Saint Kitts and Nevis passport

Saint Kitts and Nevis passport
The front cover of a contemporary Saint Kitts and Nevis biometric passport.
Date first issued 11 November 2010[1] (current version)
Issued by  Saint Kitts and Nevis
Type of document Passport
Purpose Identification
Eligibility requirements Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship
Expiration 10 years

The Saint Kitts and Nevis passport is issued to citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis for international travel. Prior to 1983, Saint Kitts and Nevis was an associated state of the United Kingdom. The passport is a Caricom passport as Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Caribbean Community.

Citizenship-by-investment program

In 1984, Saint Kitts and Nevis introduced an Immigrant investor program, As of March 2015, Saint Kitts and Nevis is the most popular place to buy a passport; for $150,000 a family of four buy visa-free travel to 132 countries, with no requirement to live in or even visit the country.[2] There is limited disclosure of financial information, and both income and capital gains are tax-free.[2]

In May 2014, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a warning that St. Kitts had granted passports to foreign individuals who have abused the Citizenship-by-Investment program sponsored "for the purpose of engaging in illicit financial activity."[3] In November 2014, Canada announced it was requiring St. Kitts citizens to obtain a visa from 22 November 2014, due to concerns about “identity management practices within its Citizenship by Investment program.”[4] Following the announcement, the government of St. Kitts and Nevis initiated a recall on all biometric passports issued between January 2012 and July 2014, and replaced them with new passports which showed the holder's place of birth as well as any previous name changes. Any passports not returned by 31 January 2015 were cancelled by the government.[5]

The investment programme that offers St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship is one of the longest-standing programs. The countries opened their doors to foreign investors in 1984. Since this time, they have continued to offer their citizenship to those that are qualified and who have donated a significant amount of capital into the economy. St Kitts and Nevis also offers a fast track service to clients, including the issuance of passports which previously had been subject to lengthy delays.[6]

Visa requirements

As of 1 January 2017, Saint Kitts and Nevis citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 136 countries and territories, ranking the Saint Kitts and Nevis passport 30th in terms of travel freedom (tied with Antigua and Barbuda passports) according to the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 "Passports for a Price". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. 2015-03-11. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  3. ↑ "Abuse of the Citizenship-by-Investment Program Sponsored by the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis". Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 2014-05-20. Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  4. ↑ "Notice – St. Kitts and Nevis citizens now need a visa to travel to Canada". Government of Canada. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  5. ↑ "St Kitts and Nevis recalls passports over security concerns from Canada and US". South China Morning Post. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. ↑ "St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Investment Unit Announces an Accelerated Application Process at CBI in Dubai". St Kitts and Nevis Realty. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  7. ↑ "Global Ranking - Visa Restriction Index 2017" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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