ST. LUCIA’S PRIME MINISTER DR. KENNY ANTHONY
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Monday October 12, 2015 – The Citizenship by Investment progamme which was approved by the Senate five months ago will go into operation from next January.
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said the country would begin accepting applications from January 1, 2016.
He made the disclosure as he addressed the recent Global Citizens Forum in Monaco.
Although describing himself as a jealous guardian of St. Lucian citizenship, Anthony said the time had come to think beyond the traditional approaches, in order to deal with the myriad problems facing small states, and offering citizenship through investment has now become a viable alternative.
He told the gathering of citizenship lawyers, wealth managers, marketing agents, investors and VIPs that new citizens must enhance St. Lucia’s global standing and ensure that the country’s proud heritage endures.
The Senate passed the Citizenship by Investment Bill in early August, paving the way for St. Lucia to join Grenada, Dominica St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda in offering citizenship to the wealthy in return for substantial investment.
“We cannot sit back as other countries participate in this process,” Minister for Legal Affairs, Home Affairs and National Security, Senator Victor Phillip La Corbiniere said at the time. “We must be at the forefront of it, both locally and at the international level.”
St. Lucia is expecting significant economic benefits from the programme.