BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 15, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The position of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment Programme as the platinum brand of the CBI industry is now further cemented, as the 2017 Russian Global Citizen Awards Ceremony has recognized the country for offering the World’s Most Innovative Investment Immigration Programme.
The Russian Global Citizen Awards ceremony, held at Moscow’s prestigious Ritz Carlton, is an annual event that recognizes the best governments, companies and individuals who have excelled in investment, freedom of movement, and residence services. The awards ceremony also recognizes those who have made significant contributions to assisting clients around the world to live more mobile lives with greater opportunity.
The accolade of the World’s Most Innovative Investment Immigration Programme was awarded to St. Kitts and Nevis in acknowledgement of the longstanding contribution that its CBI programme has made to the economic citizenship industry since being established in 1984.
In response to what was considered as the highest honour at the Global Citizen Awards Ceremony, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, said, “This award is the culmination of many years refining and improving our processes, and adapting to the growing needs of the global citizen.”
Prime Minister Harris added, “Receiving an award which acknowledges the forward-thinking approach and the agility of our programme is reinforcement that we are leaders, not just in the world of economic citizenship, but in what we have to offer to the global citizen.”
St. Kitts and Nevis’ CBI programme recently received top scores for its comprehensive due diligence procedures in the latest CBI Index which was conducted by Professional Wealth Management (PWM), a publication of the Financial Times.
The Team Unity Government, since assuming office in February 2015, introduced a number of measures to reform and rebrand the country’s programme. These include the hiring of IPSA International, a regulatory risk mitigation company, to do a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s citizenship programme, as well as new management for the CIU, the introduction of a 24/7 case management system that allows for round-the-clock, real-time monitoring of the status of CBI applications, the employment of additional due diligence providers with specialist knowledge of particular countries and regions, and increased partnerships with friendly governments such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.
