St Kitts and Nevis citizenship: a US visa denial and judicial process in the investor’s background
I want my business to grow in Europe. There is a demand for my company’s services, and I have already made a couple of successful deals in Germany. But with my experience of getting visas, I understand I won’t move forward in that quickly. I already had a US visa denial, and I don’t want the same story with the Schengen. Business supposes spontaneous travels, meetings and decisions. Not waiting and begging for visas.
Belkacem, 42 years old
An investor from Algeria
Clients’ names and photos have been changed
This case was provided by our expert
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
St Kitts and Nevis citizenship: a US visa denial and judicial process in the investor’s background
Why did the investor from Algeria need visa-free access to Europe
Belkacem is a 42-year-old investor from Algeria. He has a successful cargo delivery business and is now trying to expand his company abroad. Belkacem needs to travel to other countries to develop business connections, meet new partners, and learn about foreign markets. And the most tiresome part of it for the investor is getting visas.
To make his business trips abroad less burdensome, the investor decided to get a passport of a country that allows its citizens to travel without visas. The key business areas for the investor were European countries.
Belkacem contacted several consulting companies that help obtain second citizenship by investment. In the end, he chose Immigrant Invest.
Contacting Immigrant Invest
Belkacem left a request for a meeting with Immigrant Invest lawyers and discussed his issue with them. After, the lawyers asked the investor to provide his passport to conduct a preliminary check.
Before starting cooperation and signing a contract with the client, Immigrant Invest lawyers from the internal compliance unit conduct a comprehensive preliminary Due Diligence.
Due Diligence is the key stage in a citizenship program. If an investor passes it, they obtain citizenship. If an investor is refused, the way to other investment programs can be closed.
Up to 1%
Preliminary Due Diligence reduces the risk of application rejection
That is why Immigrant Invest conducts its Due Diligence. Preliminary Due Diligence helps eliminate possible risks and identify a list of suitable programs for an investor.
Suppose the lawyers find points in the investor’s background that could result in their application rejection. In that case, Immigrant Invest experts offer a suitable alternative solution or decline to proceed with the application after explaining the situation to the client concerned.
The investor’s risks of his citizenship application rejection
In Belkacem’s case, there were two ’red flags’ that could lead to his citizenship application’s rejection:
a US visa denial;
a current judicial proceeding.
Immigrant Invest lawyers analysed Belkacem’s situation in detail to understand his chances of obtaining a second passport.
Denial of a visa is a red flag for any migration service. In an application with visa refusals, a program unit can interpret an investor as a potentially dangerous person for a country since other governments refuse them to enter a state.
But visa refusal can be for various reasons, from less severe to more serious.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
In the case of a citizenship application with visa denials, it is important to understand the cause of the denial. For example, a person was denied a visa on criminal grounds because they were accused of drug trafficking or money laundering. Even if an investor was acquitted, there is a high probability that they will not pass Due Diligence
On the other hand, there are less severe reasons for visa refusals. For example, due to incorrectly executed documents. In such a case, visa denial is not a red flag for a citizenship program unit, and an investor can obtain a passport.
In 2021, Belkacem got his visa denial under INA Section 214(b) Visa Qualifications and Immigrant Intent. This rejection means that applicants have not demonstrated strong enough ties to their home countries to force them to leave the US when a visa expires. Strong ties to one’s home country can be work, home, or relationships with family and friends.
An official letter from the US Embassy to Belkacem explaining his visa denial
A refusal under section 214(b) is not permanent, and one can apply again for a visa immediately after receiving a denial. To reapply, one should be able to present evidence of significant changes in circumstances since their last application.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
Belkacem’s visa denial under INA Section 214(b) is not a critical reason to decline to proceed with the citizenship application. With this reason of visa denial, the investor can still participate in any citizenship program successfully.
But It is essential to attach an affidavit explaining the visa denial’s reason when applying for citizenship. So, the program unit will not have questions and misgivings.
The investor’s judicial proceeding was on the property objects he had inherited, for which he was the plaintiff. Belkacem sued the estate’s heirs because he felt he had been shortchanged.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
The judicial procession on the property division does not belong to the category of administrative or criminal cases, and it is exclusively of a civil law nature. Belkacem operates within the law and has no criminal record, meaning Belkacem can participate in any citizenship program.
After a comprehensive preliminary Due Diligence, Immigrant Invest lawyers were sure Belkacem could participate in any citizenship program with a 99,9% chance of getting a second passport.
Choosing a program
The leading goal of Belkacem was to travel visa-free to most countries, including Schengen and the UK. Also, the investor wanted to get a passport quickly. Belkacem’s budget was $200,000. Immigrant Invest lawyers have selected suitable programs for Belkacem.
Five Caribbean citizenship by investment programs matched the investor’s criteria: Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Dominica.
Caribbean passport holders travel visa-free to more than 140 countries, including the Schengen Area, the UK, Singapore, and China. Moreover, the citizens have the right to get long-term tourist or business US visas.
The investor gets a Caribbean passport in 2—6 months. Some countries confer fast-track procedures.
The minimal investment into a country’s economy is $100,000. It’s smaller compared to European programs. For comparison, to get a Montenegrin passport, an investor will spend more than €472,000.
