LONDON, England – During a recent budget debate at St Kitts and Nevis’ Federal parliament, minister of foreign affairs, Mark Brantley, highlighted how the dual-island nation is prioritising and expanding its diplomatic relations while strengthening its existing partnerships with its allies.
This benefits native citizens who can travel without a visa to two-thirds of the world, but also economic ones, who obtain second citizenship via the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme.
This year [2019] has been a particularly strong year for the Federation. “I’m happy to report […] that we have recently established in the last week formal ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina,” minister Brantley said in parliament on December 13, 2019. “And in this year alone, we have had the Kingdom of Cambodia, Honduras, Republic of North Macedonia, Rwanda, and the State of Palestine.”
Second nationality has become a vital tool in safeguarding one’s future from instability and unpredictability. For over three decades, St Kitts and Nevis has been welcoming global individuals and their families to become lifelong citizens after making a contribution to its economy and passing all due diligence checks. In exchange, successful applicants gain access to various advantages including increased global mobility, alternative business routes and the ability to pass the citizenship down.
Despite being the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere, St Kitts and Nevis has committed itself to grow its international presence by establishing new diplomatic relations across the globe. This helped the country equally grow its list of visa waiver agreements with key nations across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Native citizens and those who become economic citizens via CBI can now easily travel to nearly 160 destinations. This means that St Kitts and Nevis has one of the strongest passports within the region and 24th worldwide.
The most straightforward route to St Kitts and Nevis’ citizenship is through the Sustainable Growth Fund, with a minimum US$150,000 contribution. It was designed to support development on the islands in areas like healthcare, education, and tourism.
As the world’s longest-serving economic citizenship programme, St Kitts and Nevis is commonly known as the ‘Platinum Standard’ of CBI. Besides being trusted by investors and industry experts, the country is also one of the world’s top 30 in terms of the rule of law.