Les Khan Confirms St. Kitts & Nevis CIP Donation Amount Will Rise for Families of Four Next Year

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In a move that will come as a surprise to industry observers who have grown accustomed to unlimited extensions of supposedly limited time offers (LTOs) on Caribbean CBI, Saint Kitts & Nevis CIU today confirmed it will not extend its current LTO when it expires at the end of this year.

In July 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the five Caribbean CIPs all made adjustments to their terms to encourage investment at a time when other important sources of government revenue (notably tourism) were rapidly drying up. In Saint Kitts & Nevis’ case, the primary measure was to offer a temporary discount for families applying under the contribution option; reducing the donation amount for a family of four from US$195,000 to US$150,000 (the same donation amount as for single applicants but with higher overall cost because of additional government fees).

In a press release published today, Les Khan, the Saint Kitts & Nevis CIU’s chief executive, confirmed the donation amount for a family of four will return to its original US$195,000 at the start of the new year.

According to figures from RCBI.Assistant, that will bring the total cost (including all fees) for a family of four applying under the donation option in Saint Kitts & Nevis to US$210,100.

At the moment, the Saint Kitts & Nevis CIP offers the second-lowest total cost for a family of four among the programs with which it competes (the other four Caribbean CIPs and that of Vanuatu). At the start of the new year, however, unless Mr. Khan also decides to change the government fee structure or other programs also raise donation amounts, it will rank fifth out of six programs for total costs for a family of four.

Those are the official costs, in any case. It's widely recognized that many CBI promoters, particularly in the MENA region, are offering CBI at total costs below the above figures, a form of conduct that Caribbean CIUs have struggled to prevent. In an exclusive interview with IMI last month, Saint Kitts CIU-boss Les Khan explained how he is confronting firms that illegally offer discounts through blacklisting.