St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment: SISC contribution from US$250,000 or real estate from US$325,000

No. India does not allow dual citizenship: acquiring another citizenship by choice terminates Indian citizenship, and the Indian passport must be surrendered. The Overseas Citizen of India card then gives a lifelong, multiple-entry visa and parity with NRIs in most economic matters, but no voting or public-office rights. For many families a residence programme solves the task without this trade-off — both options should be compared before any payment.

There is no requirement to reside in the country to obtain or keep the citizenship — the CIU says so directly. Only the main applicant's interview is mandatory; its format and venue are set by the CIU.

Under CIU rules the investment is transferred after the approval-in-principle letter. At filing you pay only due diligence (US$10,000 for the main applicant, US$7,500 per family member aged 16+) and processing fees. Refunds of fees on refusal are not fixed in the rules — refund terms should be checked in the contract with the agent, and the grounds for refusal before filing.

Under CIU rules — 120–180 days from acknowledgement of the application: approval in principle, refusal, or a notice of delay with the reason. In practice the timing depends on the completeness of the file, the option chosen and how fast document requests are answered. A 'passport in 4 months' should not be counted on: the real estate route adds time for the purchase, and the certificate and passports are issued after approval.

The country is listed in Annex II of EU Regulation 2018/1806: visa-free entry to the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180. The full list of visa-free countries should be verified on the filing date against official sources, not marketing tables. Caribbean citizenship and visa-free entry to the EU are separate legal questions: travel conditions can change regardless of when the family received the passport.

The EU explicitly links investor-citizenship programmes to security risks: since 31 December 2025 the operation of such a scheme is a stand-alone ground for suspending visa-free travel, and Council documents of January 2026 tell the Eastern Caribbean states to tighten vetting 'pending the discontinuation of those schemes'. By a letter of 25 June 2026 the European Commission asked the five Caribbean states to phase out their programmes by 1 June 2028 and to introduce interim measures by September 2026. This is not the end of visa-free travel but the start of a procedure: the governments are continuing their programmes, talks are under way, and the EU report under the suspension mechanism is expected in December 2026.

A non-refundable contribution is easier to evaluate: US$250,000 is spent on the status and does not come back. With real estate from US$325,000 you must add government fees (from US$25,000 for the main applicant), upkeep, commissions, 7 years of mandatory holding and a realistic future buyer. A developer's promised buy-back is not a guaranteed return. Sometimes a higher non-refundable cost is clearer than a formally refundable investment with an uncertain exit.

Resident Indians remit under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme — USD 250,000 per person per financial year for any permissible capital-account purpose. A family of 4 at US$250,000 plus fees usually means splitting the remittance between spouses or across two financial years; tax collected at source on large remittances also affects cash flow. Indians resident in the UAE are generally outside LRS, which is why many files start in the Gulf. The payment route should be planned before filing, not after approval.

Due diligence (US$10,000 + US$7,500 per person aged 16+); on the real estate route, government fees after approval, conveyancing and insurance; certificate and passport issuance fees; agent and legal services. The full budget depends on family composition, not the headline 'from US$250,000'.

CIU forms, passports and birth and marriage certificates with apostille and translation, police certificates for everyone aged 16+, medical forms, proof of source of funds, evidence of children's studies and parents' dependency. Preparation usually takes 3–6 weeks and depends on which countries the certificates come from.

Passport validity and citizenship are different things. To replace the document you go through the procedure and show that the obligations accepted at naturalisation have been met. Government fees and services at renewal are costed separately; a single timeline or price cannot be stated in advance, so supporting documents should be collected early and the date diarised. For a family that has given up its Indian passport this is the only passport, so renewal is never left to the last months.

Yes. Parents of the applicant or spouse aged 55 or over, living with you and fully supported by you. Children aged 18 or over — if in full-time education at a recognised institution and fully supported (the current CIU criteria say up to 30, the 2024 brochure says up to 25; verified on the filing date), and adult children with disabilities. There is no cap on the number of dependants.

The SISC contribution of US$250,000 covers a family of up to 4. Each further dependant adds US$25,000 (under 18) or US$50,000 (18 and over). Due diligence is US$10,000 for the main applicant and US$7,500 for everyone aged 16+. On the real estate route the property price does not change, but government fees apply: US$25,000 for the applicant, US$15,000 for the spouse, US$10,000 or US$15,000 per dependant.