEF) remains the most popular citizens preferred investment optionwith 66.1% of applications filed under this route for 2020/21, according to the CIP statistics published by the government. 1304 citizenship applications have been granted since the inception of CIP Saint Lucia in 2016.
Source: CIP Saint Lucia Report / Cash flow into NEF
The Citizenship by Investment Programme in Saint Lucia has generated a total of EC $268,342,032 to which a total sum of EC $212,707,588 net of 20% allocation for marketing and promotions and foreign exchange loss has been remitted to the Government of Saint Lucia through the Consolidated Fund and the National Economic Fund for the period January 2016 – March 2022
Source: CIP Saint Lucia Report / Cash flow into NEF
Investment into the National Economic Fund
- 80% of the investment amount made by an applicant is remitted to the Government of Saint Lucia through the National Economic Fund.
- The other 20% of the investment amount is retained by the Citizenship by Investment Unit for the purpose of marketing the programme globally.
The following contributions are set for the fund under the NEF regulations under the CIP program.
- Applicant Alone: US$ 100,000
- Applicant with spouse: US$ 140,000
- Applicant with spouse and up to two other qualifying dependents: US $150,000
- Each additional qualifying dependent, of any age: US$ 25,000
- Each qualifying dependent in addition to a family of four (family includes a spouse): US$ 15,000
When applicants apply for citizenship, one of the options available to them is that they can opt for a monetary donation into the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund. The minimum that has to be donated is USD 100,000 based on revised legislation to the CIU. Once the applicant has been granted citizenship and has been informed accordingly, the applicant will pay the amount into the Bank account of the Unit. Based on Statutory Instrument No. 1 of 2017 dated January 5, 2017, for every donation received from an applicant, 20% is retained by the Unit for marketing and promotion of the CIP and recognised as revenue, and the remaining 80% is transferred to the Government of Saint Lucia. The processing fee per applicant is US$2,000 and for each qualifying dependent US$1,000. This is paid upon submission of the completed application to the Unit and recognised as revenue in the period it is paid.
