Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has said Saint Lucia is now looking for new citizens and is promising those who can afford the £78,000 passport, citizenship within three months.

Speaking during a “global citizenship conference” at a five-star hotel in London for 300 members of the super-rich elite, he said that Saint Lucia’s economic mission was to target “high net-worth individuals and giving them a comfortable place to live”.

He said those who can pay the “contribution to the national economic fund” of £78,000 will receive citizenship to the island within three months.

He also said that new citizens are not expected to live in Saint Lucia as long as the money is paid to the economic fund and a home is bought on the island.
“St Lucia is modernizing itself, and going to be making itself competitive on a global basis,” he told the gathering. “And it’s looking for new citizens that want to take advantage of what Saint Lucia has to offer.”
Chastanet also stated that many of the island’s new citizens are from the US.

“When they’re traveling abroad, they don’t want to have a US passport,” he remarked.

Chastanet explained on Facebook that his presentation at the conference focused on “Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Programme, including due diligence, the island’s tourism and real estate markets and how we are working to make Saint Lucia the best place to Live, Work, Visit and Invest”.

He also took part in a panel discussion on “Citizenship by Investment on the World Stage” which featured Prime Minister of Malta Dr. Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Montenegro Dusko Markovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama and Prime Minister of Antigua Gaston Browne.

The three-day event was hosted by Henley and Partners and cost £1,500 a ticket.