Since 1984, qualified applicants who made a government approved investment into the local economy have been invited to acquire a St Kitts and Nevis passport. This was indeed the world’s first citizenship by investment program (CIP) which to date has provided over 15,000 successful applicants with the world’s best second citizenship.
St Kitts citizenship has become – far and away – the world’s most well established program. Their program branding is impeccable. Therefore, the majority of inquiries we receive are all about acquiring the St Kitts and Nevis passport.
Overall, the St Kitts and Nevis passport has become the ultimate solution for high income tax, global access, economic freedom and political neutrality.
Is the St Kitts and Nevis Passport Your Best Option?
Choosing the best second citizenship option is a complex decision. If you do not make the best choice, problems could emerge in the future that negate the benefits you thought you would automatically receive.
At iGlobal we have successfully walked in your shoes on the path to second citizenship and beyond. It is with this agency that you can meet your true global potential.
When you contact us, rest assured that you will receive first hand information and guidance. Therefore, you can make the best possible decision.
Find out for sure that the St Kitts and Nevis passport will accomplish your needs and aspirations in the most efficient manner at the best available price.
You can thank me later for conducting a proper analysis. But first, learn everything you need to know about St Kitts citizenship using the objective pros and cons listed below.
St Kitts and Nevis Passport PROS & CONS List
- The World’s Best Tax Haven Country – PRO
- Nevis Company and Nevis Trust – PRO
- Physical Presence Required for TIN – CON
- High Value of St Kitts and Nevis Passport – PRO
- St Kitts and Nevis Branding Premium – CON
- St Kitts Real Estate Program Advantage – PRO
- St Kitts Accelerated Application Option – PRO
- Extended St Kitts Family Program – PRO
- Certain St Kitts Family Limitations Apply – CON
- Choose the St Kitts and Nevis Passport
PRO – St Kitts and Nevis is the World’s Best Tax Haven
St Kitts and Nevis is considered to be the world’s best tax haven. This is certainly an alluring aspect about the country which draws a lot of interest from potential citizenship applicants.
The reason is simple, it is because the government does not impose any personal income tax. Therefore, most successful applicants will indeed expect to acquire the St Kitts income tax benefits.
Please note the tax laws of St Kitts and Nevis are credible. This means that personal income tax benefits are ingrained in the constitution. These tax laws were created to benefit St Kitts citizens, not only created to attract funds flow as other less reputable tax haven countries may be prone to do.
In contrast, St Kitts and Nevis abolished personal income taxes in 1980, long before the federation even declared independence from the British which happened in 1983. Therefore, low tax benefits are exclusive from the St Kitts and Nevis passport. This is what it means to be a legit tax haven.
In addition, there is no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, wealth tax or gift taxes. Rest assured that if you can acquire St Kitts and Nevis citizenship you will be well positioned to escape the global tax net. Indeed, elimination of all income tax is certainly possible.
PRO – Nevis Company and Nevis Trust
We offer a three step offshore solution for tax reduction and the elimination of creditor liability. The first step in the process is obtaining the St Kitts and Nevis passport. Second, form a Nevis offshore company, while the optional third step is formation of the Nevis trust.
The steps are self reinforcing when done in the same jurisdiction. St Kitts and Nevis is a twin island federation, consisting of two islands. Nevis is the sister island of St Kitts and they have developed their own legal system which is exclusive of St Kitts. As a result, Nevis is an ideal jurisdiction to choose for St Kitts citizens.
Nevis has no income tax on international income sources. In addition, their legal system does not recognize foreign judgements. Furthermore, any legal action against a Nevis company must be brought in Nevis. In fact, there is a long list of legal protections for Nevis companies.
Therefore, it is virtually impossible to prevail against a Nevis company regardless of how well heeled the plaintiff is. Even the IRS with infinite resources of the US government has failed in the Nevis courts.
A Nevis offshore company is complementary to the St Kitts and Nevis passport. It can serve as your investment holding company, or reincorporate your existing business in Nevis. The local advantages are tremendous.
Last but not least, you can always put your assets inside the Nevis trust for the ultimate form of protection! St Kitts and Nevis offers all three steps in the same jurisdiction.
