Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 14, 2022: The Government of St Kitts and Nevis has appointed a new head of its world-renowned Citizenship by Investment Unit, Michael Martin.
The new government administration is on a drive to enhance its Citizenship by Investment programme and to ensure that local citizens and residents alike benefit from it.
“In this ever-changing and unpredictable world, it is imperative that the Government of St Kitts and Nevis and its Citizenship by Investment Programme continue to adapt to the needs of our people and to attract the right kind of international investment necessary to uplift our country,” said Prime Minister Hon. Dr Terrence Drew. “I believe that Mr Martin is the perfect candidate to help us realise our goal of providing a programme that will uplift the Kittitian and Nevisian society through beneficial investment options that bring tangible value, while also offering an enriching base to international investors.”
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) administration aims to ensure that the Citizenship by Investment Programme is mutually beneficial for all stakeholders, from the people of St Kitts and Nevis, the investors themselves, to the developers, to the local service providers and the international marketing agents.
“While we have always been the benchmark of the global investor immigration industry, we understand that in order to remain as one of the most sought-after economic citizenship programmes in the world, we need to continue to evolve and forge a path for ourselves that is sustainable in the long term,” said the prime minister.
Upon asking Mr Martin for a comment he said, “This is an operation that is very important to the development of the country, and to the people of the country. We will have to rebrand and refocus the programme, define our strategic goals, and create some new investment options that would be aligned to those strategic goals.”
The Citizenship by Investment Programme has been structured to allow for greater transparency and accountability, which make the hallmarks of a good governance framework that solidifies the foundation of any successful citizenship by investment programme.
The government is also pleased to confirm that Martin is a local Kittitian, underpinning the value and place local citizens and residents hold in the programme.
“Martin’s past experience as a service provider in the investment migration industry and his local roots make him the right candidate to understand what our external stakeholders require from us as well as knowing how we can use this programme to uplift our people,” said Prime Minister Drew.
At the Unit, Martin’s team will ensure that the programme increases processing efficiency and accuracy while also maintaining strong due diligence processes so that only investors of the highest calibre are accepted. The programme will also be underpinned by three fundamental principles including sustainability, good governance and pragmatism.
The enhanced Citizenship by Investment Programme has been crafted under a sustainable model that will ensure that St Kitts and Nevis continues to be the envy of the international community by injecting high levels of integrity and administrative improvements.
Now, in the third iteration of its evolution, after four decades of erudition and development, the SKNLP administration is using creativity and boldness to ensure that the programme transcends to the modern age; and that the security infrastructure is enhanced and strengthened for all of its people.
Mr Martin brings much-needed stability to the CBI Unit which will now have more legislative and administrative oversight. Martin has served in top management positions in several companies, including the National Caribbean Insurance Company, National Bank Trust Company, and Sagicor Life Inc. He was previously a director of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, Honorary Secretary of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society Council of Management, and director for First Federal Cooperative Credit Union.
He holds a graduate diploma from the International Compliance Association and Manchester Business School, a certificate in International Trust Management from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a certificate in Managing Financial Services from the University of the West Indies.