Following a significant increase from Middle East HNWIs in Saint Kitts’ citizenship by investment programme during the pandemic, the Caribbean nation is taking renewed steps in cementing its CIP within the GCC region.
In a recent interview with Arab News, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts & Nevis, Timothy Harris, asserted that he plans to continue to deepen the Caribbean country’s relations with the Middle East region.
Certainly, the dual-island nation, whose Citizenship by Investment programme is the most established and long-standing worldwide and considered to be the ‘’platinum standard’ industry-wide, has long established ties with the GCC countries, with many citizens of the region taking advantage of Saint Kitts’ CIP and securing themselves a second passport on the island.
PM Harris, who was re-elected to a second term as Prime Minister on June 5, told Arab News that his country was already home to a number of individuals from the Middle East, including the GCC countries, and that he plans to further strengthen relationships.
PM Harris told Arab News: “We intend to open an embassy soon in the UAE. This will further cement our ties to the Middle East region and the to the UAE specifically.”
This is an important step for the Caribbean island, helping to further cement its successful Citizenship by Investment programme in the region, helping Arabs secure second passports to a politically and economically stable environment that also offers great healthcare, education and lifestyles.
What the Saint Kitts’ CBI programme offers applicants, explained PM Harris, is “the advantage of mobility” as well as “citizenship in a nation that is democratic, peaceful and safe”.
There are already many CIP advisory firms within the GCC region and especially in the Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, who are agents for the popular Saint Kitts & Nevis CBI programme, and who target high net worth GCC citizens looking for a second passport for their families, mainly as an insurance policy.
And, since the Covid-19 pandemic kicked in, interest in Saint Kitts’ citizenship by investment programme has upped, not surprising considering the health and economic impact of the pandemic in many countries, whereas the Caribbean countries have fared rather well. Saint Kitts has had one of the lowest infection rates worldwide, with just 17 cases and no deaths to date.
According to Migrate World Ltd, one of the authorised representatives for the Caribbean country’s CBI programme for the Middle East and Africa, “there’s been a notable increase, of around 40 per cent, in applicants from the Arab world during the pandemic”, says CEO Moe Alhaj, with the interested individuals “largely from Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia”.
And with a focus on the Arab world, where families are often quite large, Saint Kitts recently reduced, temporarily, the cost of citizenship for families, with the contribution of US$195,000 for a family of four reduced by US$45,000 to US$150,000, the same cost as that for a single applicant. This special offer for families, which seems to be proving popular in the Middle East region, is available until the end of the year.
“This limited-time offer will provide the resources to help us successfully fight Covid-19 and enhance the safety nets for those who have lost their jobs or income as a consequence,” PM Harris told Arab News.
The award-winning Saint Kitts’ citizenship by investment programme is the only CIP that offers a secure, fast-track route via its Accelerated Application Process (AAP), delivering a guaranteed 60-day result. As well as delivering one of the strongest due diligence application processes in the world, citizenship of Saint Kitts gives individuals visa-free access to the highest number of countries of any of the Caribbean countries offering CBIs, at 156 countries.
To find out more about the programme, read the Saint Kitts & Nevis Country Profile by clicking here