The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis Dr. Drew in his keynote address on the state of citizenship by investment program, announced the revenues generated by CBI program over the year.
CBI Revenues
The Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme directly contributed between 60-70 percent of Federal revenue in 2022. In 2024, up to September, CBI has generated EC$218 million—less revenue to date, compared to previous years. This decline was expected as a result of the necessary reforms and market adjustments to save the programme over the long term.
| Year | CBI Revenues (ECD) |
| 2019 | EC$441 million |
| 2020 | EC$271 million |
| 2021 | EC$543 million |
| 2022 | EC$ 669 million |
| 2023 | EC$ 620 million |
| 2024 (until sep) | EC$ 218 million |
The IMF in its 2024 Article IV consultation report noted the CBI program performed well and has asked the authorities to increase transparency by publishing an annual financial report on the CBI unit’s operations and key data on applications.
New Prices
The SKN Government implemented price hike to $250,000 in July 2023 and harmonized the CBI reforms along with other OECS CIP nations in July 2024 in a collective agreement on six key principles, including:
- Standardised treatment of denials,
- Virtual or in-person interviews during the due diligence process,
- Additional checks through Financial Intelligence Units,
- Independent audits of Citizenship by Investment Units,
- Retrieval of cancelled passports,
- And the suspension of Russian and Belarussian applicants.
The enacted new CBI regulations into law introduced a Board of Governors to oversee CIU operations, implemented a Technical Committee to review files, and for the first time in 40 years, criminalised underselling practices.
We made it clear to the world that Saint Kitts and Nevis would lead by example in raising CBI standards.
– Prime Minister Dr. Drew
On 1 October 2024, the newly restructured Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) officially launches its operations as a statutory body.
The transformative changes made to CBI aim to speed up application processing times and streamline the CBI process, making it more efficient for all involved.
St. Kitts and Nevis continues to lead in the Caribbean, pushing for regional integration of CBI programmes. Notably, the Federation has spearheaded changes resulting in a landmark Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) among the five Caribbean CBI countries.
