The St. Lucia Citizenship by Investment Program will start accepting applications from 1st January, 2016. The Program has an annual limit of 500 applications.

Minimum Investment Requirements

The Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment program shall begin accepting applications from 1st January, 2016. Applicants must fulfill the following net worth and investment requirements.

The applicant must have minimum net worth of US$3 million and must make minimum investments in any one of the following asset classes.

Saint Lucia Business Immigration Application Procedure

Saint Lucia National Economic Fund

The applicant must make a non-refundable monetary contribution of the prescribed limit to the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund.

Real Estate Project

The Minister shall approve real estate projects as qualifying investments after conducting due consultations with the Cabinet. Or, upon application by a developer, the Minister may grant approval after consulting with the Cabinet and Invest Saint Lucia, and after seeking recommendations from the Citizenship by Investment Unit.

Currently, the following projects are approved as qualifying investments:

  • High-end branded hotels and resorts.
  • High-end branded boutique properties.

The Applicant must fulfill the following conditions:

  1. Obtain approval for the investment along with the status of commencement or deemed commencement of the investment as per the Unit’s guidelines
  2. Execute a binding sale agreement for the minimum investment amount in an approved real estate project, and
  3. Place balance amount of the purchase price in an approved irrevocable escrow in Saint Lucia within 30 days of the receipt of the approval.
  4. Pay all requisite fees towards processing and administration as applicable.
  5. If the investment is being made by a company and the applicant is merely the beneficial owner of the property, then the applicant must fulfill the following conditions:
    • Establish and maintain the company under the laws of St. Lucia.
    • Hold all the authorized shares of the company.
    • The company should not be an exempt or offshore entity.
    • Obtain evidence of beneficial ownership as certified by the Registrar of Companies.
  6. Such investment cannot be sold, transferred, or otherwise liquidated for a period of at least five years.

Enterprise Project

Minister shall approve enterprise projects as qualifying investments after conducting due consultations with the Cabinet. Or, upon application by a developer, the Minister may grant approval after consulting with the Cabinet and Invest Saint Lucia, and after seeking recommendations from the Citizenship by Investment Unit.

Currently, the following projects are approved as qualifying investments:

  • Specialty Restaurants
  • Cruise ports and marinas
  • Agro-processing plants
  • Pharmaceutical products
  • Ports, bridges, roads and highways
  • Research institutions and facilities
  • Offshore universities

The Applicant must fulfill the following conditions:

  1. Invest a sum of not less than $3.5 million in an approved enterprise project, and
  2. Create at least three permanent jobs through such investment.
  3. Pay all requisite fees towards processing and administration as applicable.

In case of a joint investment is being made by multiple applicants, then the following conditions must be fulfilled:

  • Each applicant must invest at least $ 1 million in an approved project, and
  • Total investment should not be less than the minimum investment requirement.
  • The enterprise project receiving such investment must create at least six jobs.

Government Bonds

Applicant must fulfill the following conditions:

  1. Purchase of Government bonds in accordance with the National Savings and Development Bonds Act
  2. The investment must not be in interest-bearing bonds.
  3. The investment must be registered in the name of the applicant.
  4. Such investment must be of tenure of not less than five years from the date of issue of the bonds.

Due Diligence

The following persons must fulfill due diligence and background checks before grant of citizenship.

  • Applicant
  • All qualifying dependent aged 16 years or more

Grant of Citizenship

Citizenship will be granted after applicant swears oath or affirmation of allegiance in St. Lucia or before any Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of St. Lucia.