CON – Complicated Process to get Tax Identification Number
Acquiring St Kitts tax ID can no longer be done remotely by those who obtained citizenship through investment. Indeed, you must now be physically present on the island to get your tax identification number.
Your tax ID is essential for opening bank accounts and other pertinent tax related matters. Therefore, without a valid St Kitts tax ID number it is impossible to get the tax residency benefits of St Kitts citizenship.
Although acquiring St Kitts and Nevis citizenship will certainly give you a solid claim to tax residency, you must have more than only this connection. This is especially true if you choose to retain your original citizenship in addition to your newly acquired St Kitts and Nevis passport.
New citizens should assume they will need to take additional measures to build a multi-pronged nexus to St Kitts. Additional connections can be formed by purchasing local real estate, a local street address, SIM card and phone bills in addition to the tax identification number.
However, the most indispensable component of your offshore tax residency plan will be the TIN. At a minimum, you must have a St Kitts and Nevis TIN to show you are a legal tax resident. If you cannot provide one, your tax residency claim will fall on deaf ears.
How do you get the St Kitts TIN?
It is important to consider in advance that St Kitts and Nevis, requires you to have a local driver’s license first in order to get the TIN. You cannot have one without the other. Then once you get the local driver’s license number, you can use it as your TIN.
However, some overseas banks may request a government certification letter to verify the driver’s license number can be used. This TIN certification letter is essential and it can be obtained from the tax office. We are available to assist our clients if necessary, but you must be prepared to travel to the island.
Since 2020 the St Kitts government has mandated that all citizenship by investment applicants must be physically present in order to get your driver’s license. That means you must travel to the island first, no exceptions.
This sounds simple, but traveling to St Kitts and Nevis may be expensive and time consuming for many. It can create delays in the best laid plans for your tax residency.
PRO – High Value Second Citizenship
St Kitts and Nevis requires qualified applicants to either make a minimum US$150,000 nonrefundable donation to government’s Sustainable Growth Fund or invest a minimum of $200,000 into a government approved real estate development.
There are significant differences between the two options. Although the first option requires a lower initial outlay, it is nonrefundable and there is no investment yield. But if you are willing to forfeit the money in advance, this is a risk free option with no worries about property ownership.
However, real estate can be sold at the end of the holding period to a new citizenship applicant. As a result, you have the opportunity to recoup your investment capital while retaining your St Kitts and Nevis passport in perpetuity. Not to mention, high quality St Kitts real estate developments pay a respectable investment yield of 4-5% with no out of pocket expenses.
Additional perks of local property ownership include building a strong nexus to St Kitts and Nevis.
- First, a real estate purchase gives you an income source from your new country of citizenship.
- Second, property ownership in itself is a strong connection.
- You may also get a street address.
Real estate ownership will impress your bank which makes the application more likely to be approved. In addition, a local street address is especially important for offshore account openings.
CON – St Kitts and Nevis Brand Premium
Although it appears to be priced low in comparison to European CIPs, the St Kitts and Nevis passport is priced at a significant premium when compared to one particular Caribbean program.
Primarily, this is because St Kitts and Nevis does not have visa free travel to China while Grenada and also Dominica do have visa free access to China. So it seems the lofty St Kitts pricing premium is mainly due to their branding advantage and not so much the intrinsic value of the passport.
Therefore, investors will pay a US$50,000 premium for the government contribution option. In contrast with the other Caribbean programs or possibly Vanuatu this sets the bar too high for the government contribution option. Although this is not necessarily true for the St Kitts real estate option where higher valuations are available.
Nonetheless, St Kitts does have a long list of visa free travel countries, even though many of them may seem insignificant to a lot of applicants.
Important countries that the St Kitts and Nevis passport gives visa free access to include all of the Schengen countries in addition to the UK, Ireland, Russia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Please note that Dominica also features these visa free travel countries. Indeed, Dominica has all of those options in addition to China, while at the same time the government contribution is priced significantly lower. I wonder how long the pricing disparity will last?
Check out the St Kitts real estate option for best value.
PRO – St Kitts Real Estate Program Advantage
On the bright side, the minimum price set for the St Kitts real estate program is $200,000. This is on par with the competing real estate options in the Caribbean countries.
