St. Lucia To Launch Citizenship By Investment Program Soon

CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC – St. Lucia will launch its Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) in January next year, Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has said.

In an address to the Global Citizen Forum in Monaco, last Thursday, Anthony, while describing himself as a jealous guardian of St. Lucian citizenship, said, the time had come to think beyond the traditional approaches, to deal with the myriad problems facing small states, and that “offering citizenship through investment has now also become a viable alternative”.

He told the forum, attended by lawyers, wealth managers, marketing agents and investors, that ‘St. Lucia, under the program, “would not just be offering citizenship but would be offering an identity, a people and St. Lucia’s place in the world”.

He said, that new citizens must enhance St. Lucia’s global standing and ensure that the country’s proud heritage endures.

He told the gathering that the legislation establishing the program was supported without political rancour, with both the government and opposition supporting the initiative.

Several Caribbean countries, most notably St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, have launched such programs as a means of attracting investments to their islands.

Under the program, people are afforded citizenship if they invest a substantial amount of money in projects or areas outlined by the governments.