Bloomberg
Caribbean nations are so strapped for cash after the pandemic hammered their tourism industries that they have begun dangling deep discounts on the passports they sell to wealthy foreigners.
Many of the islands in the region have long offered “citizenship-by-investment” programs as a way of supplementing the hard currency they pull in from tourism.
With their hotels and white-sand beaches now almost entirely empty, this unconventional business has suddenly taken on much greater importance.
St. Kitts and Nevis, a mountainous twin-island nation of 53,000 people, was among the first to slash prices. It’s offering a special deal through the end of the year: A $150,000 (R2.5 million) contribution to the country’s “Sustainable Growth Fund” will score passports for a family of four.
That’s a 23% drop from the regular price of $195,000 (R3.2 million). Other islands in the region, including Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda are offering even cheaper deals.
“In these days of Covid, when tourism is not happening, we have to find ways to create revenue to sustain our economy,” said Les Khan, CEO of St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Investment Unit, in a phone interview.
St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica have also put changes in place to lure more clients, Khan said. Some offer citizenship for as little as $100,000 (R1.67 million).
Since St. Kitts helped pioneer the industry in the 1980s, citizenship-by-investment has grown into a multi-billion dollar business, offering wealthy clients an escape from the travel restrictions on their home countries’ passports and helping them plan for emergencies.
“Clients look at these citizenship options as volatility management or risk management tools,” said Paddy Blewer, director of the UK office of Henley & Partners, a London-based consultancy that provides advice on citizenship and residencies. Read More..https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/415795/these-countries-are-selling-second-passports-for-a-discount-heres-how-much-they-cost-for-south-africans/