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| Economic
Citizenship in Grenada - Increasing Applications in the Spice Isle |
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| Like many
Caribbean islands, Grenada's economy is in transition. The spice industry
that gave "the Spice Isle" its name is still a mainstay, but tourism plays
an increasingly important role as the outside world comes to Grenada's
famous harbour and discovers the charm of its red-roofed buildings. |
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| With the more
recent development of a competitive offshore finance centre, Grenada has
found a way to attract greater investment in its agricultural and tourism
sectors. Grenada's Economic Citizenship Program, a highly successful element
of the financial sector strategy, is a classic example of this type of
program. |
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| In existence
in its present form since the Grenadian government passed the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act in 1997, the Economic Citizenship Program has enjoyed a
marked increase in popularity over the past two years. Grenada has
designed a program that responds to the key concerns of its clients, offering
a hassle-free application process, a relatively low investment requirement,
a favourable fee structure for families, and visa-free travel to a large
number of countries. |
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| Increasing
numbers |
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| So far in
1999, Grenada has granted 65 economic citizenship requests. All requests
are processed by the Registrar of Offshore Financial Services, Mr. Michael
Creft, appointed to this position by the Government of Grenada. The
mandate of the Offshore Financial Services office includes publishing a
list of successful applicants in the government Gazette. |
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| Ms. Lisa Taylor,
with the law firm of Henry Hudson-Phillips in Grenada, cited the Offshore
Financial Services office as an important part of the Program's success.
She remarked that the Government of Grenada has made a commitment to exercising
due diligence in all areas of the financial services sector. The
stated function of the Offshore Financial Services office is to protect
the program against abuse. According to Ms. Taylor, there has been
an increase in applications from Russia and Asia, an impression confirmed
by Mr. Creft. He said that most requests come from Asia, particularly
China and Hong Kong, although the number of Russian applicants has recently
been growing. Ms. Taylor said her office has also noticed interest
among Canadian investors. Overall, Mr. Creft observes a significant
increase in interest this year over 1998, when 82 requests were granted. |
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| Role of
approved agents |
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| Applications
for citizenship are prepared and submitted to the Registrar by government
- approved agents. The approved agents serve to screen the applicants,
assisting the Registrar by accelerating the process and resulting in a
very small number of rejected applications -- less than one percent according
to Mr. Creft. Mr. Trevor St. Bernard of the law firm Lewis &
Renwick, one of the approved agents in Grenada, comments that the whole
process is quite efficient: applications can be processed (and a passport
issued) within six weeks. |
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| The approved
agents are selected for their marketing ability and business expertise.
Where agents are not themselves accountants or lawyers, they are required
to use the services of an accounting or law firm, which will ensure that
the applications submitted to the Government are complete, and include
the required documentation for the criminal and medical record checks.
In case of negligence, the use of a professional fiduciary means that recourse
can be made to a professional governing body. |
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| Ms. Taylor
acknowledged that the approved agent program has helped to foster a feeling
of stability around this relatively new program. "The process of
becoming an agent is fairly stringent, and the position still has a certain
prestige," she observed. "The people on the list of approved agents
are generally 'high calibre', well-respected individuals and entities."
Grenada hopes that the use of government-approved agents will protect applicants
and facilitate the due diligence of the Registrar. Primary advantages |
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| The majority
of applicants secure passports for their family members because the investment
requirement and fees are the same for a family (husband and wife with up
to three children under 25) as for an individual applicant. Under
Statutory Rules and Orders No. 5 of 1998, the total fee payable for a family
(or an individual) was increased to US$60,000 from approximately US$40,000.
The program retains the advantage of offering citizenship to as many as
three children under 25 rather than under 18 as in some other jurisdictions. |
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| Grenada's
status as a Commonwealth country is often mentioned as an advantage
of obtaining a passport from this jurisdiction, normally in connection
with the visa-free travel opportunities Commonwealth membership affords
a country's citizens. Ms. Taylor made the interesting observation
that for her clients, Commonwealth membership has a significance that goes
far beyond visas. Investors appreciate the similarity in legislation
between Commonwealth countries, and the familiarity of jurisprudence that
is firmly within the English common law tradition. Membership in the Commonwealth
shows a political stability that reassures applicants who might still be
concerned about Grenada's political difficulties in the early 1980s. |
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| There is no
residency requirement for Grenadian citizenship, and dual nationality is,
of course, permitted. Another advertised advantage of Grenada's program
is that it is not necessary to visit the Island to obtain citizenship and
a passport, although Ms. Rosalyn Wilkinson, a lawyer and an approved agent
in Grenada, notes that many applicants do visit or make plans to visit
the Island, and she encourages applicants to make the trip to pick up their
passport. It is difficult to believe that the successful applicant would
require much convincing. |
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