The approved real estate developments benefit from the strength of the St Kitts and Nevis tourism industry which bodes well for yield seeking investors. Plus, the room rates can be increased if necessary to offset global inflation.
Investors can also take note that St Kitts and Nevis is indeed a well established port of call for the Caribbean cruise ship industry. Additionally, the St Kitts intercontinental airport offers direct flights to Canada, the US and the UK.
St Kitts and Nevis is the preferred destination for Caribbean tourism. These advantages increase the investment yields on the tourism based real estate which investors use to qualify.
Also, note that the real estate option allows you to sell the investment at the end of the holding period to a new citizenship applicant. As a result, recoup your capital while retaining the St Kitts and Nevis passport in perpetuity.
Residential Real Estate Program Reactivated
Furthermore, CIP applicants can now qualify for St Kitts citizenship through the purchase of residential real estate priced at US $400,000 and above. This option was recently reactivated after a dormant period.
This is a significant benefit because you can reside at the property, which is not permitted at the traditional commercial properties used to qualify for the St Kitts CIP. Then you still have the option to sell the property after 5 years while retaining the passport indefinitely.
PRO – St Kitts Accelerated Application Option
Citizenship applications are sometimes time consuming because of the government’s stringent due diligence process. Consider due diligence involves an independent third party not only the local government.
As a result, the CIP approval process can move very slowly depending on their current workload, sometimes 8 months or even longer depending on which country it is.
Indeed the European CIPs can take much longer. Take note of Malta or Bulgaria where it can take 1-2 years. But also Caribbean programs such as Antigua and Barbuda require at least 6-8 months.
In addition, you must consider how long it will take for you to fill in the application forms, get bank references, police certificates and all the supporting documents together. Then add this time period to the government processing time. Applicants are looking at a minimum of 3 under the best circumstances, often much longer.
If you are in a hurry, one option to consider is the St Kitts accelerated application process. This perk is offered exclusively by St Kitts and Nevis. Rest assured successful applicants will receive their passports within 60 days.
PRO – Extended St Kitts and Nevis Family Options
Under the St Kitts and Nevis passport program, qualified dependents of the main applicant may include:
- parents and grandparents age 55 and above;
- dependent unmarried, childless siblings who are 30 years of age and below who are financially dependent on the main applicant and are the brother or sister of the main applicant;
- also dependent children age 30 years and below.
Program fees are applied to your application according to the following table:
| Family Addition (Amounts in USD) | SGF Donation | Real Estate |
| Spouse of Main Applicant | $25,000 | $20,000 |
| Dependent Children <30 Years of Age | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Sibling of Main Applicant <30 Years of Age | $20,000 | $40,000 |
CON – Certain St Kitts Family Limitations Apply
- St Kitts and Nevis limits the inclusion of siblings to those related to the main applicant;
- siblings of the spouse of the main applicant are excluded.
- Additionally, dependent children 18-30 years of age must be attending school full time and must be fully financed by the main applicant.
In comparison, Dominica allows inclusion of unmarried adult dependents age 18-30 years of age that are “substantially supported” by the main applicant but also the spouse of the main applicant.
In contrast with St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica has done away with the requirement for adult children to be enrolled as a full time students and financially dependent on the main applicant.
Dominica will also allow siblings to be a relation of the spouse of the main applicant. In comparison, St Kitts only permits siblings related to the main applicant.
Last but not least, there are certain cost considerations to be taken into account.
Choose the St Kitts and Nevis Passport
Inclusive analysis is imperative before committing to a second citizenship program. Indeed, St Kitts and Nevis is one of your best options to choose from. In addition, applicants can know in advance that all of their objectives will be obtainable.
My partners and I have 35+ years of experience working with all of the Caribbean citizenship programs, plus Turkiye and Vanuatu. As a result, we are well integrated with the local real estate developers and government agencies.
But most of all you can rest assured we have walked in your shoes. Therefore, practical experience with all of the CIPs is a leading factor our clients can rely on.
Contact me today to create a customized offshore tax solution. Protect your family, your wealth and your freedom using the best second citizenship as the cornerstone of the future.