Obtaining citizenship by investment in Saint Lucia. Service offer

Saint Lucia is a small state located on an island with the same name, which is part of the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea. Saint Lucia gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the UN, the Caribbean Community, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

• The official language is English; local population also speaks Saint Lucian Creole French;
• Population – 183 500;
• Area – 616.4 sq. km;
• Currency – East Caribbean dollar EC $ (US $1 = EC $2.70).

The citizenship by investment program of Saint Lucia was officially launched on 29 December 2015. The program is regulated by the Citizenship by Investment Act 2015. In 2017, changes were made to the program to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors.

• be over 18 years old;
• meet investment requirements and provide documentary proof;
• pass due diligence; due diligence also applies to all dependent family members over 16 years old;
• provide complete and reliable information on all matters related to the application;
• pay all non-refundable fees connected with application review and due diligence.

Application will be rejected in the following cases:

• if the applicant provided false information in the application;
• if the applicant has criminal records;
• if the applicant is under criminal investigation;
• if the applicant is a carrier of certain infectious diseases or has serious health problems;
• if the applicant is a potential threat to the state security of Saint Lucia or any other country;
• if the applicant is involved in activity that can harm the reputation of Saint Lucia;
• if the applicant has received visa refusals from countries that Saint Lucia has visa-free agreements with and after a refusal the visa has not been obtained.

Investment must be made within 90 days after the day of notification of the authorized agent of the decision to grant citizenship to the applicant.

The applicant can choose one of the four options:

1. Non-refundable contribution (donation) to the National Economic Fund, which was specifically established under this program to collect funds to finance state projects.

The size of contribution depends on the number of people included in the application:

• the main applicant and up to 3 family members (1 to 4 people in the application) – 240 000 US dollars;
• each additional family member aged 18 years or older – 20 000 US dollars;
• each additional family member under 18 years old – 10 000 US dollars.

2. Investment in non-interest bearing government bonds

Investment is returned at least 5 years after the issue of bonds.

The investment amount does NOT depend on the number of people included in the application – 300 000 US dollars.

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Non-refundable administrative fee – 50 000 US dollars.

3. Investment of at least 300 000 US dollars in real estate approved by the government*. Investment must be retained for at least 5 years after obtaining citizenship.

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Non-refundable administrative fee:

• for each family member aged 18 years or older – 20 000 US dollars;
• for each family member under 18 years old – 10 000 US dollars;

*Not always available.

4. Investment of at least 3 500 000 US dollars in business projects approved by the government*. If more than one applicant participate in the enterprise, the total investment amount must be at least 6 000 000 US dollars, and each applicant's contribution must be at least 1 000 000 US dollars.

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Non-refundable administrative fee – 50 000 US dollars.

*Not always available.

• non-refundable application review fee:
  • the main applicant – 2 000 US dollars;
  • family member (each) – 1 000 US dollars;
• due diligence fee*:
  • the main applicant – 8 000 US dollars;
  • family member over 16 years old – 5 000 US dollars.

*In the case of enhanced due diligence, an additional fee shall be paid.

• spouse;
• minor children, children under 30 years of age dependent on the applicant;
• parents of the main applicant or their spouse over 55 years of age dependent on the applicant;
• sister or brother of the main applicant who are not married, under 18 years of age, provided that they have their parents or legal guardians’ consent to obtain citizenship.

The list is not exhaustive. The applicant may be asked to provide additional documents.

• prescribed applications and forms, including the following:
  • citizenship application containing information on the applicant, their family and sources of funds;
  • letter detailing why the applicant wishes to obtain citizenship of Saint Lucia;
  • investment confirmation;
  • certified specimen signature and photograph (for all applicants aged 18 years or older);
  • medical certificate (for all applicants);
  • other forms;
• proof of payment of government application review fee and due diligence fee;
• birth certificate (for all applicants);
• name change certificate (for all applicants, if applicable);
• military ID card (for all applicants who have served in the armed forces);
• 6 photographs, two of which must be certified (for all applicants);
• passport copy (all pages) (for all applicants);
• proof of the permanent residence (for example, certified copy of a utility bill, or bank statement containing the full name and address); the document is valid for 3 months (for the main applicant);
• marriage certificate (for the main applicant and spouse);
• divorce certificate (for the main applicant and spouse);
• CV (for all applicants over 18 years old);
• professional reference letter (from a lawyer, certified accountant, etc.) issued during the last 6 months (for the main applicant);
• bank reference letter issued during the last 6 months (for the main applicant);
• diplomas or other documents on education or professional qualifications (for all applicants over 18 years old);
• no-criminal-record certificate from the country of birth and countries where the applicant has lived for at least one year during the last 10 years; the certificate is valid for 6 months (for all applicants over 16 years old);
• letter from educational institution (for children aged 18 to 25 years);
• consent of the other parent to obtain citizenship (for children under 18 years of age) and copy of the other parent’s passport.

All applications and forms shall be completed in English. Supporting documents must be executed in English, or a certified translation into English must be enclosed with them.

On average, application review, from the submission of the application to the notification of the result, takes 3 months. In exceptional cases, if the review period exceeds 3 months, the authorized agent is notified of the reason for the delay.

The application and supporting documents shall be submitted by the authorized agent. The applicant may not submit documents by themselves.

When submitting the application, the application review fee and due diligence fee must be paid. The applicant and family members aged 16 years or older need to give an interview by means of a video conference.

In the case of a positive decision, the authorized agent is notified that the applicant must make qualifying investment and pay administrative fees before the citizenship certificate is issued. Investment must be made within 90 calendar days after the notification.

If the application has been rejected, the applicant may file an appeal for the application to be reviewed by the minister.

In exceptional circumstances, the minister may cancel the decision to grant citizenship.

[1] The service fees are effective as of September 2024.

[2] Excluding VAT.