Caribbean “golden passports” double in price amid global pressures

In response to mounting pressure from the US and the EU, Caribbean nations are doubling the price of their coveted citizenship-by-investment programs to a minimum of $200,000. The move aims to curb concerns over passport sales circumventing immigration controls and attracting criminal activity. Despite soaring demand, Saint Lucia remains a holdout, signalling potential challenges ahead for the region's efforts to reform its lucrative but controversial citizenship programs..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By Jim Wyss.Caribbean "golden passports" are getting more expensive, a response to pressure from the US and the European Union to crack down on citizenship sales. .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.A group of four Caribbean nations has agreed to charge at least $200,000 for their passports starting June 30, double the current rate in some cases. The countries will also close loopholes that allowed passports to be sold at a discount..Citizenship-by-investment, or CBI, programs rake in more than $579 million a year in the Caribbean and make up more than half the national revenue of some of the region's tiny island nations. But the programs are under scrutiny by European and US regulators, who are increasingly concerned that they are being used to circumvent immigration controls and can serve as a gateway for criminals..Read More: Golden Passports for $100,000 Threatened by EU Crime Crackdown."Golden passports" give visa-free access to the EU, the UK and other countries, making them popular with nationalities that would usually be required to apply for travel permits. The five Caribbean nations with CBI programs have extended citizenship to at least 88,000 people, including many Chinese, Russians and Nigerians, according to a EU report last year..The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the programs may help criminals "perpetrate massive frauds and launder proceeds of crime and corruption reaching into the billions of dollars.".Read more: 🔒 Wealthy Russians seen fueling demand for Caribbean island's passport.Demand for the Caribbean passports is soaring, said Kara Doherty, managing director at Antigua-based Apex Capital Partners, a firm that advises on second citizenship. Interest has increased almost 300% during the first two months of the year, she said, pinning it on the rise of Bitcoin and other tokens. US citizens, who see a second passport as a hedge against geopolitical turmoil, are propping up sales too..The Caribbean countries also agreed to share information, submit to independent financial audits and enhance transparency. The changes are intended to address "concerns which the EU, in particular, would have had with these programs," Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a statement..A holdout nation might undermine the effort. .Saint Lucia, where passports sell for $100,000, didn't sign the agreement, which only encompasses Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. St. Kitts has the Caribbean's oldest and expensive CBI program at $250,000..Saint Lucia officials didn't respond to requests for comment..The new agreement also tries to stop sales of passports at a discount. In some cases, local property developers were allowed to hand out passports to buyers at a fraction of the original price, with promises of future payments. But when projects stalled, buyers would be able to walk away with citizenship at below market rates..St. Kitts Prime Minister Andrew Drew said the sale of discounted passports is "a scourge on the CBI industry" for sapping government revenues and leading to unfinished projects..Read also:.Portugal still 'top of the pops' for Golden Visa despite rule changes – Andrew RissikThe end of golden visas in the EU: what are the alternatives?🔒 UK ends non-dom tax break: Wealthy expats seek new havens.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Caribbean “golden passports” double in price amid global pressures

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