Nearly one thousand individuals the world over have been granted Saint Lucian citizenship through the country’s Citizenship By Investment (CBI) programme. According to Chairperson of the CBI Board Mr. Ryan Devaux, now in its fifth year of operation, the programme has raised $131,245,988.60.
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet tabled the 2019-2020 annual report during the House of Assembly sitting on November 24. In the report, Devaux indicated that the last financial year was one of “challenge, hard work and ultimately success.” Although the financial year saw the introduction of two real estate projects —the Canelles Development and Desert Star Holding’s Alpina Project— there was a decrease in the number of applications granted compared to last year. This was blamed on negotiations with marketing agents. The report stated, “during the period of negotiation, the marketing agents efforts towards marketing the programme and driving applications was suspended.”
In 2018-2019, 210 applications were granted and 288 persons received citizenship. During the 2019-2020 financial year, 143 applications for citizenship were granted, resulting in 188 new citizens. For the third consecutive year China came in first, with 70 Chinese receiving Saint Lucian citizenship. Russia placed second with 23, followed by Nigeria with 15 and Turkey 10. There were 9 from Pakistan and 8 from Lebanon. There were four each from Iraq, Syria, United Arab Emirates and the Philippines, while there were 3 each from the United States of America, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. Algeria, Korea, South Korea, Qatar and Vietnam each had 2. Lastly, there was one each from Australia, Bhutan, Colombia, France, Jamaica, Yemen, Turkmenistan, Serbia, South Africa, Libya, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
(The agency’s financial year ends on March 31, and a new one begins April 1. Therefore, the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on applications received/ granted will only be known when the 2020-2021 report is released next year.)
Taking into account figures from the 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 annual reports, 813 people have been granted Saint Lucian citizenship since the programme’s inception. The reports are available at the Parliament building in Castries.
CBI programmes continue to be a bone of contention in Saint Lucia and the wider region. It played a leading role in St. Vincent’s November 4 general elections. In the lead up to the polls, that country’s main Opposition, the New Democratic Party promised to introduce a CBI programme in the country. On the other hand, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves stood steadfast in his objection to such an initiative, encouraging citizens to say no to “selling our birthright. No to selling out our passports and our land to foreigners who will make us second class citizens in our own country.” Prime Minister Allen Chastanet recently defended the programme, arguing that it provides an opportunity for “major capital investment.”
Will successful applicants flock to Saint Lucia? CEO of the CBI Unit, Mr. Nestor Alfred asserts that this will not be the case. He addressed this matter in an interview with the STAR. Nestor says that the government established this programme to create a platform by which meaningful foreign direct investment can be derived.
“And this Unit has clearly demonstrated its ability to continue doing this despite any pandemic or natural disaster,” said Alfred. During the pandemic, the agency implemented a business continuity plan, which allowed the programme to continue while some staff members worked from home. “The unit has clearly demonstrated, over a period of time, that the primary reasons for persons wanting second citizenship is for international mobility.”
The CEO stated that over 90% of successful applicants have no interest in making Saint Lucia their second home, and will never set foot in the country. He explained: “We offer visa free status in 146 countries and that is what is attractive to them… There is absolutely no truth that all of those people— the hundreds that we’ve granted citizenship to over the period of time — will come to Saint Lucia.”
To support his position, Alfred pointed to St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. Like Saint Lucia, the two neighboring OECS countries also operate CBI programmes. St. Kitts entered the business in 1984 and over 16,000 persons have gained citizenship to date. The CEO described the island as the ‘grandfather of the CBI program in the world.’ He said: “They’ve been in this program for 36 years and they’ve given hundreds of thousands of citizenship. Have we seen the same increase in the population? Absolutely not! The same applies for Dominica who’s been in this for 25-26 years. Have we seen an upsurge in the population growth based on the number of applications that they’ve given? Absolutely not.”
He went on: “Therefore this tells you that citizens under this programme have absolutely no interest in making this country their second home but they see the attractiveness of this program, because our passport gives them access to 146 countries without ever having to apply for a visa.”
As to whether Saint Lucia will continue to operate this programme in the future, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has indicated that this is “constantly under review.” Both of the island’s main political parties support the existence of the programme, whilst the newest party, the Saint Lucia National Party has vowed to “abolish” it.
This article first appeared in the December 2020 edition of the STAR Monthly Review, available on newsstands and here: https://issuu.com/starbusinessweek/docs/star_monthly_review_december_2020
