Issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis Purpose Identification | Type of document Passport | |
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Eligibility requirements Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship | ||
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 a part 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 $250,000 a new citizen buys visa-free travel to 132 countries, with no requirement to live in or even visit the country. There is limited disclosure of financial information, and both income and capital gains are tax-free.
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." 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.” 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 on or before 31 January 2015 was cancelled by the government.
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.