ST KITTS AND NEVIS ESTABLISHES MANDATORY INTERVIEWS TO AFFIRM CBI PROGRAMME’S STATUS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- St Kitts and Nevis announced that all main applicants are to partake in a mandatory interview as part of the application process to its investment migration programme, further strengthening the administration of its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme.

The twin-island Federation becomes one of the first Caribbean nations to introduce the soon-to-be industry standard, in which the new regulations also provide the possibility of interviewing dependants.

Instituted by regulations published on July 19, the new policy applies to all applications, including those already received but not yet approved by the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU).

According to a statement, from July 19, main applicants, 16 years and older, for St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI programme will be required to be interviewed, virtually or in person, as part of the application process.

This new step in St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI application process confirms that St Kitts and Nevis has now fully implemented the six principles agreed between the United States (US) governments of the five Caribbean nations with CBI programmes in a roundtable meeting held on Feb 25, this year.

That meeting was convened to discuss and agree on common ways to deal with threats to international communities in the investment migration ecosystem.

Due diligence and risk mitigation remain a very important aspect of how St Kitts and Nevis approaches its CBI programme.

The country has one of the best regulated programmes in the world and is also the only one with a CBI Technical Committee charged with ensuring all due diligence background checks are comprehensive in keeping with the country’s multi-sectoral good governance transformation into a sustainable island-state.

The due diligence for the St Kitts and Nevis CBI programme is conducted by highly respected international due diligence agencies from the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, and vetted by the CIU, Financial Intelligence Unit and international policing authorities.

St Kitts and Nevis boasts the oldest CBI programme in the Caribbean, established in 1984, and continues to be a firm favourite among international investors across the world.

-- BERNAMA