Reported by Jim Wyss
In the tropical paradise of Saint Kitts and Nevis, it isn’t the visitors to its golden shores and pristine beaches who sustain the economy. It’s those buying its navy blue passports.
For as little as $100,000,foreigners can secure citizenship in certain Caribbean nations that promise tax breaks and visa-free travel to Europe. In Saint Kitts, the “golden passport” program was expected to bring in some $192 million, or 51% of the country’s revenue, in 2023.
That’s why Prime Minister Terrance Drew is urging residents to rally behind the flagship industry, which is in danger should the European Union tighten travel rules for countries that sell their citizenship.
“Our national economic prosperity hinges on the robustness of our citizenship-by-investment program,” he said during the annual budget address last month. “This program must be protected at all costs.”
For Saint Kitts and four other Caribbean countries — Dominica, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Antigua and Barbuda — citizenship-by-investment, or CBI, programs rake in more than $579 million a year. In Saint Lucia and Antigua, the cost per passport is as low as $100,000. Saint Kitts carries the highest price tag at $250,000.
The countries have collectively extended citizenship to at least 88,000 people — many of them Chinese, Russian, Nigerian or other nationalities that would usually be required to apply for travel permits — the EU said in an October report.
That’s pushing the EU to consider changes that would make it easier to clamp down on travel from nations with CBI programs. A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the programs can serve as a means for criminals “to perpetrate massive frauds and launder proceeds of crime and corruption reaching into the billions of dollars.”
Should the EU make good on its threat, “it would be an immediate game changer,” said Rafael Cintron, whose company, Wealthy Expat, advises people on second passports.
In Dominica, CBI accounts for 55% of all government revenue, and the funds have been used to build the international airport and dredge rivers. In Grenada, those funds have built prisons and supported welfare programs. For all five nations — small tourism-dependent economies with few natural resources — the programs are an economic lifeline.
“It would pretty much cripple the Caribbean industry,” said Cintron, who gave up US citizenship after acquiring passports from Saint Kitts, Serbia and Mexico. “The reality is nobody wants a passport that only gives you access to Latin America and a couple of African countries.”
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