UPDATE: This article refers to a Limited Time Offer, active from 2020 for two years. The COVID-19 Relief Bonds were discontinued on 31 December 2022.
To find out about current conditions for St Lucia citizenship program, check our St Lucia Citizenship by Investment Ultimate Guide.
From 2020 to 2022 the country has offered a much more affordable version of its successful St Lucia Government Bond. The minimum investment in COVID-19 bonds was $250,000 (half of the amount for the regular option, which started at $500,000) in non-interest bearing bonds to be held for a minimum of 5 years.
The St Lucia COVID Relief Bonds were launched as a temporary measure to boost Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment program and help the country’s economy recover from the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on St Lucia’s tourism industry.
And it worked: the Relief Bonds have been a success, being responsible for a manifold increase in interest by applicants in the bonds option. In the year 2018/19, 65 investors chose this route, almost as many as the 82 investors who chose the real estate option.
However, not surprisingly for a limited offer, it ended. More precisely, after 31 Dec. 2022 the St Lucia COVID-19 Bond option was not available anymore.
Benefits of Having a St Lucia Passport
About the St Lucia Citizenship by Investment Program
Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment program, or Saint Lucia CIP, for short, was created in 2015, as a way to contribute to the development of the country and boost the economy. One of the benefits for Saint Lucia passport holders is that they have visa-free access to 140 countries including the EU and the UK. The citizenship program is open to anyone who fills the requirements:
- Be over 18 years old
- Make the required investment and provide detailed information and evidence of the respective investment
- Have an outstanding character
- Have excellent health
- Hold no criminal record
- Pass a detailed background check
- Pay the required non-refundable processing, a due diligence fee, and administrative fees upon application
If the applicant fills these criteria, they can apply for St Lucia citizenship and include the following eligible family members in the citizenship application:
- Spouse
- Children under 21 years old
- Dependent children aged between 21-30
- Mentally or physically challenged dependent children and/or parents
- Parents and/or grandparents aged 55 or above
- Siblings of the main applicant or spouse, if below the age of 18, unmarried, and who’ve received consent from parent or guardian to apply
The complete application will go through due diligence checks, and if given the all clear, the applicant will make the investment. Be it investing in government bonds, donating to the National Economic Fund, investing in an enterprise in Saint Lucia, or purchasing real estate, once it is complete, the whole family will then receive investment citizenship.
If you don’t want to miss the opportunity to purchase government bonds with a significant discount and obtaining citizenship of Saint Lucia, hurry up!