St Kitts CBI programme gets top ranking

P rime Minister of St Kitt-Nevis Dr Timothy Harris has welcomed the global ranking of the country’s Citizenship by Investment programme, or CBI, which was cited as having the most rigorous due diligence requirements.

Under the CBI, the twin-island federation provides citizenship to foreign investors who make a substantial investment to the socio-economic development of the country.

The country was No. 1 on the 2021 CBI Index by Professional Wealth Management, a magazine published by the Financial Times.

Now in its fifth year, the CBI Index provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of the world’s active citizenship by investment programmes and has become known as the industry’s most reliable comparison tool for the CBI programmes.

St Kitts-Nevis received top scores in five of nine index categories, including due diligence, citizenship timeline, ease of processing, family, and mandatory travel or residence.

“This, in my view, is a tribute to the high-quality performance by our employees and key stakeholders who work hard to maintain the platinum standards associated with our widely respected Citizenship by Investment programme,” said Prime Minister Harris.

“The programme has the most rigorous due diligence requirements and is the most efficient and innovative in the world. While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the marketing modalities, the programme is performing relatively well in accordance with our 2021 expectations,” he said.

The government said that with its accelerated application process, the platinum-branded CBI programme is the only one that offers fast-tracked processing, with successful applicants being offered citizenship within 60 days.

Harris said also that the recently introduced alternative investment option opens doors for privately supported projects that are in sync with government initiatives, and contributed to the federation’s CBI being cited for its innovation.

“This shows why independent observers, having looked at our programme, evaluate it as being the most innovative one in the world,” he said.

The St Kitts-Nevis CBI was established in 1984 under the Denzil Douglas administration.

CMC