Why Halting Undercutting Matters for Caribbean CBI Success

Caribbean: Aiming to ensure the highest level of accountability and transparency, the CBI jurisdictions have taken numerous landmark changes and set a benchmark for others to follow. 

St Kitts and Nevis which pioneers the CBI Programme, leads the evolution with required steps to ensure the security and safety of the programme with highest international standards.  

The series of groundbreaking initiatives kickstarted with an increase in the minimum investment threshold for citizenship applications by the twin-island federation. With an intend to bolster reputation of the CBI Programme, St Kitts and Nevis doubled its price and set US$250,000 for obtaining citizenship under the Sustainable Island State Contribution (SISC) in July 2023.  

The step had made waves across the Caribbean region and the wider CBI Industry as St Kitts and Nevis fulfilled one of the six principles agreed during the US-Caribbean roundtable in February 2023. The reform aimed to preserve the integrity and long-standing reputation, ensuring to raise standards and promote good governance within the programme.  

With an initiative, St Kitts and Nevis spearheaded legislative changes and set a bold and new tone for industry as a whole, prompting other Caribbean CBI jurisdictions to follow the suit.  

Historic MoA signed by Caribbean  

The historic Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) which was also one of the core principles of US-Caribbean roundtable was first signed by St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Programme.  

Once again leading the path for others, St Kitts and Nevis became the first country to sign the MoA, aiming to maintain the utmost integrity of what they call “The First, The Finest” CBI Programme in the world.  

While following the benchmark set by the Federation, four other Caribbean countries also signed the MoA and decided to increase their minimum investment threshold to US$200,000.  

With these steps, St Kitts and Nevis has been leading the industry by crafting the sustainable model and fulfilling the standards set out by the international community. Being the pioneer in the industry for more than 40 years, the country has preserved its title and brand by adopting transforming and evolving reforms.  

Mandatory Interviews 

The reform series has featured the mandatory interview step under which all applicants are required to undergo for interview during their due diligence processes. St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica became the first two countries to implement the step, aiming to foster their standards of robust and stringent due diligence.  

The swift actions for their commitment toward excellence paved the path of long-standing future of St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Programme. 

Another groundbreaking step against underselling 

Now, St Kitts and Nevis has intensified its action against the practice of underselling within the CBI Programme and issued a formal letter for individuals who obtained citizenship on the discounted amount.  

As Caribbean region has been facing scrutiny by the international community due to the cross-cutting practices, St Kitts and Nevis once again came up with a solution to deal with it. The country has decided to take strict action against those individuals who contributed less than the official threshold to obtain citizenship.  

After being the first country to raise the threshold, St Kitts and Nevis set new and bold tone for the industry as a whole. With these steps, the country has built trust and confidence within the investors about the Citizenship by Investment Programme.  

If a client is obtaining citizenship at a discounted price, then they will only be responsible for future actions. Hence, the client is obliged to pay the full investment threshold to obtain the citizenship and if they fail to do so, they will be held responsible for consequences such as revocation of the citizenship or paying the remaining investment.  

In addition to that, if a developer offers citizenship on a lesser threshold to the investor, then it will be a crime under the law regardless of the country. In future, if the verification is opened on these applicants where they will be asked about the evidence regarding their investment in the CBI Programme.  

If they failed to provide proper information and paid less than the official threshold, then they will have to face the consequences which might lead to revocation of their citizenship. The situation could also become problematic for the client if they accept the discount offer of the developer as they will have to pay the fine and the remaining amount of the threshold.  

According to an expert of the CBI Industry, "If a developer is offering a discount, a client is obliged distanced themselves from developer and must file complaint against his practices on the official site of the Citizenship by Investment Units.” 

Notably, the consequences of the underselling will be faced by the client as the developer who is offering a discount will not be available. For instance, if new changes are being made, new rules are being implemented or the EU or UK implements or investigates the client and the citizenship applications, then the fault will be put only on the client, not on developer.  

Hence, the CBI Unit in the Caribbean region has been taking strict actions against such practices and the client will be put under scrutiny. It will be the responsibility of the client to ensure that their evidence is proper and they must not fall for such discount practices.