St.Lucia will soon be making amendments to CIP act, to make the program more robust and highly attractive exclusive CIP in the region, MOE and regulatory body will ensure all programs will be governed at highest standards. This was announced by Minister Hilarie during his speech addressing concerns on losing visa free access with EU.
Effective July 2024, the minimum investment ceiling has been raised to USD 240,000 under gazetted CIP program.
Proposed Changes
The following key criteria will be incorporated into the amendments to citizenship by investment act of Saint Lucia.
- An annual quota
- A net-worth for applicants
- Escrow accounts to be held in Saint Lucia or in the individual islands.
- Only licensed promoters will be allowed to submit applicants to local authorized agents and these promoters will have to submit a due diligence report on each applicant.
Visa Free Access Intact
The Minister pointed out that the presence of Citizenship by Investment Programs can have implications on visa-free access, such as the possibility for people with CIP citizenships to travel to the EU and seek asylum violating the visa free agreement.
Dr. Hilaire went on to state that there has been no indication that the European Union has any concerns pertaining to Saint Lucia, that would merit any action toward revoking visa-free access. He reiterates that Saint Lucia’s CIP program is robust and continuously prevails in doing its due diligence.
The Government of Saint Lucia remains committed to maintaining and reinforcing the integrity of its CIP programme with a transparent and accountable process that delivers tangible benefits to all Saint Lucians.
