Saint Lucia CIU Publishes Prices For “Add-On” Dependents

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When Saint Lucia’s CIU last week announced it would begin to accept the inclusion of dependents in already approved citizenship by investment applications for a period of up to five years following the CIP-approval, investment migration advisories welcomed the news but asked: “at what cost?”.

Read last week’s memorandum here.

Only today, eight days later, has the CIU published its pricing for what they’re calling “add-on” dependents.

In today’s circular, the CIU details the following price structure for add-on dependents:

• Each dependent over the age of 16 is subject to a US$5,000 due diligence fee
• Each dependent, regardless of age, is subject to a non-refundable processing fee of US$1,000
• In addition to the above, the post-hoc addition of a dependent will require a further contribution (the CIU calls it an investment) to the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund of US$35,000 for a spouse and US$25,000 for each dependent other than a spouse.

Read today’s full circular here.

“This is a very significant turn in that before there was no provision for dependants born after the grant of citizenship to the original applicant,” says Jonathan McNamara, a Saint Lucia-based attorney.

“It also means someone who gets married after being granted citizenship can now include their new spouse, which is a question a lot of people have […] So the real benefit is that it erases any doubt about whether future generations and spouses can be added,” he concludes, but also points out that such additions must take place within five years of the original approval.

Following an inaugural year characterized by fits and starts, the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme saw its application volume grow by a factor of ten during the 2017-18 fiscal year.

For more on Saint Lucia’s CIP, visit its Program Page.