The application process does not need a direct presence in the country, and there is no living requirement in the Caribbean citizenship programs. One application can include a spouse, children under 30, parents over 55, and unmarried brothers and sisters.
Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programs
2—6 months
3—6 months
3—4 months
3—6 months
4—6 months
156 countries visa-free
150 countries visa-free
146 countries visa-free
144 countries visa-free
144 countries visa-free
$150,000+
contribution to the fund
Or
$175,000+
buying a social property
Or
$200,000+
buying property
$100,000
contribution to the fund
Or
$200,000+
buying a property
Or
From $150,000
university fund contribution
Or
From $400,000
business investment
$100,000+
contribution to the fund
Or
$300,000+
buying a property
Or
From $250,000
buying bonds
Or
From $1,000,000
business investment
$100,000+
contribution to the fund
Or
$200,000+
buying a property
$150,000+
contribution to the fund
Or
$220,000+
buying a property
St Kitts and Nevis offers the most powerful passport among Caribbean CBI programmes, with visa-free access to 156 countries, including the Schengen Area and Britain. Moreover, St Kitts and Nevis program is the fastest among other Caribbean CBI programs.
Also, Saint Kitts and Nevis passport has a good business reputation. Many Belkacem business partners of the investor are citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Belkacem chose St Kitts and Nevis citizenship program as visa-free travelling to most countries and the ability to get a passport quickly were his primary demands.
St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment program terms
In exchange for a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport, applicants are to pass a Due Diligence check, make a non-refundable contribution of $150,000 to the state fund, or buy real estate worth $200,000. Also, the investor pays the Due Diligence, the application, notarial, bank and certificate fees.
$158,361
Minimal cost of a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport
Belkacem chose contribution to the government fund over the real estate purchase. He did not want to deal with real estate’s responsibility: its maintenance and further exploitation.
The expenses increase if an investor adds family members to the application. An investor can add:
a spouse;
children aged up to 30, financially dependent on the investor;
parents over 50 years old of both the investor and the spouse;
siblings under 30 years old, unmarried and with no children, of both the investor and the spouse.
Applicants for Saint Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment do not need to take exams on the country’s language or history, live in Saint Kitts and Nevis or even visit the country.
A view over St Kitts island. Ten years after St Kitts and Nevis passport issuance, an investor is to replace it with a new one. Children under 16 get new St Kitts and Nevis passports every five years. Documents for a passport renewal are submitted to the immigration service
The stages of obtaining a St Kitts and Nevis passport are similar for both investment options: a contribution to the state fund and the real estate purchase. The lawyers collect the documents and submit them to the St Kitts and Nevis CBI unit. Then, the investor passes Due Diligence, fulfils the investment conditions and obtains a passport.
Steps to obtain St Kitts and Nevis citizenship
Collecting and transmission of documents. Immigrant Invest lawyers have prepared and submitted a package of investor documents to the Citizenship Unit of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It took three weeks to prepare the documents.
When the lawyers submitted the documents, Belkacem paid the Due Diligence fee — $7,500.
Approval of the application. The program unit reviewed Belkacem’s application within the set time limit of two months and did not make any additional requests.
Belkacem’s successful completion of Due Diligence results from Immigrant Invest lawyers’ work. They have prepared a comprehensive document package that meets the program’s requirements. In addition, the lawyers attached affidavits explaining the reason for Belkacem’s visa denial and the issue of his current judicial proceeding.
Immigrant Invest received Belkacem’s application approval by email.
Fulfilment of investment conditions. When Belkacem received approval to participate in the program, he transferred $150,000 to the bank account of St Kitts and Nevis state fund.
Obtaining a passport. The unit received a notification of the transfer of the investments and, within two weeks, has printed certificates of naturalisation and passports for Belkacem.
The investor received the documents from Immigrant Invest two weeks later.
4 months and $158,361 to obtain Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship
30 May 2022
Belkacem turned to Immigrant Invest
+ 1 day
Preliminary Due Diligence
+ 3 weeks
Preparation of documents, filing of the application$7,750
+ 2 months
Due Diligence
21 August 2022
Approval of the application
August 2022
Transfer to the St Kitts and Nevis fund$150,200
+ 4 weeks
Preparation and forwarding of passport$411
18 September 2022
Obtaining passport
The investor’s life with St Kitts and Nevis passport
Now Belkacem is free to travel and successfully build his business partnership abroad. Also, the investor can no longer worry about US visas — citizens of St Kitts and Nevis get a 10-year US tourist visa in 2—3 weeks.
Opportunities for the investor before and after obtaining St Kitts and Nevis citizenship
Belkacem is thinking about registering his company in St Kitts and Nevis. It can help him work with his foreign partners. For example, payments can be made without worrying about foreign exchange control regulations. The beneficial owner’s data is not entered in the commercial register when registering a company.
Moreover, St Kitts and Nevis’s tax system seems attractive to Belkacem. The country’s tax residents do not pay taxes on dividends, interest or royalties. There is no tax on wages, capital gains or inheritance in St Kitts and Nevis. Belkacem has already opened a bank account in St Kitts and Nevis.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for government programs in the European Union and the Caribbean.
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