St Lucia is one of several Caribbean islands offering economic passports to eligible applicants. Today’s blog will discuss how to get approved for a St Lucia citizenship by investment program. As explored below, in order to gain the advantage of St Lucia citizenship, applicants must meet the St Lucia citizenship requirements needed for their selected investment option. The four investment options for St Lucia citizenship by investment are discussed below, as are the basic questions “Who can apply for St Lucia citizenship?” and “Is St Lucia citizenship worth it?” 

How to get a St Lucia Citizenship

How to get a St Lucia citizenship by investment program begins with engaging the expertise of Second Passport, which will act as your broker. You should then select one of the following options. 1) Donation 2) Real Estate 3) Government bond) 4) Enterprise investment. These are explained in further detail below:

Option 1: Donation—This involves making a cash donation to the National Economic Fund for $100,000 USD.

Option 2: Real Estate—Applicants who select the real estate option for St Lucia are required to purchase property on the island at a minimum cost of $300,000 USD. Most of the buildings, which are pre-approved, are luxury commercial properties, although private homes are also available for purchase.

Option 3: Government Bond— To pursue this option, applicants will need to invest in a bond from the St Lucian government, which is worth, at minimum, $500,000 USD. This bond must be held in the name of the applicant for a period of at least five years.

Option 4: Enterprise investment—This final option allows applicants to invest money in a project benefiting St Lucia’s economic development. These official projects are selected by the government and typically involve roadbuilding, factories, and other infrastructure initiatives. A minimum investment in an enterprise development of $3,500,000 USD is required to pursue this option. Please note that this option also allows joint investments of smaller amounts (meaning a single applicant could theoretically invest $1,000,000 USD if he or she joins with another CBI applicant to fund a project with a minimum total value of $6,000,000 USD.

St Lucia citizenship Cost

The minimum amount of money you can spend in return for economic citizenship on St Lucia is therefore $100,000 USD. In addition to the main investment amount, applicants are also financially responsible for various fees related to application processing. Please also note that the above costs reflect those for an individual applicant. If you are looking to apply for St Lucian citizenship with family members, you may do so, so long as they meet the eligibility requirements for dependents (qualifying dependents include minor children and the applicant’s spouse). The minimum amount an applicant needs to invest in one of the above citizenship options increases per dependent. For example, the cost of donation for a single applicant is $100,000; an applicant applying with a spouse must pay $140,000 USD (each dependent also represents additional application costs related to processing and other fees).

Applicants should indicate which of the three options they would like to participate in on their St Lucia citizenship application form, which forms the main part of their application for a St Lucian passport (other materials include financial documents and police records from your home country). Once your application is assembled, it will be assessed by the St Lucian CBI committee. They will check to make sure that you meet the St Lucia citizenship requirements, which demand that applicants be 1) 18+ years of age 2) Able to afford all St Lucian citizenship fees and processing costs 3) Of a good character (i.e. no criminal record). Someone who can apply for St Lucia citizenship is therefore someone who meets these requirements—if you have a criminal record, for example, your application will likely be rejected. In the event your St Lucia citizenship application form is approved by the committee, you will proceed with making your financial investment. Once the entirety of that fee (and all fees related to your citizenship application) is processed, you will be officially granted citizenship. Once citizenship has been conferred on the applicant, her or she will receive their St Lucia passport. The St Lucia citizenship processing time (the time from application submission to receipt of citizenship) is four to six months (closer to four than six for most applicants).

Is St Lucia citizenship worth it?

Talk to anyone who has achieved economic citizenship through St Lucia and they will likely assure you that it was absolutely worth it. The one-time financial cost of applying and achieving citizenship from St Lucia pales in comparison to the program’s many benefits, which are lifelong for the applicant and—in some respects—able to be passed down through the generations (the dependent children of successful CBI applicants may inherit St Lucian citizenship from their parent). The St Lucia citizenship processing time is only four to six months; a short amount of time for a process which is in most cases seamless. After going through the application process, successful applicants often identify St Lucia passport power as the main advantage for a St Lucia citizenship by investment applicant. The power of a country’s passport reflects the number of countries accessible visa-free with St Lucian citizenship. The island’s tiny size belies the St Lucia passport power: holders of a St Lucia passport may access over 145 countries visa free. These countries include some of the most sought after in the world, including all 26 European Schengen States (Germany France, Italy, Spain, etc.), as well as the United Kingdom. In addition to Europe, St Lucian citizens can also enter much of Asia (including Singapore and South Korea), South America (Argentina) and the Middle East (Egypt).

St Lucia passport power

St Lucia passport power is yet one advantage of its CBI program, which also prides itself on the financial opportunities afforded to its successful applicants. The low or reduced taxes on St Lucia mean that when you become a citizen you will have the potential to grow your money in an environment that is safe and secure, both economically and politically. Additionally, you can grow your business by flying around the world with ease, due to reduced barriers to global entry through St Lucia’s passport power.

Another advantage of the island’s CBI is the natural extension of said benefits to an applicant’s family. St Lucia citizenship is for the student (dependent) of the main applicant, in the sense that dependent children are eligible to attend schools on the island, including university, for free. Just as St Lucia citizenship is for the student dependent—who can attend school freely on the island—so is citizenship for the dependent (student or otherwise) who requires medical care. This is because medical care, like education, is free for St Lucian citizens—including the dependents of main applicants. Finally, the children of applicants can also receive St Lucian citizenship, meaning that one single applicant can start a legacy on St Lucia for not just himself, but his or her family as well. 

All of the above advantages may be achieved without residing on the island. However, because St Lucia is a notoriously beautiful island paradise, it’s not uncommon for people who visit the island to stay forever. With St Lucian CBI, you can relocate to St Lucia with ease—yet another reason to apply.