The St. Kitts and Nevis passport has increased the number of countries citizens can travel visa-free, reaching 157 countries from 156 in 2020.
The St. Kitts and Nevis passport has also been ranked as the most powerful passport among all Caribbean countries with citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes for the fifth year in a row.
The latest 2021 independent Henley & Partners Passport Index found that St. Kitts and Nevis’ passport has moved up one place in the global rankings since 2020 with the world’s 24th most powerful passport out of 199 countries.
The Henley & Partners Passport Index, found that all other Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programmes rank behind St. Kitts and Nevis which has long been recognised as operating the region’s Platinum Standard citizenship programme.
Within the Caribbean, other programmes were ranked as follows: Antigua and Barbuda (29th place), St. Lucia (31st) and Granada (33rd). Dominica was ranked behind all Caribbean programmes in 34th place with visa-free access to just 143 countries, 14 places below St. Kitts and Nevis. Other CBI programmes around the world ranked even lower such as Vanuatu (39th), Montenegro (47th) and Turkey (56th).
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The ranking is created using the latest data by citizenship investment advisers Henley & Partners using information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which holds the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.
The programme is also committed to international standards of due diligence thanks to its independent, four-stage due diligence process.
This has proven to be a valuable asset as validated by the CBI Index of Professional Wealth Management of the Financial Times Group which gave a score of 10 out of 10 for the due diligence of the St. Kitts and Nevis CBI programme.
St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Investment Unit chief executive Les Khan said: “We are proud to hold the position of the strongest citizenship by investment passport in the Caribbean for the fifth consecutive year. It once again underlines the strong offering of the St. Kitts and Nevis passport and Citizen by Investment programme, as well as recognising our ability to be agile and to adapt and innovate.
“This year for example, introducing new alternative investment options, digitalising applications during the COVID-19 pandemic and introducing a limited time offer, whilst continuing to apply the highest standards of due diligence.”
