One day in August 2023, the Grenada Immigration by Investment (CBI) issued Announcement No. 5.
According to the announcement, the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Authority will require all applicants aged 17 and over to undergo a mandatory interview from September 1, 2023, as part of Grenada's enhanced due diligence process.
Grenada is currently making the necessary administrative changes to reflect the content of this announcement and will therefore provide information on the revised fee structure in the near future.
And this is already the third country among the five countries of Caribbean citizenship by investment to increase interview requirements and change politics this year!
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The first: Dominica
On July 12, local time, the Dominica Investment Immigration Bureau CBIU issued an announcement, announcing that from July 17, 2023, Dominica will strengthen background checks and take the lead in introducing an "interview" link, requiring all applicants aged 16 or above to participate in a mandatory interview.
Further confirmation is pending whether the interview will be completed remotely, as well as additional costs incurred by the interview.
"The second: St. Kitts
On July 27, the official website of the St. Kitts Investment Immigration Bureau CIU suddenly issued an announcement, announcing that major adjustments were made to the investment citizenship program, and the new policy content took effect immediately. The adjustments are as follows:
1. Adjust the scope of affiliated applicants
The main applicant or his/her spouse's siblings, grandparents will not be able to be dependent applicants;
The minimum age requirement for parents of the main applicant or his/her spouse has been adjusted from 55 to 65.
2. Introduce a new "Invest" option
The Sustainable Island Countries (SISC) option will replace the Sustainable Development Fund (SGF) option, and the original Sustainable Development Fund Limited Time Offer will be terminated immediately! The new donation investment amounts are as follows:
。 Main applicant: $250,000
。 Main applicant and spouse: $300,000.
。 Main applicant and one subsidiary applicant: $300,000
。 Main applicant together with spouse and one or two dependent applicants: $350,000
。 Main applicant with two or three dependent applicants: $350,000
。 $50,000 for each additional dependent applicant under the age of 18
。 Additional dependent applicants who are 18 years of age or older: $75,000
3. The investment threshold is raised
。 The minimum amount of real estate options invested in the developer is $400,000, and the property must be held for 7 years before it can be sold to another buyer who wants to apply for citizenship by investment only once.
。 Approved private residences, which can be condominiums or single-family homes, are sold as investment citizenship if the minimum investment is $400,000 or $800,000, and the option to purchase a dwelling jointly by two or more main applicants is terminated, and the dwelling must be held for at least 7 years.
。 Apply for the government-approved public welfare investment option, and the minimum investment amount will be adjusted to US$250,000.
4. Adjust due diligence fees
With immediate effect, the due diligence fees for St. Kitts passports are as follows:
。 Main applicant: $10,000
。 Dependent applicants: $7,500
5. Extended processing time
The application will be approved within 120 days from the official confirmation of receipt of the application by the Investment Immigration Bureau, and the original 60-day accelerated application service is closed!
6. Increase the interview link
All main applicants who have not been issued a Certificate of Civil Registration are required to conduct an interview, and any dependent applicant aged 16 or above may be invited for an interview at no additional charge.
Once approved, the Certificate of Registration must be collected in person at St. Kitts or at an embassy or consulate designated by the Citizenship by Investment Unit approved by the Council.
7. Strengthen publicity and supervision
St. Kitts will strengthen the supervision of advertisements related to the St. Kitts investment immigration program, and strengthen the supervision of program authorized agents and international marketing agencies.
At present, three of the five Caribbean passport countries have announced the addition of "interview" requirements, where will the citizenship by investment policy of other countries go?
In fact, in February this year, five Caribbean island countries, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Saint Lucia, held a "round table" with United States officials headed by the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
At the meeting, the two sides had in-depth discussions on the threats and challenges faced by the Citizenship by Investment Program and its important contribution to the development of Caribbean island countries. In the end, the five Caribbean countries and the United States reached six consensuses, namely:
1. Sharing of information on refusal of visas
The five Caribbean countries must actively share information on foreign investors who have been denied visas by their own CIP programs, while other countries will no longer accept their naturalization applications.
2. Increase interviews
Every naturalized person is required to attend an in-person or remote interview.
3. Stricter background checks
Each jurisdiction will check each application with each country's financial intelligence unit.
4. Increase audits
Regular audits of citizenship by investment programs in accordance with international standards.
5. Passport recall
Law enforcement authorities have the right to request the revocation or recall of passports.
6. Suspension of acceptance by persons from specific countries
From March 31, applications for naturalization of citizens of Russia and Belarus were suspended.
The governments of the five Caribbean countries collectively expressed their commitment to abide by the six citizenship by investment principles proposed by the United States.
Furthermore, the countries participating in the meeting agreed to convene a technical workshop in the next four to six months to assess the implementation of these new principles.
Five months have passed since the February meeting, and basically the CIP plan of the five Caribbean countries will move closer to these "six principles".
Therefore, it can be expected that the remaining Antigua and Saint Lucia will also adjust their policies, and the "interview" link is estimated to be unavoidable, but it will not necessarily be a "face-to-face" interview, and there may be a remote interview.
In recent years, there has been a trend of tightening investment immigration policies around the world.
In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia and other traditional immigration countries announced the closure of investment immigration channels, popular golden visa programs in Europe have also increased prices and shut down, details can be seen: "price increase, shutdown", the golden age of low-cost investment immigration is about to pass...
Under the influence of large countries, the small country passport project cannot be an exception, and it can be expected that the threshold for investment passport application in the Caribbean will be stricter in the future, and the review of applicants' background checks and application materials will be more rigorous and standardized during the application process!
The policy is changing all the time, if you are interested in configuring an overseas identity plan, it is recommended to start a personal plan as soon as possible, apply early, and enjoy it early!